Upper Refuse P2 Belay Ledge
Another fantastic day of instruction with Cathedral Mountain Guides co-owner (and American Mountain Guide Association certified guide) Bayard Russell! Ashley and I met Bayard at Cathedral Ledge for Day 2 of the 2-Day Multi Pitch Leader Course. Day 1 Lesson here.
On our Day 2 lesson we headed up to Fun House for some
mock leading. Before heading up to the base of the climb, Bayard took out the
“North Conway Rock Climbs” guidebook and handed it to Ashley and I. We looked
up the route to check its description, primarily what gear we would need. Ashley
and I went through the gear and we put our water, food, camera in my small backpack.
Bayard said to look through our backpack at the end of our climb and see what
was left in it, then determine if we really needed it. I’m on “hiker mentality”
and usually over-pack (just in case) and it wasn’t any different on this day.
Bayard gave a solid piece of advice - climbing with a backpack as light as
possible will help us go faster. He was right.
I found a section on the start of Fun House to be tough, especially with
a heavy pack.
Bayard on the start of P1
At Fun House we waited behind a party of two. The start of this route is definitely sandbagged. It’s a 5.7 but I thought it was way harder
than the Pipe Pitch of the Whitney Gilman Ridge route! The first section of the dihedral was
fine but I struggled up the overhanging section. Afraid that I’d put myself
into an asthma attack, I had to rest and catch my breath. My backpack was also
too heavy....2.5 liters of water, a camera, two pairs of approach shoes,
hiking compass, hankie, bottles of bug spray and sunscreen, chemical
handwarmers, Giddy hand salve, headlamp, several packs of tissue!! And I
brought way too much food (PB sandwich, pear, banana, 5 protein bars, 1 Nuun)
and I only ate the PB sandwich! Bayard
was right about having too much weight in my pack. I finally made it to the
belay station, rested a bit and Ashley and I switched leads. Also, I didn’t
think it would matter, so I didn’t organize any of the gear on my harness at this
point.
Ashley at the top of Fun House P1
Like the day before, Bayard kept out of our system at
each belay station. While we came up on the route, he’d rap down to check our gear placement offering advice
and pointing out proper/good placements, and overseeing our transitions. I had
a bit of a problem trying to figure out what to place but it was because my
rack was totally disorganized with cams, nuts and draws all mixed up on my
harness – I was a bit annoyed at myself for not taking the time to organize the
gear on my harness. At the base of Upper Refuse Bayard told me to organize all
the cams & nuts on one side with the quick draws on the other side of my
harness. This helped immensely!
Ashley and I at the top of Fun House P2
At Upper Refuse there was one party already on the climb.
A second party started up Black Lung then
up left on Final Gesture to finish. To keep Ashley and I out of the way of the
other two parties, Bayard combined the first two pitches into one, and kept to
the left side (crack) of our first pitch. I found lots of good holds and kept
placing gear in the crack as I went up. I found that the more gear I placed,
the easier it got to figure out what to place. And what a joy it was to have
all the gear organized on my harness. Made the process so much more easier and
faster!
Ashley and I at the top of Upper Refuse P2
Once past the first belay station I got into the chimney
and the rope got insanely heavy! I kept telling myself that I'd do Upper Refuse
again and on lead but I wouldn't combine the first two pitches because there is
just way too much rope drag and I'd prolly get pulled off. But that climb out
of the chimney onto the ledge was good. There was a sweet undercling that made
the rope drag bearable. On the last pitch Bayard wasn’t tied into Ashley so she
lead it legit! Yay Ashley! Like the last scramble
pitch of Fun House, we finished the last scramble pitch of Upper Refuse using a
terrain belay. Bayard also demonstrated the "Kiwi Coil" used for short roping protection on 3rd & 4th class terrain. And since Ashley had never been to the top of Cathedral Ledge,
Bayard led the way so all three of us stood atop the summit. We hiked down
back to the parking lot and Bayard went over lowering techniques. I also went through my backpack....too many stuffs I didn't use/eat and shouldn't have brought along! :(
Ashley and I at the top of Upper Refuse P2
All in all, the weekend was a fantastic learning experience - Ashley got to
try trad leading and I got to place as much gear as I could!
I don't know what I don't know
[Again] which is the reason I took Multi Pitch Leader
course from an AMGA Guide. As with my private ice lead lessons with AlexaSiegel this past winter, I wanted to learn multi pitch trad lead climbing
skills so I wouldn't have to "wing it". It was also important that I learn the most current
skills used in the industry.
Bayard's services as a guide are invaluable and the
semi-private professional instruction was perfect. He answered all of our
questions - and we had a lot! The personal attention and constant feedback were
invaluable! Not once did I feel overwhelmed, afraid or unsafe. Thank you Bayard
for an awesome two days of lessons, it was fun and gratifying to learn new
climbing skills. These lessons were another milestone for me. I have been rock
climbing for 6 years and seconding (both ice & rock) for 3 years. I wanted
to be able to have the fun opportunity of trad leading on a multi pitch climbs with my climbing buddies.
And a final thanks to my husband for his love and
support!
The Multi Pitch Trad Leader Course is designed for those with a background of gym climbing and sport climbing who are comfortable leading bolt protected routes. Covered are basics of Traditional protection, anchor building, lead climbing systems and multi pitch rappelling. Taught at a 2 participant to 1 guide radio. 2 days, semi-private course.
Bayard Russell has been guiding in New Hampshire since 2003. He is a certified AMGA Rock Instructor, a team leader and director of the Mountain Rescue Service, New Hampshire’s volunteer technical rescue group, and a passionate year-around, all conditions climber. In 2008, he founded Cathedral Mountain Guides.
Links of interest:
How To Move Faster & More Safely Through 3rd & 4th Class Terrain
http://www.outdoorresearch.com/blog/stories/how-to-move-faster-and-more-safely-through-3rd-and-4th-class-terrain
