Trip Report: First go at the Diamond.

Hey James, nice shots. Are those short tailed weasels??

Great pics, Jim!

Looks like a lot of us MPers had headlamping adventures this week! ; )

PS: Is this thread going to get to the 14 page max of thread drifting
before Shawn tells us his story? Sheesh. ; )

John took this pic on Wed. night atop Angel Food Wall in Red Rock. A view of the strip; The Stratosphere far left, to the Mandalay Bay far right. We stayed up there for quite some time, and enjoyed stargazing, and the Vegas lights before heading down (a beautiful walk-off!) at 10ish with plans to make it to our favorite sushi joint before their 2am closing time. Ahhh, the life in Sin City.

This is a picture of Long's peak in the kitchen; Man, that's a big ass mountain! John showed me what route you guys did.



A toast to Shawn, and to all who summitted this week!

Thanks for all the thoughts, tips and encouragement. I owe several kind folks emails; they're coming. Special thanks to Jim Beissel for joining the trek at a ridiculous hour for a photo safari.

Here's an overly long report. I guess classic climbs are like having a baby: Been done lots of times by lots of people--women anyway--but when you go through it, it's a revelation you're certain will fascinate others...

The big day. Alarm at 12:30 am. I met Not So Famous Old Dude (aka Mike) at 1:30 in the Neptune Lot in Boulder, as well as Jim Beissel who was heading up with a buddy to photo highlights of a brilliant day on Longs Peak, including, we hope some telephoto shots of us. We hit the trail, already congested with Keyholers, a little before 3. Just six steep miles to the climb. Heh. Mike and I are psyched, blasting by all hikers even with our full packs. (Just before the Boulder Field, one guy passed us--darn.)

Mike approaching the drop zone...

The exposure hits suddenly, at the top of the bowl above the Boulder Field, as you peer over the Chasm view rappels, and your mental reference screen suddenly flips from horizontal to vertical.

We arrived just as MP wallers Riemondy and Forrestieri dropped over the edge, rappelling for a go at the Dunn-Westbay route, complete with haul bag and bivouac gear.

First omen of unexpected adventure: Mike climbs on double ropes. Pulling the ropes between first and second raps, in exuberant efficiency (stupidity in hindsight), I bunched and threw the first rope while Mike was still pulling the second through. A couple missiles came down and hit the red rope. The sheath was cut, a few white fibers bristled from the core, and a pinched bight of rope got a courtesy "D" on the bend test. We agreed that's what two ropes are for; press on! Since the hit was somewhere in the middle, we freely used both ropes early in pitches, but further out, tended to clip the blue only.

Crossing Broadway ledge to the Casual, I realize the name is a joke, and really should be Broadway Rubble Ramp, Slippery Slope to the Void. I'm grateful there's little snow and decide any future Diamond ventures will always be late season. We exchange greetings with Tom from Team D-W. Hammerless? Good luck!

There were two parties above us already. Hoping to beat out anticipated invaders from the north chimney approach, we didn't cross all the way to the 5.5 start pitch, but started up a closer dihedral on the right, which felt about 5.8/9. Midpitch, Mike saw a leader coming up the real p1, and though Mike was a bit higher, he graciously settled onto a stance to let him by. OK, we're in 4th, not 3rd.

Holy cow that is a scary missile sound! Holy crap that's a big rock!! The sound of impact is like a concussion wave with after shocks you feel on your face. Welcome to the Diamond. That experience, throughout the day, became less surreal only by repetition, but occasional cannon bombs were so big I wondered if this is ordinary and why people still climb here.

Following p1, two more guys, who I learn are Matt and Matt from Boulder, come up our corner. Matt asks how hard it is, I say harder than 5.5 for sure, and he decides to rope up. Good choice since he came up in a back pack cursing the unexpected 5.9 moves--he and I decide--but the other Matt maliciously downgrades it to 5.7. On my left comes the follower from the party of the True Pitch One, who turns out to be Alexander Blum, (currently seeking dirtbag tips in the General Climbing forum). He passes, and I join Mike at a cramped alcove down and left from where Alexander is hanging under the fixed P1 belay. We camp. And visit. And make small talk.



Alexander with time to work on his tan.



Same belay, getting anxious about traffic jams.

A brilliant sun that will power up to 98 in Denver warms us to a balmy 60 or so. What is TAKING so long? Alexander cranes his head around and reports his partner is across the traverse and waiting for a belay spot. Man! Precious hours of perfect weather are trickling by. Mike starts speculating about how long we can wait before it's too late. Alexander starts up the 5.9 p2 crack, and minutes later, I'm on it too.

Mike's an 11+ climber and has climbed the Diamond a few times before. I told him I'd like to lead the 5.9 and crux pitches, so I don't feel like baggage and know I earned the Diamond. Now it's time to find out if Eldo and the Flatirons help prepare for alpine walls. Yes!! The pitch is fun and comfortable, and except for my fast breathing, not very demanding. Excellent!! Linking p2 and 3, I head across the fabled traverse, and heeding Aaron Martinuzzi's advice on this thread not to get suckered high, I find all the pins and several good cam placements. Run-out, yes; a 3-piece pitch, no way.

During the pitch, I heard a few more missile whistles, but lighter, without the crack-boom rock-shock. Belaying just above my hang (belay seats are worth it--I don't care how padded your harness is, if it's a true hang, a butt-bag is far more comfortable and not too cumbersome in your pocket) Alexander shouts "We're in first place now!" The missiles were rap ropes from the two groups in front. We won't be filibustered off this cliff! But it's too late for the Boulder Matts who are sadly tossing their rope. Unbelievable. Maybe the best day of the year--a SATURDAY--and there are two parties left on Casual route. I feel some duty to finish just so everyone else's day seems less futile.

Now I can see the whole wall to my left and wow! It's big! Wow! There are a bunch of other parties! Wow, it looks like a window washer convention! Off to the left I see hot lavendar wear that looks familiar. "Kateri!?" Yes, KatA on Pervertical. As I shout a greeting, a voice from down and left shouts back. It's Sunny Jamshedji and Ross(?), on something discontinuous and intimidating. There are others further left, and to the right, team D-W is perched on a cool ledge.



Borrowed from Jeff G's photo post, because it gives the look and feel of the wall with people. The rightmost party is on Casual's classic corner.

I ponder the population explosion on the Diamond and wonder if it makes us safer or less safe. People are only 100' away, sometimes closer. They probably couldn't do much for me, but it feels more secure seeing and feeling them there. More secure? But I came here for adventure and challenge, and it's cloggier than a day on Redgarden in Eldorado! Shame on me for taking comfort in their presence. This is exactly what all the hard man veterans lament. Confused, I can't decide how to feel.

The sun disappears behind the summit edge, the wall darkens, the temperature drops, everyone dons extra layers and head covering, and suddenly it feels like late afternoon, even though it's about 11:30. The time illusion owes partly to our being locked tightly out of sun and warmth, and partly to the fact we've been going hard for 8 hours.

Mike leads the "short" 5.8 pitch up to the classic corner. Following, it feels longer than short and harder than 5.8. Somewhere on the pitch I transition from fresh and psyched to tired and dogged. Mike sees that and offers to lead the next pitch, which may take us to Yellow Wall bivy, and the crux pitch. But if I hand over the sharp end now, and I follow up to the crux, I'll come up too tired to want the lead. No. Better to lead now so I can rest before the crux.

Thirst is becoming a factor, too. Mike suggested carrying a liter each, which is about what others recommended. Y'all must be camels and I'm a salamander, because it wasn't near enough. A few swallows a pitch is more like death rations!

I hear Alex's partner above exclaiming what a beauty the corner is. Alex takes off. So do I, and wow, it *is* a classic that would merit 4 stars anywhere. Reports that it's sustained without rests are exaggerated; It's sustained with rests. Looking relentless, it offers little stems and stances every 10 or 15'.

Still, the thrill of the pitch competes with the growing pain of breathlessness and panting so hard my abs start to hurt. Landing on the nice foot ledge about 2/3 up, I surrender hopes of linking all the way to Yellow Wall or resting before the crux. I anchor and bring Mike up who leads up to Yellow bivy.

Now, I'm surprised to be crashing and struggle just to follow the rest of the corner. Alex and partner are out of sight and I wonder if they sped up or we're slowing down. At the ledge I say I'm toast. I won't regret it later. He can lead the crux. I have to be a better climber and/or in better shape to really enjoy this climb. Mike tries to encourage me and I rest a few minutes, but don't feel much better or change my mind. Somewhat to my surprise, Mike doesn't seem very eager to lead it either. In retrospect, I think we both just bonked against the altitude. It happens sometimes. I've had many good 14er days and a few bad 14er days, and this one was turning pretty tough. Mike led off, and told me, as the pic two or three below shows, he kept placing gear, because if he blacked out, he didn't want to fall far.

While Mike leads the pitch, I remember the mostly idle camera and whip it out for some shots. Below to my left, Sunny is cheerfully terrified and keeps referring to sacred excrement. Straight left, but out of sight and pic range, I'm afraid, Kat is calling her partner burly! and other terms of praise.



The tiny refuge of Yellow Wall bivy, with climbers in the background.


Sunny on sharp end, looking for passage; Ross more relaxed and having fun.

Time to climb. The 9+ shallow stem slot starts OK, but a few moves up, I'm heave-breathing so hard it feels like I'd throw up if there were anything in my stomach. Desperately clinging to the slot as if it were Naked Edge or one of the Zig Zags, I wonder if I'll be embarrassed later how trashed and useless I feel. Surprisingly, the notorious squeeze chimney didn't seem as bad as advertised, even with the pack dangling below on my daisy chain. However, as all efforts are starting to kill me after 30 seconds, I emerge from the slot to confront the crux and wonder if waterboarding would cause more agonizing oxygen panic than I'm feeling at the moment. I pull one move up, feel the grip losing, and announce I'm going to rest. After a hang, I pull over, and the difficulties--in theory--are below us.


Mike above the squeeze and below the crux.

As worry about time and approaching dark grow increasingly oppressive, I again took comfort from the rest of the Diamond convention. There will be others going down. If we're stuck on top, it won't be alone. Ha. I didn't realize everyone else was planning to rappel rather than top out.

The traverse to Table Ledge is vertically perched, airy, and non-trivial. I whined that I wasn't sure I could lead 5.8 at the moment, but Mike would have none of that. The pitch being straight horizontal, leading and following are no different anyway. At one point, the ledge thins to nothing, and an inobvious drop is the only path sideward. Mike called over to find a belay, because he thought Sunny J's partner was coming up from Yellow Bivy, and there was no room at his belay. I clipped the anchors at Almost Table Ledge and brought him over. Mike let slip he wasn't thrilled by my continuing tricam placements. But then, he needs more big stoppers on his rack. :)


Another borrowed pic, showing the traverse to Table Ledge, 2,000' above Chasm Lake.

Mike led up to Table, across, and around the shoulder to Kieners.

Yes we had slowed down. It was 7:00pm, we were both dehydrated and talking with thick tongues, with our meager quart each since the raps almost 13 hours before, and now we were racing dark to find the eyebolts on the North Face descent. The final 500'(?) of Kieners are a mean trick on exhausted, dehydrated climbers. Every time I tried to hurry, it felt like I started to black out, so I stayed slow. The top steepens just enough that you have to pick your way carefully not to climb into a jam.

Rounding the top was extraordinary. We were at the summit of Longs Peak all alone. It was warm, mostly clear, and mild. Somehow, a few wispy clouds generated rain on us. The sunset over the continental divide was amazing but we barely noticed in our hurry for the descent anchors. Passing a few snow fields, I scraped a handful and tried to suck the water out. It didn't really work and just chilled my head and throat unbearably without releasing much water.

We stumbled on and down. At near dark, Mike called out he found the bolt. The two raps on loose, low angle rock produced all the customary tangles, delays and hassles. In the pitch dark, our landing spot looked as steep as what we had rapped and we weren't sure we were down. We looked for another eyebolt, or anywhere for anchors. As I gathered the ropes, Mike explored around, and called out "Sweet! We're at the packs!" But neither of us had water. Mike had iodine though. We loaded up and we aimed down.

We had an endless stumble downslope to the Boulder field and couldn't find the stream. Walking on dry moss, we wondered if it was gone for the season already. Then we heard burbling under the rocks, but still couldn't find water. Finally, we found a shallow puddle flow, dipped our water bottles, and Mike dropped in his precious tablets. Then he read the instructions to wait 30 minutes. I waited about 5. He waited 20. Anyone know any preemptive remedies for Giardia exposure?

About 11, we headed home for good. The trek from the Boulder Field to the Ranger Station has never been bumpier or more miserable. We hit the car about 1:30 am. A mile or two to before that, we started crossing the first hikers going up. One asked: "Are you two giving up already?"

On the dark drive home, we talked politics. That helped keep Mike too angry to fall asleep.

Great pictures, interesting trip report. Climbing at altitude is awesome.

Sounds like a big big day! Your description of Upper Keiner's - "a mean trick on exhausted, dehydrated climbers" - is pretty accurate. My partner and I carried a bit more water and weren't dehydrated, but it definitely took more effort to tag the summit than I would have liked to expend after a big day of climbing.

Sounds like you had a good time, anyway - funny, epic days like those only make me want more...

Nice Job Shawn! Attempted the Casual Route on Friday and had to bail on the 4th pitch due to traffic. Clayton and I were the 2nd party on Directissima on Saturday.

Education can make you very tired.......

LOLOLOLOLOLOLLLLLOLLLLLLLLL

Nice Trip Report.....

Excellent trip report!!!!

Great report!

Thanks for the shouts. Thanks for the wake up quack and push to get the TR done, Gigi. :)

Everyone beam positive energy toward the Diamond. MPer and Eldorado Resource Dude Mike McHugh and partner Wyatt were up on the Diamond today. And who knows what conditions are right now...

Go McHuge!

Shawn thanks for the report, it was great. I was curious how it went as I'm probably at a similar level and am itching to get up there sometime.

I thought we had an epic day a year ago. From your TR it would seem it was typical of most people's first day on the diamond. We basically had the same story, reaching the summit at 7 pm. We opted for the crack of delight rappels which changed into the Chimney of darkness and non-delight. Got to the bottom of the wall at around 7 am. Best climb I ever did. Good work.

Excellent!

McHuge went.
McHuge sent.
Shiny Diamond made no dent!

Well? Details, details!
Btw dude, I was at Eldo at 6:30am. Where were you?

Great story, Shawn, and thanks to all for sharing a taste of their experiences. It's a good thing to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly of climbing adventures. It seems every time one embarks on an adventurous climb, they learn something new; about weather patterns, the climb, the moves, their survival skills, pain threshold, what makes them tick, their body, and soul, their partners, and about life, which climbers are full of!

Climb on, y'all! : )

EDIT: A NSFOD sighting? Are you sure? This isn't another Big Foot, or Loch Ness monster story, is it? I'm suspicious because your photo is blurry. You're probably going to try, and tell me he was talking crack to you too huh?

Cool report Shawn!

Sorry you got squeezed off the Diamond, Supra. How was the Directissima?

How would you say it compares to Casual Route, Shawn?

good work shawn. quite an adventure.
i had a somewhat similar experience with my first time on the diamond.

Congratulations, Mike, on a cruise. Well done.

Calirado wrote:Cool report Shawn! Sorry you got squeezed off the Diamond, Supra. How was the Directissima? How would you say it compares to Casual Route, Shawn?

NO regrets at all! I got four great pitches outta the Casual and Directissima was Awesome! Super Classic! Exciting from the first pitch all the way to the end.

Hey Suprasoup, forgot to mention. Judging by your pics, I think I admired your progress on Directissima Saturday. It was cool watching you move up the sunny wall!

How often are you in Colorado?

Shawn Mitchell wrote:Hey Suprasoup, forgot to mention. Judging by your pics, I think I admired your progress on Directissima Saturday. It was cool watching you move up the sunny wall! How often are you in Colorado?

It was actually my first time climbing in RMNP and I'm definitely hooked. I'm planning a couple more trips to CO in the next month or two. I think my buddy mentioned something about doing Wunsch's Dihedral on Cynical Pinnacle in October.

Shawn Mitchell wrote: It was cool watching you move up the sunny wall!

You were probably watching as I ran out the entire last pitch stopping only to clip that manky 1/4" bolt halfway through the pitch. SPICY!!