Another One Bites The Dust

Team Tuesday is saying goodbye to another member this week, as Tyler heads to Ft. Collins, CO to begin grad school. He has been a great climbing partner the last six months - mostly because he doesn't have a job, and can climb with me whenever I am free. Tyler is a Tucson native, a geologist, a beard grower, a heartbreaker and can out hike any one. He is also taller than me, and even rarer than someone taller than me is someone taller than AND more flexible than I am. Finally I got to use the "that move is just too reachy for me" excuse. I was lucky enough to run into Tyler bouldering at Gates Pass about 6 months ago, and it has been a blast climbing and hanging out with him since then.

To help send him off right, Tuesday we headed to the Troll Wall, one of the crags that make up the Munchkinland area. Troll Wall is one of the more popular spots for trad climbing these days, and with our trad-minded friend Mike coming along today (as well as his friend Neal, and two awesome dogs), we packed the rack and headed out. We spotted two good looking 5.8's right next to each other -The Slot and Take The Robots Apart- and decided to start with those. Mike started up Robots, and fifteen feet left I started up The Slot.

Every now and then I try to get myself psyched on trad climbing, and resolve to start getting better at jamming, placing gear, and pushing myself to climb harder trad. I was hoping the first couple of 5.8's would go well and I would work up the courage to try a beautiful 10a crack down the wall. 30 feet up on The Slot, wedging my head into the short section of off-width ('the slot'), trying to fiddle a cam into this weird flare in the back of the slot, my resolve was broken. "Ah, yes. This is why I stick to sport climbing and bouldering...." I thought as I placed yet another piece of psychological pro, and committed to yet another awkward layback/mantle move. I made it to the top, then lowered, thankful that Mike had led the other 5.8 and maybe I would just toprope it....

Or not. Mike bailed 20 feet up, unable to commit to the section of laybacking off a slopey arete with polished smears for feet. 5.8, eh??? I led the rest of that climb out, lowered, and hucked my rack into the creek, determined to never place another piece of gear again. The rest of the crew toproped both climbs, which both have fun, interesting climbing. But the gear -as is the case with all the gear climbs I've done on Mt. Lemmon- was very unassuring. Maybe I just need more practice...I guess I'll go fish my gear out of the creek.

Mike in 'the slot':

Tyler on Take The Robots Apart:

Mike and Tyler tearing up the Troll Wall:

(Sorry about the poor quality photos. I took them while belaying...)

Fortunately, there was a 10+ sport route just to the right that had come highly recommended, called Talk Of The Nation. It started with 40 feet of delicate, thin slab climbing leading into 40 feet of blocky, juggy overhangs. This was a fantastic route, and worth the hike down to Troll Wall all by itself. Tyler toproped the route, then him and I headed up to Munchkin Wall to finish the day while Mike and Neal cleaned Talk Of The Nation (but they ended up spending most of their time looking for the dogs, who had ended up following us...oops).

Tyler finished the day by leading a 5.8 arete which we had first done a couple months ago. It was definitely the hardest lead I've seen Tyler do, and it was great to see him climb it so smoothly and easily, even as he was getting rained on. He is getting a good lead head, and he'll be cranking all kinds of hard, cool stuff when he gets out to Colorado. You will be missed, Tyler.