Red Rocks 2008

Solar Slab Wall

The next morning, the fourth day of our journey, we headed out to Oak Creek Canyon with hopes to scale Solar Slab via Johnny Vegas. Upon reaching the mouth of the canyon it became clear that we were victims of a common phenomena of spring break road trips; no fewer than three other parties had decided that this was the logical route to tackle on their second day. Like roommates on the same menstrual phase-we had all made identical tick lists of things to do. Our efforts frustrated, we stared at the wall for a short time. listening to the leader explain to his second what to take and what to leave behind, Dave and I decided we were not going to wait in line for a chance to join the party. I stupidly suggested that we push up canyon to get on Black Orpheus, a route that I had been considering anyway. After about 2 minutes of slow plodding I knew weren't going to make it.

We pushed on until we were far enough into the canyon that we could see the route, but we headed back out to find a easier objective for our shortened day. Found ourselves at the Second Pullout in a shady canyon by noon, roping up to crank on bolt protected 5.9 routes. They all felt pretty hard-most required committing to a crank and a long reach that were positive but hard to reverse. Watching Dave belay it became clear that I was not allowed to fall. His stance gave a massive loop of penalty slack, and, although it cannot be said that he was being inattentive to my progress, his keen eye would have done little to nothing if I fell an extra 10 ft and shattered my legs on a wayward ledge.

The Black Corridor

A game that will live in infamy ... I win!

The climate was pleasant and the "Black Corridor" was a great mix of routes but it was here that I began to see that I was unlikely to be doing a lot of climbing with Dave on this trip. He was doing his best to put up with me, but I couldn't seem to find any way to ask him to pay more attention without drawing his ire. We quit early and headed to camp. That night the gas ran out in the stove and halfway through the cooking a chorizo-infused pasta we resorted to cooking over a fire and fighting. We argued about a lot of stuff. There was a lot of "shut up" and "fuck you" back and forth Eventually we gave up in recognition that not much was being accomplished. Maybe he was mad that I beat him in chess for the first time in about 350 games. We talked about packing it up and heading home if tomorrow didn't seem any better. Metaphorically, it brought us right back to that Oregon bus depot in in 1997.

We went to bed and lay in our sleeping bags, unsure of what we would be up to tomorrow. Dave: "You're a real jackass." Mike: "Yeah, and you're a douche bag." pause Mike: "But I love you anyway." Dave: "Yeah. Me too." pause Mike: "Douche bag." Dave: "Jackass."

Deliverance

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