Shitty Weather In The Desert

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Some Words…

The Hindu

Shirley rapping off the summit of Maverick down the south face (Feb. 20, 2006).

We had four days in Moab in February of 2006 and of course the weather was shitty. We climbed the West Face of the Dark Angel (5.9 C1) on day one and Shirley sprained her ankle in a small lead fall if I recall. Next day we thought about aiding the easy route up Kingfisher but a snowstorm grounded us for over a day. On our final day we climbed the Maverick (5.8 C2) route on the proud Hindu Tower.

The Photos…

Dark Angel

Dark Angel from the approach trail just beyond the Double O Arch. SE face visible in photo (Feb. 18, 2006).

Dark Angel

The NW face of Dark Angel. Pitch two of West Face route climbs the shady face up to the summit. Photo taken February 18, 2006.

West Face

Shirley leading pitch one of West Face of Dark Angel. She is starting the 5.9 fingers section (crux of pitch). Her foot slipped off a sandy hold (they're all sandy in Arches) and she took a small fall onto the ledge messing up her heel in the process (Feb. 18, 2006).

West Face

Shirley at the base of the pitch 1 crux finger crack (West Face route). The crack is short (~15 feet) but harder than it looks from below (Feb. 18, 2006).

West Face

Shirley topping out on pitch 1 of West Face route. This is atop the 5.9 finger crack. Note the spectators down below.....did I say this trail/area is crowded with tourists (Feb. 18, 2006)?

West Face

Shirley belaying me from a decent stance atop pitch 1 of West Face route (Feb. 18, 2005).

West Face

Beginning the lead of pitch 2 of West Face. This is just above the 5.7 boulder move and at the base of the A0 ladder (or 5.11- face section; Feb. 18, 2006).

West Face

Shirley topping our on pitch 2 of West Face of Dark Angel. She is in the 5.4 chunky section near the summit (Feb. 18, 2006).

Dark Angel

Shirley (blue circle) on the summit of Dark Angel after our climb of the West Face route (Feb. 18, 2006).

Dark Angel

Shirley rapping off the summit of Dark Angel. West face is on the left in profile; SE face presents the frontal view. The spire is ~125 feet tall (Feb. 18, 2006).

Dark Angel

Shirley at the base of the west face of Dark Angel. The West Face route starts up the left side of the triangular, white flake. Photo taken February 18, 2006.

Dark Angel

Shirley hiking out after our climb of Dark Angel. Double O Arch (?) visible on the right. This <3 mile approach passes through some amazing scenery (Feb. 18, 2006).

The Hindu

The Hindu from the drive in approach. The approach to the Maverick goes up the low angle slopes and slabs on the right side of tower to reach the right end of the obvious ridge (side walk). The narrow and exposed ridge then brings you to the base of the southwest face and the start of Maverick (Feb. 20, 2006).

The Hindu

The east (left) and north (right) faces of The Hindu as seen from the Onion Creek Road (Feb. 20, 2006).

Maverick

Maverick Route (II-III 5.8 C2 or 5.13a) on The Hindu. Route starts on the south face (P1) and then traverses onto the west face. Standard approach comes in from the right. There's a pendulum (A0) on P2 off of fixed pins. All belays are fixed (good bolts/pins). P3 and P4 are easily combined; combining P1 and P2 is also possible with good rope management (Feb. 18, 2005).

The Hindu

Checking out the start of Maverick. Twenty feet of 5.8 R (chunky rock) or C2 climbing lead to the C1 (or 5.13a!) crack visible just right and above me in the photo. Fixed anchor atop P1 is also visible in the shot. This is the south face - smooth and gently overhanging (Feb. 20, 2006).

Maverick

Leading the C1 crack of pitch 1 of Maverick. The lower portion is either chunky 5.8 R (kinda stiff for 5.8) or C2 (what I did; Feb. 20, 2006).

Maverick

Looking down from 2/3rds of the way up pitch 1 of Maverick. C1 crack visible below. Shirley is belaying me from the edge of the side walk (Feb. 20, 2006).

Maverick

Shirley on the C1 crack section of pitch 1 of Maverick. Crack is thin (finger tips....5.13a if done free) but the rock quality is very good. Approach sidewalk visible below (Feb. 20, 2006).

Maverick

Shirley nearing the top of pitch 1 of Maverick (5.8 R C1 or C2). Watch that loose flake at the exit from the C1 crack (Feb. 20, 2006)!

Maverick

Beginning the lead of pitch two of Maverick (5.6 C1). I'm just about to lower off and tension traverse to easy ground (fixed pitons for the lower off; Feb. 20, 2006).

Maverick

Shirley belaying me from a semi-hanging stance atop pitch one of Maverick. Full on arctic attire (Feb. 20, 2006).

Maverick

Shirley on the easy (5.6ish) terrain just below the anchors on pitch two of Maverick (Feb. 20, 2006).

Maverick

Leading through the 5.9- bulge (soft rating, good rock and pro) on P3 of Maverick. This is near the top of the pitch (Feb. 20, 2005).

Maverick

Looking down from near the top of pitch three of Maverick. Shirley is belaying me from a decent stance atop P2. Most of the terrain on this pitch is low 5th class (chunky rock though) with one 5.9- bulge (good rock & pro & feels like 5.8) near the top. We linked the next (C2) pitch with this one (Feb. 20, 2006).

The Hindu

Fisher Towers as seen from the summit of The Hindu. Kingfisher is the tall formation on the left; Echo and Cottontail Towers are in the middle; Titan is on the right (Feb. 20, 2006).

The Hindu

Looking east from the summit of The Hindu. The tower's shadow is on the left; Onion Creek (and the road) are at the bottom of the winding canyon; Mongoose (left) and Sari are the two towers on the right (Feb. 20, 2006).

Maverick

Shirley topping out on the summit of The Hindu via Maverick. Onion Creek Road is below. This is looking roughly west (Feb. 20, 2006).

The Hindu

Shirley rapping off the summit of Maverick down the south face (Feb. 20, 2006).

The Hindu

Shirley at the base of Maverick after rapping off the summit of The Hindu. Maverick goes up the thin crack directly above Shirley - this is the south face (Feb. 2006).

The Hindu

The silhouette of The Hindu - view from the west. Maverick starts on the south face (in profile) and then moves onto the west face. The tower is approx. 175 feet tall on its right side (Feb. 20, 2006).

The Titan

The 900-foot Titan about to be engulfed in a snow storm as seen from the base of NE Ridge route on Kingfisher tower (Feb. 19, 2006).

Titan, Echo, and Cottontail Towers

The Titan (leftmost, further back), Echo Tower, and Cottontail Tower (rightmost) as seen from near the base of NE Ridge on Kingfisher Tower. Titan is actually the tallest at (reportedly) ~900 feet; the 2 foreground towers are probably in the 600-700 foot range. Photo taken as a snow storm was descending down into the Fishers from La Sals (Feb. 17, 2006).

Kingfisher

Shirley at the base of the Northeast Ridge route (III-IV 5.8 C2) on Kingfisher tower. Line starts up a bolt ladder behind Shirley and continues up the flared (but easy, 5.7-5.8) chimney higher reaching the notch in the ridge just behind the gendarme visible in shot. This was earlier in the year (Feb. 2006) when a snow storm made us not get on it.

Kingfisher

Shirley hiking out along the base of Kingfisher Tower in early 2006 when we got snowed off of it (Northeast Ridge, III-IV 5.8 C2). Jim Beyer's scarefest Death Of American Democracy (V 5.10 A4 X...in full resolution, you can see the first belay anchors) climbs this face to the summit (early spring 2006).

Kingfisher

Shirley hiking down after a snowstorm changed our climbing plans. Kingfisher dominates the background view (Feb. 17, 2006).

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