From: jdeifik@isi.edu (Jeff Deifik)
Newsgroups: rec.climbing
Subject: California Mountaineering Club - how safe?
Date: 5 Jan 93 22:29:08 GMT
Organization: USC/ISI

Over new years weekend I went on a trip with the California Mountaineering
Club. It was my first trip. The planned events were Signal Peak
(aka Kofa Peak) AZ 4th class, Castle Dome AZ 3rd class, and Little Picacho
Peak 6th class. It was organized by Randy Bernard, author of the first
edition of the desert peaks section of the sierra club climbing guide.

We were told to bring all of our rock climbing gear. Friday we start out at
7:30 AM (all times CA time), for Signal Peak, listed in the guide as 2700
feet gain, 3 miles, 8 hours. After about 1/4 mile of trail, we head up a
canyon with lots of 2nd class stuff. After reaching a local plateau, we try
to find Randy and Alan, who were far behind. We couldn't see them or hear
them (we called out). We proceeded up the correct canyon (they went up the
wrong one, and eventually traversed over), and got to the base of the
waterfall. This is the beginning of the 4th class stuff. One guy led the 25
foot 4th class pitch, and dropped his manky 9 mm short rope. He belayed
everyone up, and Randy and Alan show up (Alan had lots of gear which we
could use). A woman had brought along her dog, and Randy's son Glen
fabricated a harness for it, and it made it up the first pitch. We got to
the base of the second pitch. Someone had led it, and easblished a belay.
The dog again went up the steep stuff, with some tension, but was unable to
do a traverse in the middle of the pitch. Perhaps with a second rope tied
to the dog, to do a tension traverse, but not today. So the dog and Randy
stay behind at the base of the second pitch. We go up the third pitch.
There is nothing really hard, and I and some others are wearing friction
boots, perhaps 5.0 or 5.2 max. The antics with the dog take around 1 hour.

Randy said that its about 20 minutes to the summit. Off we go. Some 3rd class
stuff, a few spots of exposure, and some routefinding, and about 1 hour later
we are at the summit. We start down. There is some routefinding difficulty,
as we go down a slightly different route. We only have xerox'ed topo maps.
I tried to get a real map, but had short notice, and it was in AZ which makes
it much harder for me. Perhaps 1 hour later we are at the top of the third
pitch. Some faster people are already down some pitches. I watch Glen belaying
people down. There is a 3/4 inch piece of webbing at the small part of an hour
glass shaped rock. There are a line of 10 non-locking carabeners (mine) going
to Glens 1 inch webbing harness. He is doing a classic hip belay. I suggest
that he use webbing rather than a string of carabeners, and that he attach 
the rope into the anchor. I also suggest using a figure 8 to rather than a
hip belay. Some experienced desert peaks (but inexperienced rock climbers)
say that I am being silly. When it it my turn to go down, the belay is setup
as I suggest. We had all the gear, and more to boot. The question is how does
the last person go down. Appearently the manky 11 mm rope isn't quite long
enough doubled to get to the top of the second pitch. Some people ahead of us,
rappeled down the doubled 11 until it ran out, and then unhooked and climbed
down to the top of the second pitch. The third pitch had big exposure. I said
that for the last person, have the guy at the top of the second pitch attach
his rope, and tie them together, and then do a double rope rappell. So I
downclimb with a fair amount of tension the third pitch. I origionally thought
to simply be lowered, but seeing how poor the previous belay ssetup was,
decided against it.

For the second pitch, we did a single 9 mm rappell, with a safely belay from
above. There were two slings on a rock horn, although Alan told me that when he
went down later, there was a single stopper in the rock. There was very little
drag with the 9 and my figure 8. I though of double wrapping the 8, but wasn't
sure that it was kosher. Eventually I got the rope wrapped around my hip, but
by then I was only a few feet up.

For the first pitch, the dog was ahead of me in line. He was lowered on a
single 8 or 9 mm rope, going through a piece of webbing on a rock horn. I
suggested putting a carabener in the middle to reduce drag and wear on the
webbing and the rope, but was vetoed by the dogs owner. I looked at the
webbing afterwards, and it didn't look hurt. Throughout the day, I saw belay
setup's with lots of rope drag. I found out later that the piece of webbing
was probably a piece found during the climb. When it was my turn, I got Alan
to put another piece of webbing (new) around the anchor. I asked Alan to belay
my rappell. He said that he didn't know how. He has climbed the east face of
Whitney, and calls himself a 5.10 climber, and had done some long climbs,
all of this with guides. I explain how to belay a rappell from the bottom.

We start heading down the canyon. It is getting very late. Within 1/2 hour it
was sunset, and 1/2 hour later it was way dark. I had two flashlights (one
cheap junk) as well as a LED flashlight. It is decided that I should get Tom's
headlamp, and he gets my mini-mag light. The group becomes split up. Our group
had me, Randy, Alan, Tom, Greg, and Greg's girlfriend Daniel (first time rock
climbing). We reach the plateau. We cannot find the way down. Tom and Greg
look for the route. I am reluctant to go down the wrong way, because it may
become relativly impassable. We do have 3 ropes, though and there are no big
cliffs in the area. Greg eventually finds a piece of orange plastic tape
denoting the route. We go down some small dry waterfalls. One looks bad to me
so I ask for a belay down it. Up close it is really easy. If it were day, I
would never have asked for a belay. The flashlights dim with time. We replace
some batteries. We can see some lights below. Eventually we see some lights
approaching. The others got down around 6:30 or so. We get to camp at 8:40,
(sunset was aroudn 5:00). It wasn't 3 miles, more like 5. And it took us
13 hours, not 8.

I am pretty tired. We do not drive to castle dome that night. The next
morning we go to castle dome. There is some uncertainty as to the dirt roads
and turns to make. Eventually we reach the start of the hike. I decide not
to do the peak that day. Others do including Alan, and the dog. Randy and I
sit by the cars, Greg and Daniel go for a short walk. Others did not drive
to the climb at all. Everyone gets back in about 5 hours. Even the dog made
it up the 3rd class route. We get dinner in town and head off for Little
Picacho. I read the description of it. There are supposed to be two wooden
ladders on the climb, some overhanging 5th class stuff, a jump across a chasm,
places to use etries or ascenders or both.

When we get near Picacho Park, it is dark. We drive about 25 miles on various
quality dirt roads. Some of the driving instructions are vauge. It turns out
that we end up on a dead end dirt road, and we decide to camp there as we
are close. It turns out that we are about 1/2 mile from where we should be.

That night I run into someone I know. She describes another CMC climb in
Mexico. There is one part where they are descending a vertical crack with
a rope in hand. I ask her if she means rappelling, or something. She says that
there was no way to set up for it, and she meant one hand in the crack, and
one hadn on the rope. She did say there was a plant growing out of the crack
that came in handy, and that one got used to big exposure. This crack had over
100 feet of dropoff. Gave me a warm fuzzy feeling.

The climb is listed as under 4 miles and 2000 feet of gain.
The next morning we did gear selection. There were around 4 pitches that
needed to be protected, and perhaps 2 that needed to be led. We took Alan's
etries, and 4 ropes. Two were goldline, one thinner than the other. Perhaps
1/2 and 7/16 in diameter as a guess. There was also a 8 mm line and a 9 mm
line. None of these ropes looked new, or even good. I would guess that each
rope was at least 5 years old. The kernmantle ropes were really fuzzy.

We started up a wash. After 1/2 mile, we found another car, from someone in
our group that didn't drive in with us. They were at the right place. We
started up a bigger wash, with some loose pebbles and some slanting surfaces.
I wasn't as balanced as I like to be. I was quite concerned by the poor
equipment choosen (I had an almost-new 11 mm rope, and Alan had a used 11 mm,
that were not choosen because they were too long and too heavy). I decided to
turn back. When I get back to the cars, I see Randys sleeping bag drying out
over the top of his open car door. His 11 mm full length rope is holding it
from blowing away. It is not in a gad. I think that this is strange, to leave
the rope in the sun for at least 6 hours, when it need not be there.
The car I was with eventually left early, because all of did not do the climb.

Later I find out that my middle toe is pretty numb. I used new boots for
signal peak. I had my old boots, but they popped a shoelace eyelet as I was
lacing them up. Since I knew they were old I was carring my new boots. I had
them on moderatly tight for 13 hours. I decided that it was better to have
tight boots than slip on the steep, rocky terrain.

So what I am wondering, is what these people were doing with respect to rock
climbing standard procedure for climbing desert peaks, or is it very poor
technique? It seemes to me that there were many things done much less safely
than they could be, given the equipment at hand.
--
	Jeff (turbo) Deifik		Internet: jdeifik@isi.edu
Phone:	(310) 822-1511 x241 work	(818) 347-3428 home
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