TR for the Bighorn Micro Clave and a Trip to Chas's

"slenon" wrote

good to sit and spin climbing and other
yarns with you.


I seem to run into lots of "used to climb" fisher guys This summer I
bought some Patagonia flats pants ( really comfy in hot weather and I like
doing biz with them, their eco-policy is top rate ) at Blue Ribbon. True
to my grumpy nature I was bitching about the price and made a comment
something to the effect " I can remember when Yvon Chouinard was a Camp 4
bum blacksmithing pitons, now he's probably a billionaire because of
gullible fly fishermen" Turns out John Jurachek who was selling me the
pants used to climb.

The fall that stoped my climbing was a loose rock deal, I was resting, after
the move of a short climb. I felt funny, looked down, and simply wasn't
attached anymore, my toe holds had just popped out.. After about 15 or so
feet ( it was bolt protected I was in little danger) I instinctively stuck
out my right foot trying to catch a ledge about 2 inches wide. You've been
there and can guess what two inches of ledge did to that foot after 15 or
more free falling feet ...bent it nearly off my leg .... crutches for a
long, long, time, limp to this day. And I never felt comfortable again,
on the rock, "What if this hold popped off, what about that one on the next
move?"

I'm not far from Yosemite ( usually great rock), but the fall was in the
winter at Pinnacles Nat Mon.(known for crappy rock ) I still have a bag
full of biners, stoppers and chocks, pitons ( yep I'm that old ) a pair of
EB's, a pair of PA's .... I keep thinking of leaving them at the base of
that dome by Tenaya Lake with a note "free to good home" when I go to fish
Hot creek and Crowley, but I'd probably get arrested for littering G