OH man…I am worked as of now. Today I ventured up to the top tier of the Virgin River Gorge’s Blesphamy Wall and Planet Earth Wall. FAR beyond where there is anything bolted/equipped/climbed. I call this area The Baller’s Wall. It is a nice piece of stone and yields lots to climb and LOTS to tend to. I spied this wall last year our last day at the VRG, I could see in some photos I took that it had tufas, and was covered with features.
I slugged to the top of the mountain with two ropes, two batteries a SHIT ton of hardware and with a serious intent to make some things happen. The wall ended up being smaller than I thought. The cave in the photo is about 60 feet tall, and is quite similar to the Black and Tan Wall, (which is one of my favorites) but has tufas!!! SO HELL YEAH!
My main objective first was to find a line…and nail it in and just clean the holds and do all the lame work later. When I got to the top of the mountain I was taken through DEEP washes, Gutters, and all kinds of heinous terrain. The view up there was amazing. You could see the Sun Wall very clearly, the Fossil Cave and SO much desert terrain that only a few people have ever really seen in this way. NO mans land is the best way to put it.
I rapped in reluctantly (always) off of a large rock, drilled two anchors and and tried to get a third until I ran out of bolts (I left most of the gear at the base of the wall.
SO….I rapped down, chilled a bit, and then put in about 5 bolts in on what looked like the best one to do up first. There are about 8-9 routes on this wall and all are REALLY nice. The right side yields some slightly easier ones, and the left surely has some 5.14s and 5.15s. I am assuming the one I did today is around 12d or 13a. We will see….I wanted to bolt the first one for Colette…yessirrrrr!
I have to say that I have SO much respect for the people who have put in that effort of equipping routes, Todd Perkins, Bill Orhan, Jeff Pedersen, Randy Levitt, Ward Smith (all team tough), Kenny Barker, Mike Doyle, Laurant Tray…the list goes on. I have learned and really believe that being in the position I am in is a great way to give back to the rock climbing world and to create more ways for us all to enjoy and love our sport. Its ALL love.
I guess I learned a few things from Andy Raether’s route Girl Talk. I’m not saying I agree with red tags at all…cuz I don’t, but I truly appreciate the hard work, effort and psyche that goes into equipping a route. Climbing a route is for you, me, and everyone to enjoy…thats what it is about….and if ANYone wants a great first ascent….come and get it…I will have TONS just for you.
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