John Ely > Comments

Nov 13, 2022 Carderock > Hades Heights > Silver Spot (5.12+ 7c 28 IX 27 E6 6b) Chris Hupe from Haelle in eastern Germany does Silver Spot on her third try. ● Probably won't reappear, but also apparently he is about to get out of jail. Worth keeping an eye out. An… View Comment
Aug 6, 2022 Carderock > Hades Heights > Green Bucket (5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a) young woman top-roping on Green Bucket circa 1975, or there about. Shoes are "PA"s (Pierre Allains) and the female climber's name is unknown to me. Scanned from an old color print so color of photo- in particular the background- has shifted to an inacurrate hue with time. looking for a similar shot that is a slide and better composition; not a copy. ● no they are ebs. No PA had a square sole like that, they were black shiet rubber with crappy red shoe strin… View Comment
Aug 6, 2022 Carderock > Hades Heights Hades Heights \| 9253 V3 ● The new word for Cripples is Pincushion. They are synonyms if there is any confusion. View Comment
Jul 11, 2022 Europe > Albania Theth ● Route histories and descriptions for the routes on Arapit from 7-18 pitches all found on 'summit post', ind… View Comment
Jul 11, 2022 Europe > Albania > Bovilla > Lake Side Sector John's Idee 5.9 ● I did the FA. It got called after me because I kept telling the crew the best place to climb near the capi… View Comment
Jan 7, 2022 Seneca Rocks > S Peak - W Face > S Peak W Face (Main A… Conn's West 5.4 ● This was my first day of lead climbing circa 1976. A guy with a VW bug which we started by pushing backwar… View Comment
Dec 20, 2021 Europe > Albania > Bovilla > Lake Side Sector Chris Riss 5.10c ● Chris Hupe from Halle Germany did this one, so it also called Chris Crack. That's Risse in German. Fine… View Comment
Dec 1, 2021 Carderock > Hades Heights Hades Heights \| 9573 5.10c ● It is irritating that the names of the excellent sketches for this route do not match the ('new'?) name as… View Comment
May 23, 2021 Gunks > Trapps > g. V3 - Middle… > V-3 (5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b) P3 of V-3 ● Don't forget Pitch Three! View Comment
May 23, 2021 Gunks > Trapps > g. V3 - Middle Earth On Any Monday 5.11a ● I never would have done the crux, but it didn't help that Richard Williams and his backpack showed up just… View Comment
May 23, 2021 Gunks > Sky Top Sound and Fury 5.9- ● best 5.8 in a gunks that is packed with this grade. Did someone above say it is a fucking shame? Also rem… View Comment
May 23, 2021 Cannon Cliff > Moby Grape Area Moby Grape 5.8 PG13 ● Ok so I'm just complaining because Mountain Project algorithms has described this as the best 5.8 in north… View Comment
May 23, 2021 Shenandoah & NW… > Shenandoah NP > Old Rag > Skyline Wall (P… > Dobie Gillis Route (5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c) Dobie Gillis. A rather notorious ascent which started out normal but ended up in Accidents in North American Mountaineering. ● Just for the record on this one since I mentioned association accident reports, of this which is a notewort… View Comment
May 22, 2021 Yosemite NP > … > Lower Merced Ri… > At. Reed's Pinn… > Reed's Pinnacle > Reed's Pinnacle-Direc… (5.10a 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a) The money second pitch, from the Parking area. ● It gets wider at the top as I recall, since most of my members were weak by then..... View Comment
May 22, 2021 Harper's Ferry > Maryland Height… > Sign Wall Hawk's Aerie ('D' Route) 5.5 ● Chalk in the wind caught me out describing the rap descent. I hope I have fixed it. View Comment
Apr 21, 2020 Yosemite NP > … > Valley N Side > B. El Capitan > 2. Southwest Face > Shield (5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c C3 PG13) Looking down at the Bivy on the bolts between the Groove and the Triple cracks. The Groove is visible below ond right of the Bivy. Shot is from half way up the first Triple Crack. June 1980 ● Remember this one from the same year. Had made a second spreader bar for my forrest hammock. Apparently… View Comment
Oct 11, 2019 Europe Faroe Islands ● found this informative video on the Faroe Islands climbing.com/videos/short-f… View Comment
Dec 23, 2018 Carderock Geoff Fararr, aka Carderock Geoff, picking his way up Nubbin Face on Hades Heights in Dec. 2013 - a routine of his for many decades. Geoff showed all of us the holds and tricks of this, his local rock, year in and year out, like the seasons. Now it is up to his friends to keep up his tradition, at least as well as we are able. ● John Gregory reminded us that the 28th of Dec. is the fifth anniversary of Geoff's untimely murder. We sti… View Comment
Oct 10, 2017 Washington, DC ● I've lived in DC for a while and have looked around. It's amazing how much of the stone work is so… View Comment
Oct 8, 2017 Vaso Island ● 'wading' across the river is technically illegal under the rules prohibiting swimming in the Potoma… View Comment
Oct 8, 2017 Carderock > Jam Box Jam Box 5.10+ ● First ascent by Chris Scoredos. One of the earlier 5.10s on the east coast, albeit top roped. Holds have… View Comment
Oct 8, 2017 Carderock > Hades Heights Silver Spot 5.12+ ● Used to be 5.10 back in the old guide books. Hee Hee. View Comment
Apr 23, 2017 Paul Ross > him More Unclimbed ● Which probably means this stuff would need mixed tools to climb properly, along the lines of the White Clif… View Comment
Jan 27, 2016 Carderock > Hades Heights Triple A 5.8 ● In my experience, most people begin by climbing the face just to the left of the flake. A bit easier that… View Comment
Jan 27, 2016 Southern Arizona > Cochise Stronghold > W Stronghold > Behind Sweet Rock (Pe… Peanut 5 5.8 ● Presently missing one of the top anchor bolts, but easy to shift to the peanut just left... View Comment
Aug 20, 2015 Gunks > Near Trapps > d. Closure to Harvest… Catnip 5.6 ● Short and sweet. Williams calls this 'G', and with a small regular stopper of any sort well placed, that's… View Comment
Aug 19, 2015 Gunks > Near Trapps > a. Beginning of cliff… Outer Space 5.8 PG13 ● Yeah, it is very 5.8 just clipping the first pin, though more height would help. Before doing so, it is po… View Comment
Aug 19, 2015 Carderock > Jungle Cliffs Beginner's Crack 5.3 ● Use extreme care with lead gear at Carderock. The Gniess is hard but brittle, and the irregularity of the… View Comment
Aug 19, 2015 Gunks > Near Trapps > d. Closure to Harvest… Left meets Right 5.8- ● More of an extended boulder problem with pro, but fun anyway. Easy for the grade. View Comment
Nov 2, 2014 Carderock > Hades Heights Incipient 5.10a/b ● It's a 'Carderock' rating. Done 'purely', with the crimpers right around the crack above the overhang, the… View Comment
Aug 25, 2014 Gunks > Trapps > j. The Yellow Wall &… Airy Aria 5.8 ● I agree with Eric G above. One has to be careful to protect the second pitch for the second or its pg13 at… View Comment
Aug 21, 2014 Gunks > Trapps > c. Frog's Head - the… Twisted Sister 5.8 ● I put a smallish tcu in the slot to protect the crux, but looking at it to scootch it in properly was quite… View Comment
Jun 8, 2014 Europe > … 1 > Eryri NP > Llanberis Pass > N Side > Dinas Cromlech Cemetery Gates 5.9+ ● Watch the original ascent team, Brown and Whillans, climb this circa 1984 on YouTube: 'Don Whillans' Last C… View Comment
Apr 8, 2014 Carderock > Jungle Cliffs Elsie's Other 5.7 ● This is '5.7' if you cut left about half-way up. Continuing straight up the groove in which the route begi… View Comment
Apr 2, 2014 Joshua Tree NP > Central Joshua… > Barker Dam Area > Lakeside Rock > Lakeside Rock - W Face Parental Guidance Suggested 5.8 ● I don't want to start an argument with Artem, but as I recall - see the beta pics - it is easy to get a cou… View Comment
Nov 16, 2013 Great Falls - Marylan… Spitzbergen ● Yes, though of course jumping into the River is illegal, and people are cited with regularity.... View Comment

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John Ely > Comments

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