Nevermore

Looking back, it seems a hair-brained thing to do. The guidebook said "A perfect place to have an epic",but I wasn't detered. I had put some thought and effort into being prepared. I picked up a chest harness and a Croll at the gear store days before. I would fix my rope at the top ,rappel down and climb back up.Some pitches traverse a little but I wasn't worried about that as much as the fact that ,the day I went to do Nevermore, I was without a partner.It's hard to dig up a partner on a Wednesday with short notice. I don't think I have climbed alone since.

The walk up the decrepit road to the top was hot sticky and seemed to take forever. I wasn't in a hurry but the heat was getting oppressive,so I took my time At the top I walked around on the summit and enjoyed the exposure. The top of the crack is easy enough to find, and I sat down and drained one of my drinks,before rigging my rope to a 2 point anchor consisting of some slings to a solid tree and one of the railing posts. I tossed down the rope and checked that it was on the ground at the bottom. It seemed weird not yelling ,"rope",but there was no one around so it was pointless. I was alone on top. I sat down and thought about it some more and triple checked my set up before descending. The route is 4 or 5 pitches and the book says 200 feet, but it wanders back and forth a bit so I had 15 or 20 feet of a 60 meter rope left on the ground when I got to the bottom.
There is a small tree growing out of the third pitch. Looking up at the route I wished I had left the rope on the right of the tree instead of left. The first pitch is an interesting looking short chimney and I started up after donning my chest harness setup.The moves were fun and having a rope above me was reassuring. At the top of the chimney the route traverses along a handcrack and because of the rope being on the wrong side of the tree, if I fell it was going to whip me way off to the left. I started across and was doing well until I reached, a little off balance, for a bush limb and it popped right off! In a split second I tossed it and grabbed a better one,before I came off the rockface.The jolt of adrenaline that went through me had to be one of the most intense I have ever felt .I used it to get across the traverse and up to the tree where I rested."Ok that could have been bad, but your fine", I told myself. The rope above me seemed to go on forever up to a bulge and out of sight above it. I checked my setup again and started up the crack. More enjoyable climbing on rock that hadn't seen a climber in years. Adventure climbing still gets me going, there's just something about trade routes that see traffic every day that makes the experience seem sterile.This trip was turning out to be everything I had hoped for. I just needed to keep my head together and not screw up again.
I pulled the crux of the third pitch after a false start and found myself on a spacious ledge. The route takes off again to the far right of this ledge. I wandered over to a boulder with anchors and a rats nest of ancient webbing and cord, where I sat down and pulled out a smoke. The exposure from there is stunning. I sat for awhile and watched cars on the other side of the river... I wondered if they could even see me up here? I was alone. Part of me was enjoying it and the other part was terrified.The guidebook says something about 3 bolts at the start of the next pitch. I looked un till I found the first one. A rusty small bolt with a nut on it and no hanger. I deemed it useless and too far right of where my rope ran up to the bulge above the roof of my ledge. Not wanting to risk a big swing again at this height ,I rigged up a sling on my foot to an ascender about as high as my reach. I would jug this part of the route. I tested it and found that It was going to put me out over the edge of the ledge,hanging in space when I started off. This was unnerving for some reason so I sat back down and had another cigarette. and then two. I was still miserably hot and getting thirsty. It occurred to me that the rope above could saw on sharp edges as I jugged it, And there's the swinging out over the edge thing. I checked my equipment for a fourth time and made a false start. I was just plain scared to move and feeling very alone. If I died up here no one would find me for months. I sat down again and had another smoke. A half hour went by. The sun crept over the top and the ledge got shade so I waited.
I heard a strange buzzing noise,like a bee or something. What the heck? I look over and there is a hummingbird! He just buzzes around a scraggly tree on the ledge not 10 feet from me. I sat very still and just watched him. In a second he was strait up and gone. I thought "I wish I could do that!" It must have calmed and inspired me because I started up the rope and it wasn't bad at all. Once on the bulge I swung over to the last crack and jammed my way up until I thought the swing would be bad. The last pitch angles left about 30 feet from vertical and my rope was down the middle, so I jugged the last several feet.This pitch is pretty stellar and I wish I hadn't missed so much of it ,but I stayed on the safe side.
As soon as I got my hand around the railing a huge feeling of relief came over me. I hopped the rail ,unhooked and went for the water bottle. I was still in one piece,and I had done what I went to do. I sat there a long while and enjoyed the view from the top. What I enjoy most about climbing is the view from on top. It just has to be earned.
Jesse New 2003