The route du jour was on the City Limits buttress. So far Mark has developed the right side. In this photo you can clearly see the division. I can't wait until he finishes the other half! Feel free to use this photo as a background.
The climber must negotiate the roofs using trad gear and one or two bolts for protection.
First Roof!
There is something like a mini face between the two overhangs.
Out onto the arete...
Money in the bank!
This one reminds me of Spinx Mountain, the lower right would be the hikers route and the lower left would be the ice routes. What do you see?
The final roof from the previous climbing photo is just below and slightly left of Mark in this photo.
The climbing on this route is basically broken up into two parts, climbing past the first two roofs and then onto the upper 5.6 slab. Here's Mark cuttin loose.
Our hero continues up the 5.6- slab
Mark belayed us each up on his twin ropes at the same time. I knew that this was possible but had never done it myself. I had lots of fun watching Jeff climb beside me and was able to take lots of pictures of him on the second half of the route where the terrain kicked back a bit.
This is the best summit photo that I have ever participated in at the Village. Great job boys!
This crag is a bit like Sasquatch, difficult to get a good
photo.
The belay is from the base of the large pine tree in the middle.
Mark, fully torqued, on top rope, at a great stance on Black Angus Orchestra. As usual the stoke factor from spanking new routes was high.
Ahhh... The freedom of the hills!
This shot gives you a good idea of how long the pitch is. There were not many places to photograph the whole climb from.
The next climb was a bit more sporty and to the right of the two roofs. Mark named the route "Trooper Down" after his Isuzu Trooper SUV got maimed by cattle in the parking lot.
The route features 5.10 climbing on feldspar crystals. The difficult section ends where this picture was taken from, here is Jeff boldly taking it on. The roofs of Black Angus Orchestra are visible on the right side of this photo. The next picture was taken from the same stance and shows the easy, protection rich, top of the dome, Trooper Down shares the same ending as Black Angus Orchestra.
Myself, some 5.5 terrain, and the angels descending.
Yeah, that's whats up.
These domes and spires are on private land for the most part and can't be accessed for climbing.
Perhaps someday the climbing community will be able to arrange for a legal climbing use.
Mark showing Jeff the places that we wish we could climb.
As always the hike out is the most beautiful time of the day
A sunlit shot of the South Pole, the southern most bolted piece of rock to date.
*Montana Underdog Unit
No comments:
Post a Comment