Clare and Dennis come up for Clare’s birthday, and accompany me to Vedauwoo on a warm bluebird Sunday for some big crack climbing. The Holy Saturday formation provides the goods.
We only hit two climbs, but they provide plenty of material:
Hideaway Chimney 5.5 is nice and long, incredibly varied, and holds plenty of surprises (many of them pleasant)!
Flake 5.8+ is a bit awkward for toproping, but worth the trouble. It’s awkward to climb too – that’s what makes it so great! The leaning flake wants to spit you out, but then embraces you, only to try to buck you off once more.
5 responses to “Holy Saturday Climbing, Vedauwoo”
About a year ago, Flake 5.8+ had an outer layer of that flexed a little bit about halfway up where it doubles up. Did you encounter a weak outer layer about halfway up? I wanted to clean it for the safety of future climbers, but my fall line contained a dog.
Interesting. I noticed it was crumbly on the outside, and just stayed in until the top, so I may have missed it.
I remember climbing it really nervously because I could not get my dog to relocate by shouting full-sentence instructions and explaining the danger… If only I had trained her with a command like “move 40 feet uphill”…
I loved the chimney. It is the most vertical 5.5 I have ever climbed and at no time felt like it was improperly graded or difficult to protect.
I agree. The dictionary entry should be “Sustained 5.5 Chimney: see Hideaway Chimney, Vedauwoo…”.
I think the chimney should be named Corkscrew, for the motion one makes while ascending it! I know I did at least a 360 degree degree turn…both climbs were a blast. What a great way to start my 3rd decade on the planet.