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| Hike & Climb | |
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| | Hike & Climb | | 3 Days | | |
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| Onsight II R • 5.7 Sandstone Good • 300 Feet 3 Pitches | | |
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| no partners | | | Pro: Single Rack and set of nuts. BD .3-4 (a 5 will protect OW crack at beginning of pitch two). | This was another hard earned and rewarding Grand Canyon summit. Shelby, Carlos and Pernell teamed up with me for this one.
Day 1:
Hiked into the first overhang camp in Upper Phantom Canyon via the Utah Flats Route and the South Kaibab Trails. Heavy packs was the theme of day one. We carried in a set of twin 70m ropes, a 60m rope and two full racks of protection to go along with the rest of our climbing gear and three days worth of food and supplies.
Day 2:
From the overhang camp we headed up stream to the point where we would exit the creek area and begin our cross country jaunt towards Sturdevant Wash. We then walked up Sturdevant Wash to its steep beginnings and the break in the redwall at the saddle between Schellbach Butte and Buddha. A ridgeline then took us to the point where we would start traversing towards Buddha. The Supai blocks access to the base of Buddha and requires someone to climb on lead. Originally, we had planned to do the W Face route, but the approach took longer than expected so we decided on the more "sure thing" standard route on the SE corner.
The Climb:
I led the first pitch with a plan of swapping leads at each belay station. The first pitch is a series of short climbs with ok protection and some spicy traverses along some exposed ledges to reach the end of the pitch. The belay station is at a large pine tree that should be pretty easy to spot, climbers left. The belay station proved to be a little small for four climbers so for the sake of keeping our climb going efficiently, I began leading the second pitch with Shelby on belay. Meanwhile, Pernell pulled up Carlos. The second pitch starts with an OW crack that climbs easy, but is hard to protect. A number five will go down low, but its run out to the top. From the top of the crack start, a large ledge brings you over to a sandstone slab face that has an overhanging flake on its left side that creates a chimney like feature. The slab climbs about 5.7-5.8, but takes no pro and is very run out. Two pitons would be a nice edition to this section of the second pitch. From the belay station at the top of pitch two, I could see the start of the short third pitch. I decided to link the third pitch with the second and just finish off the climb for us. Unfortunately, my rope ended up being about ten feet too short and I was stuck making an intermediate belay to bring up Carlos to lead belay me to the top and bring up the others. From there it was just a matter of getting everyone up to the top of the final climbing pitch. A short scramble and a low fifth class chimney were the final obstacle to reaching the summit, which was a turn and burn summit due to the lateness in the day. Two adventure raps down our climbing route got us to the bottom. The return to camp was tedious at times. We were able to get our final rap in just as darkness set in, but it was headlamps from the top of the redwall all the way back to camp. After nearly exactly 16 hours we were back at camp. An absolute meat grinder of a day.
Day 3:
Hiked out the way we hiked in. Seven hours and 15 minutes from the overhang camp to the south rim.
Final Notes:
A great summit and a great team to do it with. We suffered together a little Saturday evening, but it was all laughs and high spirits most of the weekend. A memorable three days in the Grand Canyon backcountry for sure.
27th Grand Canyon summit. |
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