Courtright Reservoir, Labour Day 2000 (climbing)
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I got home on Friday evening just in time to see Diane and Saul before
they left for the East Coast, then it was off the next morning to
spend Labour Day weekend at Courtright with Kelly for the second year
in a row, our ranks swelled this time by Greg, Diago, Jeremy, Richard,
Jenn, Randy, Ajay and Jason from Berkeley and Lisa and Marcello from
LA. In a fine display of efficiency Kelly had packed us for the most
part two to a car...in his defense I suppose climbers tend to come in
twos...Saturday afternoon was spent doing laps on Spring/Marmot
Dome--conveniently right next to the campground--getting our
"slabheads" in shape for the wkend, climbing Up, Jump, Spring!, Spring
Honeymoon, Marmotromp and another whose name escapes me, rapelling a
fixed line to get back to the base each time for more. An evening
round the campfire then next morn Randy dropped Ajay and Jason off to
go hiking overnight--giving them a last minute lesson in bear
hangs--while Greg and Diago and Kelly and I set off for Power
Dome. "The Paraclete" looked good but just how runout was it on the
10b section? Loth to find out part way up we'd decided to leave it
alone in favour of A Balance of Power which seemed better protected,
but at the base of the Dome learned from another climber that the 10b
part was short and well protected, the pitch following it sustained
9-10a but also well protected--the Paraclete it is! and we started our
gradual ascent from the singing creek up through the singing
air. Talking to myself I kept my head in one piece as I successfully
led the sustained 5.9-10a pitch--slow and steady climbs the face!--and
3 1/2 hours and 6 pitches later we were on top. Back to the base again
Kelly and I started up A Balance of Power--or so we thought--a traverse
across from the first anchor of Solar Energy got us back on
route. Another evening round the campfire, a day at Trapper Dome,
where I felt very lame, unable to get up any of the hard steep routes
we were toproping, then home to new housemates Hans, Anya, Andrea.


picture: three footprints walking across smooth golden sand