Ynot West Virginia?

The Climber Gnome

pictures by Chris Johnson

DAY ONE AND TWO

It started raining on the way to Columbus.The plan was, meet Chris at his house, and take 70 to West Virginia. He worked a 12 in the ICU so I drove the 5 hours to Elkins,WV. It rained the whole way since we were going east with the rain. It was still raining when we pulled into Princess Snowbird Campground. We fished out the headlamps and set up tents in the rain. I crawled into my bag and slept OK. I was cold but glad to be back at Seneca Rocks. It was just above freezing that night. I didn't even try to make coffee the next morning. We were cold and damp so we headed to town, just across the river, for breakfast. The road was dry so we figured the rock would be too. We lounged around till 11 or so before we got to the parking lot. The visitor center is closed untill May 1 so we went back to town to fill the water bottles. It's not far. The water had a strong Clorox smell and taste. We later found the water at the climbing school was much better. For some reason we racked up at the base of my project route, Exstasy. I guess because it's one of the first ones on the south end. Totem would have been a nice warm up instead, but we started up it with Chris leading the first pitch. He belayed after the first 30 feet on a nice ledge so we broke pitch one into two. I finished it at around 100 feet off the ground. The next pitch takes off up and right. I lead again. I had good info on leading off from the belay ledge. I found the proper crack and climbed up. I liked it alot so far. Then the crack disapeared on me. There was a clear trail of chaulk going up and to the right across the face so I followed the chaulk wich luckily wasn't washed off by rain. There was gear here and there and I was OK untill Chris was no longer visible and the climbing got tougher maybe 60 feet from the belay. We had radios to comunicate with but I wasn't about to let go with one hand. The climbing was dead vertical, so moving was balancy. I got to a tough move I wasn't sure I could make. This part of the story is firmly imbedded in my memory.
I thought, I would downclimb ,rest and reconsider the moves. I looked down and left to my last piece of gear in the rock. It looked real far away and not so below me, meaning if I fall, I'm going for the scariest swinging ride of my life. I have fallen off lots of climbs but I wasn't prepared for the heart attack a ride like that would have given me. I also noticed I was a couple hundred feet off the ground or so it looked like. There's nothing but air under me. The up and right has taken me on a path above a cavelike recess in the rockface. There was no bailing off this route without abandoning an expensive rope that wasn't mine. So I'm holding onto the best holds I have with all fours and I know I'm out on a limb. The adrenaline kicks in and my heart beat goes up and now I'm pretty scared. It's easy to loose your head. Keeping your shit together is hard. I have 2 challenges instead of one. Winning the argument going on in my brain and making a hard move on not so great holds, way above Roy Gap. It's all me. I'm on the sharp end of the rope.
Controlling my adrenaline soaked brain was harder than the move because I made it and a few more untill I found a rest stance. I was still freaked out. There was a decent crack around a block right in front of me with another thin crack above it. It didn't look like the belay ledge described in the guidebook. There was supposed to be Pidgeon crap and better footing. I shoved 2 cams above the block, hooked myself up, grabbed the radio and informed Chris I was belaying. My heart was still racing but I was in a better position and secured. As I was shoving cams around the block I noticed the fracture on the bottom and other side of it. There was also a useless old piton and ring with a hole a few inches away where an old army anchor had blown out. Springy thingy cams are much better but the fracture worried me so I sank a nut in the tiny crack above to back up the anchor. My left foot kept wanting to go to sleep on me as Chris climbed up. There was only one stance so I hopped from one foot to the other and tried to get the blood going in my foot. I guess adrenaline doesn't thin the blood, just gets it pumping. Chris came up with no problems until my mood infected his mood. I wanted off this route but there was no way off without going to the top of it where there is a large ledge system. We placed another nut in the crack above to back up the anchor better. They were good but not what we call bombproof. I was on lead again and there was an obvious bulge ahead I would have to pull and another rusty piton just below it. Chris says "clip that piton!" He was anxious for me to get some gear between me and the anchor. It took me one second to look at it and say "hell no!" It was crap and there was a nice crack running through the bulge. I sank 3 good cams in that crack and aided my way through it. 20 feet or so later I found the right belay ledge. There was no pidgeon crap but it was spacious compared to the one Chris was at. Rain must have washed it away or Molly Maid had been there. One of the two. After Chris joined me I lead off on the last 40 foot pitch to the top. It was all straight up vertical climbing since the top of the first pitch. When I got to the top I tore off the helmit and rack of gear before I even hooked up and radioed "Off Belay" It was so good to be done with that climb, We sat there and had lunch while my blood pressure subsided. I have never wanted off a route as bad as that one. Maybe knowing there was no bailing from it made it worse, maybe it was a good lesson in keeping it together when the mind says, "I want to be anywhere else." The body was up to it. I didn't fall. We turned a 3 pitch route into 5 and a near epic that I won't forget. Chris lead a pitch of Le Gourmet before we hiked back to the car and a nice supper in town. The chicken Alfredo was tasty and I called home while I had service. It was nice to hear Courtney's voice on the other end.