Climbing Hatcher Pass in the Rain Some More!
It always rains in Hatchers, so of course almost every climbing trip winds up getting rained out or just enduring the wetness for the duration. This week we hit up a few routes on the Zulu Wall in Archangel Valley, the area I like to call home. We had two people planning on heading out with us, but one didn't make it, and the other brought two more. Such changes of plans are frequent in the climbing world, so we were stoked to have more company. 
We started with bringing all five of us up a 5.8 rated route called "Physical Attraction." As I finished climbing it, the rain started, so everyone else followed me up wet.
Cody works his way up the lower portions of the route.
As the route nears the top, the crack sort of disappears and Cody moves out on face holds.
A quick belay lesson goes down for Melissa back on the ground before the next climber heads up.
Annette lets the fingers do the searching as she steps up to face the wet rock.
The wetness chills you to the bone, but a bit of activity gets you warmed right up again quickly. Annette shows how much she's enjoying herself even with the rain.
I stitched a few together to get a nice wide angle of Annette nearing the top of the route with a rainy Archangel Valley falling away behind.
Melissa's turn! She struggles through a lower crux and finds some nice holds above.
Evidently the struggle is enough to keep her warm, cause she shucked the sweater halfway up.
Tracy followed up behind and cleared the gear, then we moved the anchor over as the rain picked up some and climbed a nice 5.9 route on a slab.
Slab climbing involved using few holds and mostly plain old friction to gain upward progress. In the rain, friction is hugely diminished, so climbing a moderate slab climb in the rain is really a delicate procedure. :rofl We had a lot of fun trying to stay balanced on tiny holds as the rain tried to throw us off.
Melissa and Annette passed up the chance to climb this one, but Tracy followed Cody up to clean the anchor.
We wrapped up the day tossing our wet gear into the puddle in the bottom of my pack, and hung it up to dry while we ate brownies and took hot showers back at home. All in all, it was an enormously fun time, even with the water works. Hope you all enjoyed sharing in the adventure!
We started with bringing all five of us up a 5.8 rated route called "Physical Attraction." As I finished climbing it, the rain started, so everyone else followed me up wet.
Cody works his way up the lower portions of the route.
As the route nears the top, the crack sort of disappears and Cody moves out on face holds.
A quick belay lesson goes down for Melissa back on the ground before the next climber heads up.
Annette lets the fingers do the searching as she steps up to face the wet rock.
The wetness chills you to the bone, but a bit of activity gets you warmed right up again quickly. Annette shows how much she's enjoying herself even with the rain.
I stitched a few together to get a nice wide angle of Annette nearing the top of the route with a rainy Archangel Valley falling away behind.
Melissa's turn! She struggles through a lower crux and finds some nice holds above.
Evidently the struggle is enough to keep her warm, cause she shucked the sweater halfway up.
Tracy followed up behind and cleared the gear, then we moved the anchor over as the rain picked up some and climbed a nice 5.9 route on a slab.
Slab climbing involved using few holds and mostly plain old friction to gain upward progress. In the rain, friction is hugely diminished, so climbing a moderate slab climb in the rain is really a delicate procedure. :rofl We had a lot of fun trying to stay balanced on tiny holds as the rain tried to throw us off.
Melissa and Annette passed up the chance to climb this one, but Tracy followed Cody up to clean the anchor.
We wrapped up the day tossing our wet gear into the puddle in the bottom of my pack, and hung it up to dry while we ate brownies and took hot showers back at home. All in all, it was an enormously fun time, even with the water works. Hope you all enjoyed sharing in the adventure!
John Borland
www.morffed.com
www.morffed.com
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Comments
My fave is the pano. I like the view of the valley with the climber as subject. Nice scene for sure.
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