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Sunday, July 25th We awoke to a beautiful, clear day. We geared up and headed for some short East Face routes. Chris led two pitches of Peek-A-Boo (5.5*) and loved the fantastic climbing. Jeff selected Rip Van Winkle (5.6), a new route for us both. The first pitch goes past an old bolt and works right to a set of rap anchors shared with The Wasp. Jeff continued another 50-60 feet to the top of a large flake and built a bomber 2nd belay station (with big gear). The third pitch sent straight up a full rope length, ending with a slabby run through some bushes to reach the large Lightning Ledge. We were unsure of the descent from this ledge, so we opted to press upward. For the fourth pitch, Jeff selected a left facing corner arch about 50 feet to the right of our access point. He proceeded up to a roof and then moved out onto the face, straight up to another big, grassy ledge. We looked up and still saw lots of rock and shrubbery between us and the summit. Also, the afternoon sun was baking us and our extra water and sunscreen was in our fanny packs at the base of the climb. So much for short East Face routes! Pitch 5 got a little funky; there may be multiple ways to go, but Chris opted to traverse left to reach a mossy, slick gully. We climbed the gully (pitch 6) and fought through rhododendron and assorted other prickly brush to finally reach the summit. In our obviously sunburned, dehydrated condition, a group of picnickers generously donated a bottle of water, which we downed with great pleasure. A quick hike back down the summit trail (in climbing shoes) and we retrieved our gear and returned to the parking lot. We made dinner of falafel & hummus sandwiches and drank lots of fluids. The evening was capped with a walk to the [lookout spot, polaroid spot] to catch the sunset. We met a couple from Orange Park, FL that had just emerged from 3 weeks of backpacking down in the Gorge. Tomorrow they were heading south down the trail to Shortoff Mountain. They provided excellent beta on the river and trails. |