AR Ramblings

Cracker Jack (5.8) at Table Rock is a climb that has been on my tick list for a long time. I overheard a conversation several years ago that led me to believe it was a bit of a sandbag. It also looks like it has a significant amount of off-width and/or chimney in the upper sections of the climb. A sandbagged, off-width 2nd pitch just isn’t my idea of a good time, so I’ve always gone to other routes.

This past weekend, I met up with Lewis and made up my mind that it was finally time to send this sucker. I’d never even been to the base of this climb, but it was easy to find and the line was pretty obvious once we got there. The first pitch was rated 5.7 in the book, but it had a few route choices along the way that allowed you to make it easier or harder. I was feeling “tuned in” and decided to take the harder path in a couple of spots and found some fun sequences along the way.

It took me a couple of minutes to figure out where I was going to put the belay anchor (based on the gear I had left). I ended up placing a #4 Camelot (#5 in the new C4 style, I think) in the large flaring crack of the 2nd pitch start, and also found a tri-cam and and smaller (0.5-0.75) Camelot placement.

The very first move at the base is a bit of a bouldering move. I couldn’t see from the belay, but I think Lewis had a fun first try at it! He’d been able to give me a spot on it, but with over a 100′ of rope out, he didn’t have as much of a belay once stretch is taken into account. Despite what sounded like a rough start, he quickly cleaned the first pitch, and I re-racked for the second one.

The start of the second pitch (in the picture, at right) was fun and led to a nice stance below another huge, flaring chimney. This second chimney system was super intimidating and looked much more difficult than it actually was. I spent a minute or two trying to figure out the best way to attack it, before I moved into the narrow part and carefully stemmed my way up. Once I had started, things felt much more secure and comfortable.

At the top, Lewis commented that there wasn’t much pro in the big chimney, but it seemed sufficient to me. I was squeezed in there pretty tightly. If I’d fallen, I would have either had enough friction to catch myself and recover, or been subjected to some serious cheese grater action. I had just hoped for the former and kept moving. Just as I started to get into a groove and enjoy myself in the chimney, the climb topped out. I was disappointed that the pitch had ended so quickly, but was rewarded with an awesome view of the Linville Gorge.

Cracker Jack is reasonably rated (IMO), and one of the more rewarding and fun climbs I’ve done at Table Rock. This one is going on my “must-do” and “favorites” list for the area. I only wish I’d gotten around to climbing it sooner.

Next, we started on Hidden Crack. Lewis had swung leads on it a couple weeks previous and wanted to lead the ones he’d seconded. The first pitch seemed longer than the guidebook says and Lewis exclaimed that he’d run out of slings about 2/3rds up the pitch. The party a couple of routes over, who knew Lewis, recognized this phrase as being Lewis’s notorious “super power”. It seems that any time Lewis runs out of slings on a climb, a rain storm will shortly follow.

Sure enough, the sky quickly turned gray, winds picked up, and the rain hit us just as he reached the anchors. I was unable to hear him due to the rain and had to run around the cliff and scramble to a better vantage point. Since there were no signs of lightning, we decided to get another rope and that I would climb up to him in the rain. The only other option would have been to fix the rope and come back later. Climbing in the rain was pretty easy though (thankfully the pitch was only 5.7). I cleaned the pitch and we bailed with no problems.

We later heard that two or three nearby parties had overheard Lewis’s comment, and ALL of them predicted immediate rain! I didn’t learn of his “super power” until it was all over, but next time I guarantee that I’ll be bringing extra slings, and forcing Lewis to carry them!

More pics from the trip are in the Photo section.