The CragBaby

Ms. Pear (who will from here on out be referenced as the Route Slayer) and I have been wanting to hop on Castleton since last year. We had tried to run it this past November, but due to inclement weather were turned away, cragging for the day instead. So when the weather was looking nice and sunny this past weekend we decided to cruise down with our friends, Triznut and Frenchie, for a desert weekend and a break from “real life”.

On Saturday we spent the day cragging at the Ice Cream Parlor, each of us climbing a handful of pitches and I even taking a couple of the trad leads. Let me note, that I am NOT a trad climber by any means but am trying to develop a “trad lead head”. Learning to love this type of climbing is definitely a work in progress for me.

Triznut leading a very fun 5.8 finger crack.

Frenchie cleaning another excellent line after leading it.

That night we camped at the Castleton camping area. The Route Slayer and I were so exhausted we skipped our planned dinner and quickly toasted quesadillas. I gobbled mine down and was the first to bed around 10pm, instantly falling asleep.

My tent with a sun-lit Castleton in the background.

The next morn we spent an hour preparing our trad rack and cleaning up camp, then set off on the trail up to Castleton. I quickly realized that my lack of cardio for the last year due to the ankle injury and my climbing partner’s intense cardio workouts due to her scheduled Boston marathon run created a huge discrepancy in our hiking times. =) Thankfully she was the fastest of all four of us so I didn’t feel like a complete slacker.

The Frenchman hiking up to Castleton. Frenchie and Triznut ran the Kori-angles line, meeting the Route Slayer and I at the top to join ropes for the rappels.

The Route Slayer and I did the North Chimney line of Castleton, a four pitch 5.8 line. The blue line on this picture shows the approximate route (with the dotted line showing that we were actually on the backside or I guess really the middle of the tower). Beta for the route can be found here on MountainProject. There is an offwidth section on pitch 2 that requires a 4 to 4.5 camalot. Yet if new to offwidth, the Route Slayer actually suggest a 5 camalot.

I was real psyched on climbing Castleton, but I think I must have forgotten many aspects of tower climbing since I have only done one other tower to date. I somehow forgot that I am NOT a desert trad climber, I don’t particularly like exposure and I can often become a little queasy with great heights. None of these characteristics, especially combined, are useful on Castleton. =)

Me. Real jazzed. Well.. until I started to climb.

The Route Slayer pulling the boulder move at the bottom of the first pitch.

Me and the Route Slayer at the top of the first pitch. The Route Slayer had taken the first, and hardest, lead and had done a phenomenal job. I struggled mentally, even on top rope. The first pitch seemed pretty “in my face” with the exposure feeling more extreme than what I had expected from pitch 1. I was smiley in this picture, but deep down I wondered if I was going to hit the summit.

Me finishing up the second pitch. The Route Slayer took this picture as she vowed NEVER to climb an offwidth again. =)

The Route Slayer and I had decided in the morn that she would take the first two leads, the hardest of the four, and I would take the last two. I wasn’t quite sure on the hike up if I could actually take the last two leads as I seriously am not a trad climber. Yet, I thought I would see how the climb was feeling. By the top of the second pitch it was real obvious that me taking the last two leads was not going to happen. I continued to mentally struggle to feel even somewhat comfortable on these routes. The Route Slayer gladly stepped up (thank you again) and led the last two pitches easily.

The top of the 3rd pitch was a fantastic corridor, comfortable for sitting and enjoying the sun.

Me finishing up the 4th pitch, which was by far the most enjoyable pitch as it contained face holds and allowed the use of the trusty heel hook.

The Route Slayer and I hit the summit early afternoon, meeting Triznut and Frenchie who had beaten us by about half an hour. The summit views were spectacular and I felt honored to add my name into the summit diary, even with my entry stating that I was scared and hit the summit only due to luckily having the best climbing partner ever. =)

The view from the summit.

The Frenchman, Triznut, the Route Slayer and I.

Triznut escaping the wind in the hangout area.

Getting ready for the first rappel.

A picture looking down on the first rap. I usually don’t like rappeling as it is the most common way climbers get hurt. This rap seemed especially intense due to the exposure, sheer wall and wind. This was the first time that I truly thought I might throw up upon looking over the edge. Why again do I climb for a hobby?

Soon enough we were all back on level ground.

Overall, climbing Castleton was a good experience. There were some downsides, for instance me almost crying twice and seriously thinking I might throw up. Ha ha…! I don’t know why this climb was so incredibly emotional for me. I hoped it was an off day or because I hadn’t been on a rope for awhile. Regardless, I did get to hang out in the sun with my friends and see some beautiful views of Moab. But mostly, I learned that deep down I am truly just a sport climber. I like the movement of sport routes, the face holds and the length of the climb. And you know what? That is ok. The more I climb, the more I learn that all my partners and I all have different fortes. Tower leads should be left up to Frenchie, Triznut and the Route Slayer. Please only send fixed gear leads my way. =)

Tags: Castleton, climbing, Moab, North Chimney, utah

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 16th, 2008 at 9:04 pm and is filed under climbing, utah. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.