The Wasp…Again

I hadn’t been back up to The Wasp since sending it last summer. After such a long separation, my knees and calves were getting nostalgic for the uphill boulderfield/talus slope approach and subsequent descent. So when my buddy Bronco told me was psyched to give it a run I told him I’d be his belay bunny for the day. Let’s be honest, even if all you do is the approach, there are a lot worse ways to spend a day than at 9,000 vert in Rocky Mountain National Park. (Although I did give it a lap on toprope, and felt surprisingly good, exciting since I have a janked finger and 4 week post-op ankle.)

Bronco is a strong son of a gun, so we both thought he had a chance at the flash. I gave him the gear, some beta for where it counts – ex. “Don’t drop the #1 or your effed” – and off he went.

Bronco Attempts the Wasp from Maury Birdwell on Vimeo.

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furry, July 2nd 2009 | Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized, Videos

The Especial

waspB&WYesterday was a good day. No. Yesterday was a GREAT day. I finally sent my project, The Wasp 5.13a (traditional), up in the Park. Now, I know that in the grand scheme of things this accomplishment merely cements my status as an outstandingly average rock climber, but I’m pretty psyched about it. This was far and away the hardest thing I’ve ever climbed. I’m no Mark Twight, so I won’t nit-pick other’s choices of style that don’t affect my own (at least not loud enough for them to hear), but I was pleased with myself for staying true a traditional, ground-up ethic. For those of you who are scratching your heads at that last sentence, all it means is that I never toproped the climb or inspected it on rappel – the only way I gained any knowledge was by tying in and leading it, and taking falls until I got it right.

Us climbers are always trying to do the little things to give ourselves one more iota of advantage, and thus engage in an infinite regressive analysis to determine what helps/hurts our vertical endeavors. For a perfect example of this, check Arnold Braker’s recent foray into such analytics (and his insightful conclusion). In this spirit, I’ve done some thinking, and the most likely source of my send power – and action that deviated most from my normal activities – was my dinner the night before: the Tequila’s Especial. Served at the restaurant Tequila’s (go figure), this glorious dish features grilled prawns swimming a green chile tomatillo sauce, littered with baby shrimp, and a massive side of refried beans (I subbed out the standard rice). The dish is at least a foot in diameter, and finishing it is a send in itself. Needless to say, I was surprised I could move the next day; not only could I move, I felt fantastic. I don’t know if it was the magic of the sea, or the flatulent rocket propulsion resulting from the beans, but that Mexican mess did the trick.

So thanks to Tequila’s for the rocket fuel, the good Lord for beautiful rocks to climb, and attentive belayers willing to bear the misery of a 20 minute hike up a talus field.

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furry, July 14th 2008 | Tags: , , , , ,
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Wasp Round 2

Today was a beautiful day up in Rocky Mountain National Park and we took full advantage of it. Cass, Angela, and I went up to Rock of Ages to try our hand at The Wasp, after getting on it last week and taking a massive whipper I was psyched to get back on the sharp end, and it turns out Cass had been eyeing it for a while, too.

We left early this morning to get a jump on the weather and have a full days’ worth of value. After a burn from each of us on lead (and a clean run on top-rope from Cass!) it started to rain. Undeterred, we persevered and took shelter, our persistence paid off and soon enough it was sunny and dry again. I roped up first, and gave ‘er a solid run up to the crux before taking a fall, then finished it out with three falls total (which I felt good about). Cass gave a similarly strong performance, but with just two falls.

We’re both super-psyched on the route and itching to get back up there soon. Not only is it one of the most fantastic single pitches of trad I’ve ever been on, the setting – high on a hillside above the valley in Rocky Mountain National Park – is tough to beat.

Angela snapped some stellar photos, including the one to the right, and I’ll get some more of those up soon.

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furry, July 6th 2008 | Tags: , , ,
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Stung by The Wasp

Up high on The Wasp

Well, I came into the summer looking to get a lot of things done, from big stuff to little stuff. One thing I hoped to do was establish a barely attainable goal in the form a hard, single pitch of trad. It appears I’ve found my unicorn: The Wasp in Rocky Mountain National Park. Arnasty and I went up to the Park last Thursday to do a little climbing, and after some fun moderates, I fixed my gaze upon that beautiful line and couldn’t look away. Needless to say, she did not disappoint. I led through to bottom section with little trouble, and took a while to figure out the crux – which entailed multiple 25 foot falls onto a green alien cam. No biggee. I lowered off, and after a good rest got through the crux. As I’d anticipated, there was a great rest after the crux; unfortunately, the bomber gear placements I’d thought would accompany this stance were missing. I managed to blindly shove a .5 camalot into a hole at my feet. Then a few more strenuous moves and I placed a black alien (the smallest they make) and took a quick hang. As I was pulling it off my rack I dropped my extra green alien, with the sickening feeling I would be needing it soon. I was right, as about ten feet later the only placement I could find was a perfect green alien slot – I forced a yellow alien partways in, knowing it was in no way sound.

At this point my only viable was to push on and get to the anchors (or the fixed pin five feet below them). I made it to the pin, barely, which was in the middle of another crux. As my left hand popped off I thought to myself, “Well, I was wondering if the last cam was any good.” It was not. Here’s a summary of my thought process:

Falling, rope starts to come taught on yellow alien, it pops out.

“Oh well, I was expecting that.”

Falling more, rope begins to tighten on black alien, it pops.

“Well crap, I thought that was good.”

Rope comes to on the .5 camalot, and it also pulls out.

“Sonofabitch!”

Nonetheless, that little green guy I’d been lobbing on before held fast, arresting me about 20 feet from the ground, mostly unharmed: I scraped up my arm a bit, got some rope burn, and tweaked my ankle. Feeling good now and ready to get back up there.

She will be mine, oh yes, she will be mine.

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furry, July 2nd 2008 | Tags: , , ,
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