Re: Indian Head: DP Corkscrew Chimney Rerouted?
Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2015 10:58 pm
At the bottom of where the Crack finally opens out, there's a ledge that angles very steeply up to the left. It's horribly exposed, and I felt safer in the Crack itself since I had no problem getting up - it's more technique than strength. But that ledge goes all the way around to the top, with nothing more than boulder scramble. There aren't any horrible technical moves, "just" a lethal exposure from a narrow ledge.
These folks are showing what it looks like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo4IMmXBbZ0
As I said, the Crack is safer, but if you absolutely can't find a move that gets you up it, the ledge is easier technically.
The way I did that 35-foot slab on Slide was to come up on the south side of it as far as it's easy boulder scramble. There's a crack right in front of your nose at that point that has a lot of good holds, but for me it's off width. I'd be climbing outside it and reaching in, and that's no fun. I had a full pack that day (I was doing a 3-night outing) and didn't think I could do it safely with a pack throwing me off balance.
Instead, from the base of that crack, there's a solid edge a couple of inches wide that you can follow around all the way to the north side of it, where there's about a waist-high mantel (on me, but I'm tallish) and a little bit more boulder scramble back to obvious trail. You can balance by holding onto tree roots just about the whole way.
If you look at the five pictures starting at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mountainv ... otostream/, Amy shows how it's done. She gets up on the edge on the left-hand (south) side, works it all the way across to the right (north), and scrambles up to the broad ledge at the top. It's easier than the pictures make it look. Just keep your head and move deliberately.
I've only done the west side of Cornell once. I don't remember the specific lemon squeezer you're asking about, but I probably was able to get good friction holds on the two sides. The rock up there is grippy as sandpaper. I wasn't even in approach shoes, just trail runners.
These folks are showing what it looks like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo4IMmXBbZ0
As I said, the Crack is safer, but if you absolutely can't find a move that gets you up it, the ledge is easier technically.
The way I did that 35-foot slab on Slide was to come up on the south side of it as far as it's easy boulder scramble. There's a crack right in front of your nose at that point that has a lot of good holds, but for me it's off width. I'd be climbing outside it and reaching in, and that's no fun. I had a full pack that day (I was doing a 3-night outing) and didn't think I could do it safely with a pack throwing me off balance.
Instead, from the base of that crack, there's a solid edge a couple of inches wide that you can follow around all the way to the north side of it, where there's about a waist-high mantel (on me, but I'm tallish) and a little bit more boulder scramble back to obvious trail. You can balance by holding onto tree roots just about the whole way.
If you look at the five pictures starting at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mountainv ... otostream/, Amy shows how it's done. She gets up on the edge on the left-hand (south) side, works it all the way across to the right (north), and scrambles up to the broad ledge at the top. It's easier than the pictures make it look. Just keep your head and move deliberately.
I've only done the west side of Cornell once. I don't remember the specific lemon squeezer you're asking about, but I probably was able to get good friction holds on the two sides. The rock up there is grippy as sandpaper. I wasn't even in approach shoes, just trail runners.