I neared a treed ledge off to the left and end of the first pitch, although it looked like I would need to traverse over on unprotected slabs to get to the tree.
#WASTELAND 3 CRACK CRACK#
The rock next to the crack was so featured that crack technique was hardly necessary, although the crack did offer nearly limitless options for protection. I used a double length sling to hitch the arch and began trending to the right with a short bit of face climbing to access the crack that would lead all the way to the start of pitch 3. I started up a dirty, grass filled fourth class corner to the left of a tree to a large ledge, then continued trending to the left to a natural arch slung with multiple slings and webbing, which was also the last rappel station. Although many report route finding on the first pitch to be rather difficult, it wasn’t too hard to spot the chimney and arete of pitch 3 up above, and trace the pitch 2 crack down towards the start to figure out the general line. It would be our first conversation of several on whether it was wise to continue with how Colin was feeling- but after a break in the shade and a little water, he felt we should try for it having already made the approach.
Contemplating life choices.īy the time Colin reached me, he already looked pretty beat- having taken the summer off of climbing, he was admittedly out of shape, covered in thorns, burrs and cactus spines, and overheated from wearing pants and a sun hoodie. Looking up the route, first pitch starts up an overgrown crack on the left. I went up ahead of Colin to find the start of the climb and start organizing gear. Although the approach had so far been brushy but relatively flat, the last third of a mile climbed steeply to the base of the dome, made worse by the overgrown grasses and increasing temperatures. I had a GPS track open to find where to hook north up a very steep gully, with a thin stream of water cascading to our left. Wasteland Dome with small cascades to the left. We lost the trail more than a few times as we headed west up the drainage, Wasteland Dome out of view by the larger Out-Of-Towners and Entrance Domes on either side.
Knowing it would be a fairly warm day, I decided to climb in shorts, something I rarely do and almost immediately regretted as we pushed through knee high grasses and brush, the use trail completely overgrown from the excellent monsoon season southern AZ had. I teamed up once more with Colin and the two of us drove down to Cochise early morning, although probably not early enough for the first week of October, the temperatures already in the mid 70s by our 9 AM start time.
#WASTELAND 3 CRACK FULL#
The route finding was also notoriously difficult with two full traversing pitches making for a solid adventure route that Holly would definitely hate. My plan this year was to climb the Wasteland, which although also rated 5.8, did not have the benefit of bolts or an easy walk off that made Ewephoria a much tamer affair. I had ratcheted up the difficulty of the climbs with each visit, climbing What’s My Line 5.6 on the first trip, Four Course Meal 5.7 on the second, and Ewephoria 5.8 the year prior.
Protection: Trad rack with double to 2, lots of single and double length slingsĪfter a full year without multipitch climbing, it was time to reintroduce myself to the craft with another visit to Cochise Stronghold.
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