Good Judgment Keeps You Alive

This last weekend a friend and I hike into Chimney Rock a local alpine crag in the Selkirks range of North Idaho. I have climbed many of the routes over the years. Some are classics and my regular training routes for bigger objectives in Canada and Yosemite. This weekend I decided to climb Dirty Harry's revenge, a route I may have been on once in my teens. I remembered it being a great climb, but that was the extent of my recollection of the climb. As we made our approach I looked for the routes I knew well; Free Friends, East Face Direct... and used those as land marks to locate our objective. We hiked to the East shoulder of Chimney. From there the perspective that the climb is pictured in the guide book came into view. Our scenic perch revealed the long clean flakes and cracks leading to a long ramp on the West shoulder of Chimney Rock and access to the West face routes.

It was hard to tell from the ground the size of the crack. The guide book described it as a 2 inch crack at its widest. As a rule I always take pro just larger than what the book describes in case there is a discrepancy between the guide book and what actually is.

We made our way up the exposed third class ramps to the base of the first belay of the route; a really bad knife blade tied off ( by the first ascentionists!) and a good blue Metolius TCU. Ah I love climbing in the mountains. Genie settled into the belay after an unnerving scramble. I cast off into onto the fun and strenuous 5.9 lay backing up the long flake of granite. All was going well placed a #1 BD then a green Metolius 4 cam then a my #2 BD. Another ten feet brought me to an obvious good placement for my #3 BD. Glad I brought one more size. I thought to myself. Then, I looked up from my rest stance and saw another 30 feet of 3 to 3.5 inch wide crack looming above. I suddenly realized that this mellow climb just got serious. A fall from that high up would put me past Genie and skipping off the 3rd class slabs below her. I thought about lowering off and just contouring the mountain and rappelling in to retrieve my gear. I also saw the amazing opportunity. I am good on cracks. I thought to myself. Its the best climbing I do. I know that their will be mountains out there I just can't back off of. So, I cast off focused on the moment and all that it will teach me and what I have to give this moment in turn...

Rope drag happens. It's easy when you are under stress to make assumptions that it is your belayer day dreaming. The rope began to pull on my harness 20 feet out from my precious #3 BD. "I need some fucking slack!" I boomed. My voice echoed across the valley. I paused at a good stance, refocused and waited for the rope to loosen, then climbed another 10 feet to a small ledge. There I was able to get in a good #3 Wild Country chalk behind a suspect block-- better than nothing I said to myself. Another 15 feet put me on a big save ledge. I felt a touch queasy like I could have puked if that had gone on much longer. I brought Genie up and immediately apologized for my exclamation. She never heard my cursing just the need for slack. I didn't take the time to re-flake the rope at the belay. thinking I butterfly coiled the rope for the scramble and thought that would be sufficient. The rope became tangled at the moment I needed it the most.


I learned a few very important lessons that day: #1. Although my instincts were right to bring the extra larger size, I still needed more. Guide books are usually just estimations based on first ascent experience and or the authors experience or information gathered by the author. Rarely do climbers bring along their tape measure. This goes for repels, pitch lengths, or that key hold. Things change over time along with perspective and ones ability to recollect. If I had brought a spotting scope I could have seen better the width of the crack and its duration. I would have opted to bring more sizes in the 3 to 3.5 inch range. Instead I experienced and exhilarating lead! Which of course lead me into other important lessons. #2. Maintain focus and composure. Blaming and assuming are forms of power leaks; mental energy better spent on problem solving and physical endurance. I thought I had learned that lesson a long time ago, but I was caught off guard. If the climb had been more at my limit say 10c I might have fallen by not being completely in the moment and making no assumptions or judgments. When you give yourself completely to the experience there is no room for judgments, wishing, or hoping. There, is only pure joy, creativity, and the desire to problem solve. We finished our day off with climbing the Rappel Chimney to the summit where Genie and I enjoyed our first successful trip together up Chimney Rock.

Additions to my pack list for the mountains: a light weight spotting scope and a more open mind to the climb.

Interested in developing better judgement and experience for climbing, or want to climb Chimney Rock? Check out these resources:
Become a member of the AAC and receive Accidents in North America,because some experiences are better read then --well--experienced.
The Rock Warrior's Way by Ivo Inglor- a good book for developing a stronger mind for climbing.
Idaho Rock; a climber's guide to Sandpoint and the Selkirk Range of Idaho