Mt Whitney Zone Forums Trip Reports Eastside TR - Sorta . . .

As in waaaaaay east . . . and slightly south.

Four of the WZ members got together yesterday for a little climbing party in Atlanta. My wife (Lady Bulldog), myself, and John (catpappy) met up with Kent (Trailrunner) for a little technical climbing instruction. Kent lives in Orlando, but was in Atlanta on business (he is fairly often), and he brought along a bag full of technical gear to initiate us into the world of rock climbing.

The backstory is that Bob Pickering had invited me to climb Cathedral Peak with him this July when I and my family are out there for our two-week Sierra getaway. I've done my share of scrambling, as well as some pretty exposed class 3/4, unroped stuff, but nothing that required a rope was in my resume. Cathedral is a 5.6, 4-pitch climb according to Bob, so I damn well needed to get some experience before July rolled around. Kent, who I had corresponded with prior to and after his MR ascent last year, and whom I had met with once over dinner here in the ATL, read that thread and e-mailed me with an offer to bring his gear to Atlanta his next business trip up and cover the basics with me.

The thing morphed over the next few weeks, and by the time Kent hit town yesterday - just a couple of weeks after his blistering Boston Marathon, by the way - he had 4 of us on his hands, including our 11 YO daughter Bri ("Bullpup", if she ever registers on the board ). We met at a place called Allenbrook Crag in Roswell, (which I had no clue existed just a few miles from my home, but Kent was quite aware of it). This buttress of rock is short - it maxes out at about 40 feet in height - but offers a wide variety of trad climbing routes between 5.6 and 5.12.

The story is really in the pictures here , but we all had a wonderful time with Kent and his impressive teaching style. He got way more than he bargained for, especially with my daughter, but he handled it with incredible aplomb. He got us all up and down the crag twice each, and then spent additional time working on rappelling with us. His instructional manner is calm, patient, quietly comical, and very, very safe. In retrospect, I can't imagine anyone else I know being able to coax my daughter into scooting off a 30-foot ledge when she's terrified.

So Kent, a huge thank-you from our family (that includes John - catpappy is pretty much "family" now. We abuse him like he is, anyway). We know we kept you way late, and that you still had a long drive ahead of you to Augusta. Hope the brownies and tea helped you stay awake! We owe you a huge dinner your next trip to town! I can't tell you how many times last night and today we've heard Brianne say, "Kent is so cool!"

And the one thing that came up almost immediately yesterday: here we all were, together and having a blast, due in large part to a mountaineering message board 2000 miles away in California. Without it, John, Kent and my family never would have come across each other's path. How 'bout that?!

Hmmm....so if no permit for the main trail available in July, does this mean going up MR is an option????

Great TR, thanks for posting.

What a kick! Doesn't look like anybody had any fun.

How many 11-year-olds get to go climb cliffs like that?

Bulldog34, great writeup and pics. You should have a great time on Cathedral Peak, and the MR ought to be a piece of cake as far as the class 3 climbing is concerned. I look forward to your trip report in July.

Wazzu, Wayne, the MR would be sweet, and I certainly plan on doing it at some future time (with someone that knows the proper route, of course), but the goal this trip is to get my wife and daughter safely up and down Whitney for their first time. I think the MT is the ticket there.

In July I do, however, plan to cruise up the North Fork to the E-Ledges and, if conditions are dry, possibly LBSL. I'll save the Final 400, though, for a trip with someone that knows the route. I know the class 3 climbing involved isn't that tough - if you're following the right route. Get off route, though, and I hear you can get in trouble real quick.

Steve, Bri spent most of yesterday recounting her climbing adventures at school, along with her plans to climb Whitney in July. Of course these are 11 YOs, and one boy responded that he had climbed Everest. When Bri asked the wagga question (where are the photos?), he remembered that they had dropped the camera and broken it. Maybe it's with that other missing camera on Everest . . .

If this forum had a thumbs-up feature, Bri would certainly get one from me.

     

Congratulations to the entire Dawg family! I haven't done any rock climbing since Bear Creek Spire with Moosetracks last September. I had better start practicing for Cathedral, since you're obviously ready.

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Bulldog:

Thanks for the kinds words and it was my pleasure! It was quite the epic climb.......we all geared up at the trail head for the harrowing approach. We were fully rigged for travel on the treacherous North Atlanta Glacier, with crampons, axes, avi transceivers, shovels, probes, wands, and pickets. We had proper spacing on our rope team and all had prussiks, Tiblocs, and pulleys at the ready in case of a crevasse fall. Errrr...actually we only had to walk 200 yards from the car, but we did have to swat a couple of skeeters on the way in so it was at least kind of gnarly.

We had a great time and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Barb, Bri, and illegitimate cousin John. Everyone climbed well and we enjoyed a fun afternoon diversion from life in the big city. I am not quite sure it is possible to wear Bri down, but she was a delight and please tell her I think she "rocks" too.

Bob Pickering: Gary is not quite Peter Croft yet, but good progress was made. We will try to do a follow up session and cover belaying a leader before Gary arrives in CA ready to cast off as your second on a multi-pitch route in Tuolumne Meadows.

The only bummer of the outing was that I left Orlando with just a t-shirt packed for our afternoon and was surprised to find it was a little chilly in Atlanta. I asked Gary to bring a sweat shirt for me and of course he shows up with the awful red fleece thing adorned with a big University of Georgia emblem. Since I am an Auburn grad I was faced with a choice...hypothermia or wear enemy colors. Tough call, but I put the fleece on much to the delight of the entire Bulldog family. Had it been a Bama fleece, I guess I would have chosen to freeze to death with pride intact. (I realize people from California don't have a clue what we are talking about with respect to the intensity of our football rivalries).

One note of correction though. Gary you mentioned under one of your photos that our short little route was 5.10c. Well.....actually the route we were playing on was 5.6, (the 5.10's to 5.12's were the overhanging routes around the corner). Don't worry though...the late, great Alex Lowe once said "the best climber is the one having the most fun". Based on that line of thinking Bri was sending 5.15 on Tuesday.

It really is neat how I met these great folks through a message board devoted to a remote mountain 2,000+ miles away on the other side of the country. Thanks again to Barb for the delicious crag side gourmet dinner/brownies and to John for the micro brews. We will do it again sometime!

Kent

I'm surprised you just didn't turn the sweatshirt inside out. Also, Cal vs Stanford takes no back seat to Auburn vs Georgia or Auburn vs Alabama. I know since my wife went to Cal and I went to Stanford, but after 2 years there she transferred to Stanford so all is well in our household.

Gary, I have a 13 year old Grandson who probably would consider Bri quite HOT !!

Gary really enjoyed the TR and pics. Too bad Bri's classmate dropped his Everest pics. Now that 11 yr. old must have some real epic stories.

Kent:

I thought that cliff looked more like 5.6 than 5.10, but photos can be deceiving. Gary already appears to know enough to second Cathedral, but it wouldn't hurt if he got to "lie back" some flakes or cracks before July 18.

BTW, I offered to take Bri with us if she's ready. (This could produce some really cool pictures to show that kid who climbed Everest!) It's OK if she needs a little tension from above, but deciding she bit off more than she can chew when we're half way up wouldn't make for a good day for anybody. I would like your opinion after your next session.

Bob

Spewed coffee all over when I read that! Can't wait for Bri to refer to him that way at some point . . .

I corrected the caption to 5.6. I'm obviously still learning! I think I read on-line that Allenbrook was rated 5.10, but now I have a better sense of what all those numbers after the decimal mean. I may not be a babe in the woods with this stuff any longer, but I'm barely toddling. The detail and mandatory to-knows in this game can be overwhelming! John and I both bought rock shoes this past weekend, and have plans to get up north for instruction on some bigger rock in the next few weeks. I'd like to be a reasonably competent partner for Bob on this climb, not a "What-the hell-is-he-thinking?!" liability.

Bob, based on what I know of Bri (and saw on her rappel last week), I'm inclined to say she needs more experience and instruction before following a multi-pitch climb like this. I suspect she would freeze and/or panic once she's well above ground level. She can also be difficult to direct when she's in that state of mind. After watching a number of YouTube videos of Cathedral climbs, I suspect the exposure may be a bit much for her at this point (it may be a bit much for me, but I console myself with the amount of life insurance I own ). The jury's still out till we get a chance to see her on some bigger rock.



Ernie, being a lifelong Bulldog I can attest that the "hate" we feel for rivals like Florida and Georgia Tech is near the top of the scale. Auburn, being just across the Georgia border, is an intense rivalry, but not quite at that level. Hell, half of the Auburn squad each year is made up of Georgians (Cam-somebody comes to mind . . .). Even though Georgia-Auburn is the longest-running football rivalry in the South, it's more like brothers fighting than anything else. I will admit, though, that no rivalry compares to Auburn-Alabama in intensity. You have to see it to believe it. There are no pro sports in 'Bama, so all that potential energy and fanaticism is directed within the borders 365 days a year.

And your thoughts about your grandson are not exactly what I'm ready to hear at this point in Bri's life!

Since Bri will soon be 12 Gary I am telling you that Barb and you are entering a wonderful phase of your lives. I have a granddaughter who will be 11 this August so both grandkids are in middle school next fall. They grow up too fast, but if you keep Bri flipping burgers at the Portal Store & working on my Denver Omlette you might buy some extra time!!

Before you know it she will become another Laura climbing Cathedral and other high places.

This is a mellow route that lends itself to taking newbies for their first multi-pitch climb. You don't need to be Peter Croft climb Cathedral, but it was cool to have him as my guide the first time I did it.


I agree. If you're confident that she won't have a meltdown, she should be fine. Otherwise, there is always 2012.

Sorry I am late weighing in on this thread, but I agree with the consensus you two have come up with on Bri. She might get a little "griped" on a multi-pitch. Gary and I are going to try to hook up for another couple of sessions before you guys get together in July. I can't wait to hear about the trip report.

Kent