The first pitch of Clown Syndrome goes at about 5.7 and ends at a ledge above the small tree. Instead of climbing left to the small ledge, continue directly up the crack to the view in the photo above. The climbing is about 5.8-9 until that little roof on the right. Delicate smears, decent stemming, and odd fingertip jams take you there. I felt the climbing was 5.10 passing the roof, with a 5.9ish second crux above to reach the belay, which is directly above the route on a 6" wide ledge on the left side of the dihedral. A #3 Wild Country Zero placement, a slung block (not 100% solid), and an inverted #3 C4 at your feet. I dare say a bolted anchor would be best. It would eliminate miles of bullshit and prove many times easier and more secure than what I had to do.
I'm not sure what to name it. It could just become the new second part of Clown Syndrome, and have pitch 2 of Clown Syndrome become pitch 2 of Butterface. That pitch sucks anyway. It would seem illogical to name it something else. I don't have a computer handy so I can't do stuff on Mountainproject, so it'll wait.
I also scope out some new routes waiting to be done. One in particular looks impressive and protectable. Starts up loose dirty ground, then you follow a small buttress with a blank looking slab on the right. Protection appears to be the usual tiny cams and nuts. It's very steep, just a little shy of vertical. This will likely be the focus of my next visit.
I went to Joshua Tree for Zach's party this weekend. Had a good time. I miss Zach. I hope we can climb more in the future. He is by far one of the best partners I've ever had. He saved my life once. We've done some really cool shit together. I would like to share a big route with him.
We climbed on Atlantis Wall, in Hidden Valley. I don't know much about Joshua Tree. I don't know the areas, the climbs, or much of anything. I went offroading there a handful of times as a little kid, but my parents were not outdoors folks in the slightest, so the climbing knowledge would have to wait. I've not really enjoys climbing there in the past, but that is essentially entirely my fault, as usual. It takes me a while to grow and accept realities, like any mind. I personally am completely online with the ground up onsight ethic of climbing prevelant there.
I like to walk up to something, look at it from the ground, figure out what I'll need to protect it, and if I think I can climb it, just go up. I don't want names, ratings, beta, any of that. I want less noise in my head. Climbing for me, I've found, is a way to silence my mind and allow me to finally live. Shut off the doubts and static and move. Nothing else matters but what matters. I've used this ethic in putting up new routes, and I applied it here as well. I climbed the routes on the wall with no consideration towards beta, and I found it so much more enjoyable than being an accountant cubicle human creature mulling over numbers and data. Just climb. You're a good climber and you can do all kinds of things, if you just take that first step. Cast off without knowledge and you will have a real adventure, not something reduced to human gossip and measurements.
The climbing was pretty fun. I enjoyed the horizontal cracks, which made for excellent protection with flexible stem cams. I climbe some 5.9 to the left which I felt was miles easier than the new pitch described earlier in this post. More confusion within the rating scale. It was a fun route, with ok protection and easy reachy moves.
I became frustrated with the anchor situation on top of the wall, where I had to sling a block with someone's cord, which was kinky beyond belief. The cord would get stuck in constrictions around the block, making it impossible to equalize. Had there been another person,vthis wouldn't have been much of an issue. This, coupled with all the people and talking below pushed me over the edge and I lost my temper. I decided to untie, let the rope snake back to the deck, and walk away. I had to go away and take some quiet time. I really can't stand constant talking and lots of people. I compared this to soloing in my head, where you often have complete silence, and often just want someone to talk to. Maybe I'll bring headphones or something to put on when things get too noisy.
I walked off and took my break in some shade. I vented to the earth, nobody to talk to, until I got that out of my system and was able to relax a little. I walked back after 10-15 minutes feeling much better, if a bit embarrassed about my behavior. I'm still learning how to fight the battles within my mind. Obviously this is a never-ending process for all creatures. Overstimulation, compounded by being the guy everyone relies upon to set up routes for everyone to climb. A balance must be found.
That's all for now.
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