Sugarloaf (4 Nov 2012)

Sparknotes:
2 routes at Sugarloaf: Bollee Gold and Scheister. Guidebook: South Lake Tahoe Climbing, Supertopo

The big goal of the trip was Bollee Gold.  Since visiting last winter, both Bennett and I had been thinking about it. Stoke and opportunity aligned, so we packed the vehicle late on Saturday night and headed east.

After camping by the side of a forest service road, and caffeinating appropriately, we packed up and headed up the hill. The start of the climb was relatively easy to find, and clear from the Supertopo description. I figured the best way to deal with the nervousness was to seize the first lead, so that's exactly what I did. Probably one of the finer climbing moments I've had yet. I hung after the first bolt (not an auspcious start) and then once again higher up.  I thought I'd fall once more just before the anchor, even declaring so to Bennett, but somehow danced through.

The route is the ridgeline, I think the climber is at the first belay. Wow, right? (photo credit: Supertopo thread)

Bennett took the second pitch and styled it, falling only once. I followed clean, but that was the easy part. With the hard climbing done, we scampered the rest of the way past some heads-up, but not dangerous runouts. We both agreed the first pitch had been the crux, and were happy to find out that we weren't the only ones to think so.

B^2 at the top.

With the major goal accomplished for the day, we rapped the route and headed right to Scheister. Since I had taken the first lead, Bennett took the chimney to start.  I can't say I was disappointed, and I felt like I got the best pitch of the route (fingers/hands on pitch 2).  We topped out in the dusk and descended in the dark, intermittently losing the trail.

For some reason, Bennett brings out the best in my climbing, helping me be psyched and willing to take risks, and that day was no exception.

Ticklist:
Bollee Gold (5.10c, 4 pitches) - hard stuff is bolted, but bring a couple pieces of gear for the top. More beta on Mountain Project.
Scheister (5.7, 3 pitches) - really great fun, and a good chimney\

Tahoe Two-Sport Weekend (10-11 March 2012)

Spark Notes:

Saturday - Sugar Loaf, West Buttress (Guide: South Lake Tahoe Climbing by SuperTopo)

Sunday - skied at Kirkwood

Song of the trip: RJD2 – Ghostwriter (Spotify)

Waking up at a civilized 7am, I headed north to pick Bennett up in the city.  After loading more skis and cams than necessary, I pointed the Subaru north and east to Tahoe.  Bennett worked the iPod like a pro and the miles flew by.  On the drive we mixed bad singing with discussion about our goals for the day: with the consensus being moderate leading, and definitely some practice placing gear.  We debated the merits of the Leap and Cosumnes River Gorge, but eventually settled on Sugar Loaf.

We followed the SuperTopo directions to park along the side of 50.  We were met by gorgeous, sunny, t-shirt climbing weather (yay for March in California).  At the West Buttress area, we found both sticky granite and a class from the Lake Tahoe Community College.  Fortunately, the guides/students were friendly, and by situating ourselves to the far left, we climbed without interference all day.

Sacroiliac Joint (5.7)

Bennett started climbing first and led the way all day (he brought the psyche for sure) and I followed-up with my best impression.  We climbed the four routes at the far left of the crag, two friction sport climbs (5.8 and 5.9) to get a sense of things, followed by a couple top ropes to practice placing gear (10b with small gear + 2 bolts and an awkward, left leaning trad 5.7).  We supplemented the training by climbing up and then down-climbing, placing and removing gear on the 5.7.  Sufficiently psyched, we ended the climbing by leading the .7 and then the .10b in succession.  I was particularly happy with the last lead as I had greased off the 10b crux on TR before finding an easier path with some crucial nubs on the otherwise blank face.  We took the last half hour before sunset to walk around the base of the Sugar Loaf to get our bearings (and fill our heads with inspiration for another trip).  We retreated to the car in darkness: a good day indeed.

Sunset from Sugar Loaf

We arrived at the cabin expecting a relatively quite night, but found 7 new friends enjoying a feast, with food to spare.  You never know what you'll find when at Adam's place!  Glad for the company, we ditched our pizza in the fridge and joined the meal, adding some roasted veggies o the table.

Empty slopes going up The Wall at Kirkwood.

An extended hot tub session left our hands stinging but our legs refreshed for a day at Kirkwood.  We got a leisurely start after Bennett gave me a lesson in how to hot wax my skis.  Very therapeutic.  Because of the late start, we ate leftover pizza on the lift between runs: more time for skiing!  Wind, swirling snow, temperature, and low-hanging cloud cover kept the mountain relatively deserted meaning that Bennett and I were able to find plenty of drifts of soft snow among the icy patches.  A few premature binding releases on the Wall reminded me that I needed to adjust my bindings after having lent the skis to Doug last weekend.  Once snugged down, everything felt better, and we bounced back and forth from the Wall to Solitude threading between steep moguls and powder filled trees with a few little kickers in the gullies and small terrain parks.  All told, we could have barely asked for a better day, and were treated to gorgeous scenery on the drive home thanks to the additional hour of daylight.

Snow's in the forecast for this weekend so I guess I may be headed back...

Tick List:

Long Toe (5.8) - sport - lead

Middle Toe (5.9) - sport - lead

Sacroiliac Joint (5.7) - trad - mock lead, then lead

Short Toe (5.10b) - mixed - mock lead (hung), then lead