New Route(s) on the Hump
Blair at the start of the new route (Lyme Street) which lies on the Tier above Dave's Lash and Thick as a Tick
The other weekend Blair, Dave, Trevor, Anne and myself took some time to explore the tier to the right of the top of Dave's lash. There are up to a half dozen potential routes on this tier.
Starting from the far left of this space
1. There is a hollowed out section of face with some horizontal breaks and a slabby exit between roofs. I have gone up to the 30 foot height twice, but to get to the real climbing you will need some pins or very small cams, or even a bolt.
2. Behind the trees there is a great scrambling route that heads up some low angled slabs with good holds and great climbing. It is 4th/5th class.
3. There is a large roof to the right of the scramble, behind a large grove of trees. The left side of the roof has what appears to be a good break, but no one managed to pass it. Blair gave it a very good shot ground up.
4. There is another break to the right of this potential line. No one made it up this line while working it on top rope.
5. Lyme Street -5.9
There is a new bolted line up the grey streak of rock. It starts off with a steep start and mantle (small cam). Finding the incut hold a foot inside will help out. Two bolts protect the crux face moves and pinches above. Once up on the ledge there is some good gear that works through the next overhang (big nut, red tri-cam, mid sized nut, and a #4 stopper). There is a bolt above and then a two bolt anchor up top. The climb is a solid 5.9 on the Hump's sandbag scale (opinions ranged from 5.8 to 5.10a).
Dave inside the first break of Lyme Street
6. The corner to the right has also been worked on top rope. Protection is dubious and the key section for gear needs some cleaning and friable rock inspected. Probably a 5.10
On another note - Thick as a Tick definitely fits in as a solid lead. Gym rats who have never fist jammed through water limestone may not find it a fun 5.8. It is a nice climb though - just a bit airy through the hard crux moves.
Thick as a Tick goes through the crack and break in the middle of the left roof
Labels: climbing, new rock routes
posted by chris goble @ 6/05/2008 09:35:00 AM
5 Comments
5 Comments:
if blair or trevor or chris can't complete the climb on top rope..... probably not a 9 more like 10+ or 11......... :P
Well, we all made it up the bolted 5.9 without too much trouble - a few of us just required some time looking for hidden holds at the short crux.
The overhang to the left of the bolted route did stop everyone who tried it. Like you say, not 5.9.
The crack to the right no one tried that day. We will have to clean it up a bit before leading it and grading it - unless of course someone gets to it before us - to which anyone is more than welcome
I was just talking to a friend of Stew Rood's today - Craig. Apparently he was very active in the climbing scene back in the 60's up until the present. It was great having a few minutes to hear some of the history that is still so buried.
I am hoping to get in email contact to get the list of names of who was active in the area at that time.
A couple of interesting points though
-apparently some of the waterton climbs are in a guide book to the southern rockies that was published some time ago.
-The are a couple of old lines to the left of Expert's choice.
Some of the names I can remember from the 5 minute conversation are
-the Goates brothers (from the cabin in the park 2 north of the park office)
-Yvonne Chouinard and Juris Krisnajanson (sp?)
-John? Wright (from Lethbridge)
-a number of others I can't remember
The point Craig mentioned again was how isolated groups of climbers were. They rarely let anyone know about their routes, and climbed in isolated pockets and isolated areas. Hence trying to get a list of what was done is pretty counter to the whole vibe of the day (in this area).
Now that's an interesting piece of history Chris. You should try and get a hold of Yvon Chouinard. He might come up with some very interesting climbing history around the park. It seems like him and Juris did a fair bit in their day. Does anybody know any of the other names??
Just a note - after a recent trip to Devil's tower, I have to say 5.8 cracks come a lot harder than the single fist jam variety on Thick as a Tick.
Comparing grading from one area to another is always hard, and shouldn't always be the main goal in ratings. With that said, trad routes may require moves well outside the scope of indoor climbing. This isn't to say anyone who finds routes badly graded is off - they are probably right since few climbs have lots of repeats - however lots of mileage at old school areas may be informative.
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