On Sunday Miriam and I had what Steve would call an adventure. Desperate to climb after weeks without, I ignored the forecast and drove up anyway. It wasn’t raining when we got there and the sky was uniformly overcast in a way that suggested it could easily stay that way all day.

I wanted to do something new, so I searched for the guidebook for a 5.7 with stars I hadn’t been on. There weren’t any 7’s, 7+’s or 8-‘s with stars I hadn’t done except at Skytop or Millbrook or with PG-13 or worse ratings. I guess I’ve gotten around a little better than I realized. So I ended up on the closest 6+ with stars I hadn’t done: Raubenheimer’s Special. It’s right off the Uberfall. I imagine the reasons I haven’t done it before are twofold: it’s always busy, and it’s a 5.6. Well, Sunday wasn’t exactly crowded, so we found it free.

I was paused below the crux, a little unclear on whether I was at the crux of a 6+ or completely off-route, when a guide came up and offered me beta. I asked him to confirm that I was on the 6+ and he said it was more of a 7. It didn’t seem like the time to brag about the 10s I’ve led, so I took the beta and made the improbably balancey move. After the move it took some breathless jiggling to get to a spot where I could reach holds and place gear. That’s a necky 5.6.

As I was lowering off, the guide (now already atop Betty) was conferring with his clients about whether they should stay or go. A drop had fallen, perhaps two. I figured it could go on like that for hours and maybe never rain at all. I was wrong. Within moments of my hitting the ground, before the shoes were even off, it was pouring. Poor Miriam climbed through ever-worsening conditions to the crux where we pulled her through using a combination of finesse (hers) and brute force (mine). She finished and cleaned the anchor as quickly as she could and we took a soggy walk back to the car.

Then we did what climbers have historically done when it rains: we hiked. We walked to Split Rock and from there to Lost City. At Lost City the rock was inexplicably dry. If we’d had gear, we could have climbed. Lost City Crack looked great. We hiked happily back, thinking we had some more climbing ahead of us, but as we went along reality started to set in. The rock was dry but our gear was soaked. Miriam’s shoes and harness especially wouldn’t be wearable again for days.

After trying to sun dry our shoes in the rear window of the car while we ate lunch, we finally gave up and headed home. If we hadn’t gotten so wet we probably could have snuck a couple more pitches in that afternoon. On the other hand, it started raining almost as soon as we left, so perhaps we only missed the chance to get wet for a second time.

with Miriam:
Raubenheimer’s Special, 5.6+ (Dawn)