Crag & Route Beta

Author	watch tower crack?
ntm 22-Mar-2011 9:22:22 PM	watch tower crack,what does it take to do it? i m sure that exposier is huge how should i go about it?
tnd 22-Mar-2011 9:33:25 PM	keep doin climbing moves upwards until you reech the top
ntm 22-Mar-2011 9:54:38 PM	haha tell me something that i don t know!
rolsen1 22-Mar-2011 10:10:43 PM	On 22/03/2011 ntm wrote: >watch tower crack,what does it take to do it? >i m sure that exposier is huge >how should i go about it? The exposure is great you will love it. Having one big cam (C4 size 4 is just big enough) helps a fair bit but you can live without. Climbing past the third belay and clipping the bolt and then lowering back down eliminates the chance of a fall factor 2 onto the 3rd belay also means you can place your big cam after the bolt. A size 4 is probably not big enough to go before the bolt off the last belay? There is probably only 20 metres or so of at the grade climbing the rest is much easier.
kieranl 22-Mar-2011 10:19:15 PM	On 22/03/2011 rolsen1 wrote: >Having one big cam (C4 size 4 is just big enough) helps a fair bit but >you can live without. Climbing past the third belay and clipping the bolt >and then lowering back down eliminates the chance of a fall factor 2 onto >the 3rd belay also means you can place your big cam after the bolt. A size >4 is probably not big enough to go before the bolt off the last belay? > C4 won't go before the bolt on the last pitch. 6" tube will but most people don't have one. A loan of one can be arranged if you ask nicely. Just don't burden yourself with a huge rack. 1 set of cams and wires is enough as the 2 difficult pitches are fairly short.
rockotter 22-Mar-2011 11:14:47 PM	If you run the 3rd and 4th pitches together, tight on 50m doubles, easy on 60m tho', you don't risk any factor 2 falls and it makes it all the more exciting. My Austrian second on his 2nd climbing day after 10 years was wrapt, quote "I was using the chicken wing it waas so old school". Think he enjoyed it more than me ; ) Take a big cam!
Olbert 23-Mar-2011 5:01:07 AM	On 22/03/2011 rolsen1 wrote: >On 22/03/2011 ntm wrote: >>watch tower crack,what does it take to do it? >>i m sure that exposier is huge >>how should i go about it? > >The exposure is great you will love it. > >Having one big cam (C4 size 4 is just big enough) helps a fair bit but >you can live without. Climbing past the third belay and clipping the bolt >and then lowering back down eliminates the chance of a fall factor 2 onto >the 3rd belay also means you can place your big cam after the bolt. A size >4 is probably not big enough to go before the bolt off the last belay? > > >There is probably only 20 metres or so of at the grade climbing the rest >is much easier. I remember the wide crack in the middle of the third pitch may be too big for a #4 Camalot (correct me if I'm wrong). I have done it, though, without a cam big enough - you just gotta be comfortable doing a small runnout. Have a blast!
Wendy 23-Mar-2011 7:53:23 AM	Did anyone mention bolt plates? I haven't heard any controversy suggesting the carrots have been replaced by rings. Take a 5 camalot. The 4 will be too small from maybe the middle of the 3rd pitch. If you like lots of gear, take 2. Either way, you'll probably be shuffling them once you clip the bolts.
egosan 23-Mar-2011 9:23:15 AM	Wow, Wendy, you and I think and climb very differently. I can't imagine shuffling #5s up that crack. A big part of the fun of that climb is the mandatory big run outs (Well Mandatory if you don't take 2 #5s up the damn thing). I realize that this doesn't surprise you, Wendy. I however have the capacity to be surprised over and over.
Wendy 23-Mar-2011 9:32:06 AM	I purposefully take my big cams just for the pleasure of placing them Sol! Why own these things if you never use them? As the first bit of the climb is relatively easy, you don't need much else for the whole climb, I could zip up WC on a few wires, maybe a mid sized cam, some bolt plates and draws and every big cam i own. Surely you can see the perverse pleasure in only taking your biggest gear up the route?
nmonteith 23-Mar-2011 9:43:09 AM	I find if you bring your big cams then you end up climbing routes that require them - and these sort of routes usually aren't pretty! Not bringing them is good excuse to climb something more pleasant. However Watch Tower crack is not the usual painful offwidth - its really fun with lots of face holds and no knee wedging.
Wendy 23-Mar-2011 9:58:47 AM	Neil, I'm devastated that you have abandoned the fold of wide crack affictionados! Moving to NSW must have softened you up. How could you forget the joys of offwidths so quickly?
nmonteith 23-Mar-2011 10:13:09 AM	To drag this topic totally off topic - can anyone suggest any good offwidths in NSW? I recently did a good one at the Cathedral - although it was entirely retrobolted so was more about the laybacking and stemming than jamming inside the crack.
skink 23-Mar-2011 10:16:03 AM	On 23/03/2011 davidn wrote: >I couldn't parse the bit about 'joys of offwidths'. > >Neil is right - the only good offwidth is one you can layback or otherwise >ignore through face holds etc. Once your body enters the crack, you know >it's going to be a bad day. Yep, the joys of specialisation. Makes you (and your crew) think you are a better climber than you actually are.
wallwombat 23-Mar-2011 10:48:09 AM	On 23/03/2011 nmonteith wrote: >To drag this topic totally off topic - can anyone suggest any good offwidths >in NSW? I recently did a good one at the Cathedral - although it was entirely >retrobolted so was more about the laybacking and stemming than jamming >inside the crack. There's a nasty one at Mount York. Cant remember the name.
HM33 23-Mar-2011 11:01:58 AM	On 23/03/2011 nmonteith wrote: >To drag this topic totally off topic - can anyone suggest any good offwidths >in NSW? I recently did a good one at the Cathedral - although it was entirely >retrobolted so was more about the laybacking and stemming than jamming >inside the crack. shufflepuff at thompsons point
nmonteith 23-Mar-2011 11:13:00 AM	I love Shufflepuff! Its one of my favorite routes at Nowra.
Wendy 23-Mar-2011 11:13:42 AM	On 23/03/2011 nmonteith wrote: >To drag this topic totally off topic - can anyone suggest any good offwidths >in NSW? I recently did a good one at the Cathedral - although it was entirely >retrobolted so was more about the laybacking and stemming than jamming >inside the crack. that's better, you're back on track now. I wasn't really an offwidth queen when I lived in NSW - I hadn't digressed from the simpler sized crack yet. But Telstar has a bombay chimney, the lower part of Janicepts is quite wide, Amen Corner has some breadth to it and the second pitch of Catch the Wind is gloriously 3 dimensional. I have fond memories of Haystack Madness as well, but I think that's more 3 dimensional than fat. Surely Piddington would have a few other offerings? And to those softies complaining about offwidths AGAIN ... learn some technique and develop some gumption!
bones 23-Mar-2011 11:18:31 AM	On 23/03/2011 davidn wrote: >the only good offwidth is one you can layback or otherwise >ignore through face holds etc. No way, I'd much rather be thrutching in a crack than laybacking it. Placing gear in a crack I'm laybacking is about the scariest move in climbing for me!
Wendy 23-Mar-2011 11:23:58 AM	On 23/03/2011 davidn wrote: >Not saying I don't climb em, just saying they make climbing gloriously >inefficient. Which sucks. I reckon I can meander far more efficiently and stylishly up Electra in the crack than you could laybacking it. It'd be silly to try and layback it! Same goes for most offwidths except things like Layback and Think of England, in a corner with a sharp edge.

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