Stranger Than Paradise

This climb was done in the 1980's. Oct 9, 2006

According to a lot of local hardmen it had never seen a free ascent until Jason's. Oct 9, 2006

I wish I could say who it was, but my memory for casual conversations with people I barely know is limited to within less than 15 years. I talked to a guy at miguel's in the early 90's who, in the context of doing hard climbs at the gorge, clained to have done it. He was climbing other hard stuff, so it seemed likely enough. The Hackworth guide which we were all using at the time implied that the route had been done. If my 20-year-old memory of such is correct, Hackworth even gave the beta as a dyno to a hand-jam. So there was no reason to "Report" and ascent or make a big deal of it at that time.

Jason is my climbing partner and my friend. I am not trying to belittle his accomplishment, I'm just saying I think it has been done. Oct 9, 2006

I did not actually submit this climb to the database as it indicates, but I did make a free ascent of the route in January of 2005. I do not have any information about others climbing it before me but I would believe it. Someone had installed a single bolt anchor before I began working the route and all the hardmen that I knew of at the time had given the route a go but never actually freed it. The information I was going on was based off of the late John Bronough, former guidebook author (Rest in piece buddy) who told me personally that no one had climbed the route cleanly. That's not to say that it hadn't been done, I have not been climbing in the Red for 20 years so maybe the old generation of hardmen had ticked it. As a side note, it is a short line that stays dry in the rain, but is very far from any other routes and does not have many good warm up routes near it. The top has a frustratingly low percentage move on it. Oct 9, 2006

Oh, and for gear, ballnuts are key Oct 9, 2006

When this route first appeared on line, it had a designation of having been submitted by Chris Chaney. He's also the admin for the area on-line, so he must have switched the submission to your name. Don't know why. Oct 10, 2006