West Virginia 2005

We had a bit of everything on this year's AC3 West Virginia climbing trip. We had some sun, some snow, a lot of rain. We had a ton of laughs and a mutiny or two, we had Raman noodles and hobo pies, we had smooth climbs and tricky beasts. We had good navigation and wrong turns, flush toilets and pissing trees, frigid baths and greasy hair. But above all, we had fun!

Mitch and I picked up Gabe from CMU on Friday after work and after repacking the car to accomodate three sets of gear, three people and a cat, we headed down to my parents' house for the night. The weather on Saturday morning was grey, windy and rainy, so we were in no huge hurry and got out of the house by about 9:00 am. The drive took 7 hours and 45 minutes and was completely uneventful. Highlights included being reassured that "Jesus Loves You" by huge letters on a hillside and making animal noises whenever we saw cows or horses on the side of the road. When we got to our awesome camping area, no one was there and it was raining, so we wandered around for a bit before setting up some tarps and our tents.

A word about our campsite: it's awesome. There's this area along the New River called Cotton Hill and there are 3-4 pulloffs where you can park, clamber down the hill, and find free camping areas right next to the river. The West Virginia Authority regulates the place and says, "No alcohol," but the guy who came down to empty our trash every few days just gave us some extra trash bags and told us to hide our bottles because his boss is a real hardass. He also complimented us on the neat condition of the campsite. Let this be a lesson to any of you who may laugh at my anal-ness about picking up all trash before going to bed: it really pays off.

It rained all night on Saturday and into Sunday morning. After a yummy breakfast of oatmeal, we all hopped in our cars and headed for the New River Gorge visitors center, where we always stop for flush potties and fresh water. We decided to wait there for Jon D. and Miriam, who were on their way, and then we headed back towards camp to play around at Hawk's Nest Dam. The rocks, wet from sleet, were a bit precarious but no one fell in the water or anything. When we had enough of the rain/snow mix, we headed into town to catch a movie. No one was super-particular about the film choice, because we were all happy to be indoors, so we saw Fever Pitch, which actually was not as much of a chick flick as I thought it would be. It was very nice to be able to drape my wet Carhart over the seat in front of me and take my feet out of my hiking boots for a little while! When the movie was over, we looked outside and discovered it was snowing VERY hard. And sticking. Not cool. We took a quick trip to Wal-Mart (cringe...I don't like to shop there but when you don't have a choice, well...) for some hand warmers so I wouldn't turn into the ice-woman overnight and drove back to camp, where luckily, the river kept the area warm enough to prevent sticking snow. I think we had Raman for dinner that night. Mmm.

When we woke up Monday morning, there was no snow. No rain. A little sun peeking up over the mountains. Yes! Pancakes maybe, or oatmeal. Probably pancakes, cooked by Mitch and I and definitely amazing, for camping pancakes.

Tangent time. We need to talk about the cast of characters here. Alumni climbers Gabe, Mitch, myself and Jon D., the new grad, were present and accounted for, but Leighton couldn't make it at the last minute. Bummer, because she's awesome and last year she brought a hammock and set it up in camp. We had some of the core club members, including El Presidente Caleb, Jon Naile, Ben Tidman (Tiddy-Man or Ben-Jammin'), Melissa the Amazing (or Studly Mel) and the ever-wonderful Jen Conkey, who incidently did not write "How to BLANK in the Woods." That was Caleb, trying to make it look like Jen wrote it, for whatever reason. We also had Katelyn, who climbed a bit last year but is now seriously improving, her boyfriend Brian, who won the biggest fall award by taking a 12-foot whipper while leading a 5.9 at Beauty Mountain, Miriam, who wasn't climbing due to an elbow injury, and three new freshies: Kali, Joe and Jessica. Later in the week, we were joined by Miriam's brother Jesse and three of his climbing co-workers, Steven and DJ. And let's not forget Ben's dad, Dr. T, who comes on many AC3 trips and is a wealth of climbing knowledge. I seriously hope I didn't leave anyone out.

OK, back to the trip narrative. Monday's destination was Endless Wall, the Freaky-Stylee area or something like that. Dr. T chose it, but his decision left a bit to be desired. See, the only relatively climbable route was a 5.10b but there are at least five of us who are nowhere near 10b climbers, so we were a little peeved to have hiked into an area with nothing to climb. "Oh, everything else will be wet, I'll take you down to a different area this afternoon," says Dr. T, but we don't want to wait, so a small caravan sets out for Kaymoor Slab, which has 5.8 and 5.9 routes. Well, our ability to read the guidebook was not exactly top-notch, so when we got to a point where the trail seemed to end, we thought we were at the spot where the guidebook shows a trail end. Turns out we weren't, but when we went back and asked, Dr. T didn't give us any help at all, so we spent the rest of the afternoon chillin' until I sought the map-reading expertise of Jon D. and found out that the end point on the map was the current crag and that where we thought the trail ended was really just a spot where you had to scramble over some rocks and voila, you were at Kaymoor Slab. Somewhere over the course of these frustrating events, Jen and I decided it might be time for a mutiny. We did not like Dr. T making decisions without consulting the group, or without taking the entire group into account, so we secretly planned a girls climbing day for Tuesday, when Dr. T had planned to take us all to a new area at Bubba City called Tattoo Wall. More on that later, and the subsequent bitterness of our male companions.

We got some good climbs in once we found Kaymoor: a super-long 80-foot 5.9 and a shorter 5.8, both on slab with few handholds and a lot of foot-trusting (slab means there aren’t big holds anywhere…it’s kind of straight up, like a slab, and you use friction to climb it, mostly). I don't mind that as much as, say, chimney climbing, but it can get a bit hairy at times. I suppose I should talk a bit about route ratings for a moment. A rating of 5.0 is a vertical ladder, so say you propped up a ladder against your house and climbed up to clean the gutters. Ta-da! You climbed a 5.0. The ratings go up from there, but you won't really see any routes lower than a 5.4, which is pretty much just a scramble up the rocks. Once you hit 5.10, however, the ratings go 5.10a, b, c and d, and the difference between the difficulty of a 5.10a and a 5.10b is the same as the difference between the difficulty of a 5.8 and a 5.9. The reason for the wackiness, I learned from the insightful Gabriel, is that when climbing shoes were invented, everyone got really, really good, so thy made the abcd system for the harder climbs like 5.11s, 12s, 13s and 14s. The hardest route ever climbed is a 5.15. Boulder problems have their own rating system, but since I'll never refer to it in this blog, I won't get into that.

Anyway, once we were climbed out at Kaymoor, we pulled the ropes and started out hike out. Rather than retracing our steps, which would have taken forever, we continued to hike along Endless Wall until we got to the Honeymooner's Ladder, which is actually a two ladders and a scramble that takes you up the 50 or so feet of the wall in that area. Then we hiked along the top of the wall, back the way we came, but we took the wrong fork at a turn and ended up hiking up a huge hill, tramping through some yards, braving barking dogs and walking down the road until we found the parking lot. Talk about an unneccessary workout!

Though the hour was late, I was determined to take a bath in the river. I was gross, my hair was greasy, and the day had been relatively warm. Well, it was dusk by the time we got back, but Miriam, Mitch, Jon, Gabe and I braved the frigid water anyway and got reasonably clean. The only problem was that I could NOT get warm afterwards. Even the mac and cheese we had for dinner didn't warm me, but after a few hours huddled around the fire, I was OK.

Tuedsay was the day of the Great 2005 Mutiny. Us intrepid females decided to strike out on our own and go to Beer Wall, another section of Bubba City, instead of Dr. T's Tattoo Wall. We didn't want to cause more of a stir by bashing Dr. T, so we had Caleb spread the word that we were not comfortable with the threat of falling rock vs. the lack of helmets in this newly developed area and that we wanted to do that crazy female-empowerment thing. The guys, who felt this was unfairly sprung on them at the last minute, were bitter that we wanted to go off on our own, but I think they got over it. We had a fabulous time despite their reservations about our abilities! Katelyn and I lost our outdoor leading virginity together when she led a 5.5 and I led a 5.6 at the same time. (Lead climbing is where the rope is not already hanging from the top for you. You have to take the rope up with you and clip it to bolts in the wall as you go up, which means there is the potential for some wicked falls.) Mel led a 5.10c called St. Pauli Girl, which is Jen's favorite route, and even I got on that one just for kicks. I'm proud to say I made it to the crux (the hardest part of the climb) but didn't have the skill to get past that point. We climbed hard until lunchtime, then took it a bit slower and were out of there by 4:00 pm. We knew hobo pies (beef, potatoes, carrots, cheese, onions or any combination thereof wrapped in tinfoil and thrown in the fire) were on the menu for the evening, so we stopped at The Store on the way back to camp and picked up the beef and cheese so we could cut everything up and be ready when the guys got back. Little did we know that Caleb and Co. got meat as well, so we had hobos two nights in a row...oh darn! Other than awesome meals and Gabe's run-in with my pocket knife, we had an uneventful evening and everyone slept like rocks that night.

Wednesday was kind of an "eh" day. Mim, Jon D., Kali and Jessica went whitewater rafting, but I didn't envy them because it was kind of chilly and rainy. The rest of us went to Beauty Mountain but there really weren't too many good climbs. Brian led a 5.9 and took that whipper I mentioned earlier, and Caleb did a 5.5 trad route, which means there are no bolts in the wall and you have to set your own protection to clip into as you go along. He then belayed Brian up it from the top, Brian cleaned all the gear (meaning he took it out of the wall) and then Caleb and Brian did a sketchy single rope rappel at the same time down off it. Jen climbed this one monstrously overhung route and fell on the crux, so in order to get back to the wall, she had to swing off a tree that was about 6-8 feet away from the wall, clip a quickdraw to the wall (two caribiners connected by a piece of webbing) and pull herself back in. We ate lunch under an overhang so we didn't get soaked by the afternoon shower and made it back to camp by 3:00 pm. Once again, we had hobos for dinner and spent a good deal of time around the fire, waiting for Jesse, Steven and DJ to show up. When they got there, Jon D. took the three of them bouldering at Hawk's Nest Dam but the rest of us were too tired to join in.

Thursday was the BEST day. We went to Summersville, which is this huge lake with awesome climbs all around it. The section of choice was Orange Oswald and everyone seemed to climb to their full potential. I climbed a 5.8 called Hippie Dreams and decided to get over my fears and rappel down. Now, there’s nothing all that tricky about rappelling. You clip yourself to the anchors at the top of the route with a set of quickdraws, lower the rope halfway down, untie it from your harness and attach it to yourself via a belay device called an ATC. Then you just lower yourself down the same way your belayer would lower you down. Well, the hard part, for me, is the point where the ATC is all attached you and you have to unclip yourself from the anchors. That means you are only keeping yourself from falling with one hand, and then you have to start letting yourself down. For whatever reason, I panicked about that point, but I eventually made it down safely, with some encouragement from everyone below. After that, I took a break and prepared to tackle a 5.9+, which kicked my butt hardcore. The beginning was really pumpy (hard on the forearms) and about 2/3 of the way up, there is a big crack you have to climb up. Well, I'm not a good crack climber...you could say I have a crack problem, haha! About there, I was convinced I could not make it. My grip was gone, but Jen and the rest of the people on the ground encouraged me to press on. After resting for a few moments, I got back on the wall but I had to take (rest on the rope) after every two or three moves. Still, it was a very rewarding climb and next time I hope to do it better!

There were still a couple of 5.8s that Mitch and Gabe had led earlier and I wanted to climb, but my arms were dead after the 5.9+ and I wanted to end on a high note rather than struggling up something I should be able to do easily. So I took advantage of the reasonably warm weather and the nice clean lake and washed my nasty hair. Once I got done, I watched Katelyn work through a 5.10b, got packed up and hiked back to the cars. Because the weather forecast said lots of rain for Friday, we all decided to go to the Pinnacle, which is a multi-pitch route some people climbed with the locals last year. It’s over 100 feet tall and you have to climb up this chimney, about 30 feet, and then there’s a big ledge to hang out on. Then you have to climb up about 15 or so feet on another face while someone belays you from the ledge, followed by a scramble up to the very top. It’s very exposed once you get up the first pitch, and I think all my courage got used up on my scary rappel and difficult 5.9+ at Summersville. I was kind of a wreck climbing the chimney, because I HATE feeling like I’m trapped between two walls of rock. Then I attempted the second pitch but my theoretical balls were not “to the wall” as they should have been. I chickened out but sent my camera up with Mitch to get pictures of the amazing view. I’m actually very glad I was a big wimp in the beginning, because getting down involved a 95-foot rappel down the back face of the rock. By the way, the Pinnacle isn’t a cliff/wall like we usually climb. It’s kind of like three enormous rocks stacked on top of each other.

By the time everyone got up the Pinnacle and back down again, it was definitely dinner time. There’s this restaurant we found last year called Dirty Ernie’s Rib Pit, and it was so yummy that we had to go back there again. This time Jon D., Miriam and Gabe came with us, and we all scarfed down mozzerella sticks, salads and ribs like we hadn’t eaten in days. It was wonderful! Back at camp, we hung around the campfire and discussed plans for the next day. At that point, we had pretty much decided that everyone was going to head home on Friday instead of Saturday. The forecast said there was a 100% chance of rain all day long, so no one was too keen on sitting around wet just to avoid returning to real life.

It took a few hours to pack up in the morning, but it was worth waiting for everyone because we all went out to breakfast on the club. Mmm, Biscuit World! To break up the long drive, we all stopped at Ben’s house in Ohio, where his mom proceeded to cook a monstrous dinner for us! No one was expecting that at all…we were just hoping to stretch our legs, check out the climbing wall Dr. T build on the porch and use the bathroom. I remember walking in, looking at a big bowl of bananas, and thinking, “I wonder if I can have one of those.” Instead, we all got BBQ chicken, hamburgers, cheesy potato casserole, fruit salad, corn on the cob and brownies. Aw yeah! It was OK that we stayed for a long time and didn’t get home ‘til around 10 pm.

A hot shower and a good sleep in a real bed marked the end of our trip. We spent all day Saturday cleaning gear and washing clothes, then we had a nice family dinner and drove to Mt. Pleasant to return Gabe to Andrea. Mitch and I stayed the night there, but we had to sneak Chip into Andrea’s building because they don’t allow pets, even for the hall directors. Back at home on Sunday, it was a little surreal to think that we had to go to work the next day. Being on the trip made us both feel like we were back in college so it was a bit of a jolt to realize that we weren’t.

So what has real life brought this week? Keeping busy at work and preparing for my interview at Alma, mostly. My little presentation is too long, I think, but I’m cleaning it up and am thankful to one of Gabe and Andrea’s friends, who is a current Alma admissions rep, for giving me some pointers. The more I think about this job, the more I think it might be a good opportunity for us. Mitch could easily request a transfer to Mt. Pleasant and we wouldn’t be any farther away from my family than when we were in college. We would be close to Mitch’s parents and we would actually have some friends in the area. As far as the job goes, I think it could give me some good sales experience, which would help round out my business skills. After all, marketing and sales go hand in hand and though I don’t like sales as a general rule, learning the skills to promote something I believe is valuable (the Alma education and experience) would be an enjoyable way to learn about sales. That’s tomorrow morning, so wish me luck!