The Trough (part 1)

written shortly after November, 2003

The talus slope, beginning more than 200 feet below my ‘figure-eight’ and dotted with pine trees and jagged rocks of every dimension, slowly coalesced into a thick, green carpet of forest as it descended to the valley floor.  A 10.5mm rope ran from my brake hand on the right, looped through the belay device affixed to my harness and descended out of sight beyond the granite shoulder of rock 20 feet below.  It had been minutes since a stir in the rope had signaled any telling activity by my climbing partner, Peter.  The job was his at that moment, to alternately remove our ‘pro’ while making steady upward progress against the inexorable tug of gravity which constantly threatened to pull us from each chosen hold.

Already, the initial thrill and excitement of a fun, multi-pitch climb had been replaced with apprehension and a gnawing concern for our safety.  A steadily rising wind from the west had begun to accelerate the drain on our moderate energy reserves, hampering dexterity and compounding the difficulty of manipulating rope and gear.  Our chosen route, “The Trough”, to this point defied my expectation for a moderately easy climb, and we were both becoming fatigued.  “How much daylight have we got left?”, I began thinking.  Then, “How is it that I should come to worry about sundown?”, I immediately responded to myself.  What began as an easy 3-4 hour round trip ‘jog’ was quickly becoming a marathon, including the unwelcome specter of news reports and helicopter rescues playing in our near future.

We’d departed the cabin in Idyllwild, California, just past 8:30am that Saturday morning, having decided to forego haste in deference to the crisp November chill that had descended upon the mountain.  A short drive put us within a quarter mile of the approach trail, where we hoisted our gear and began our hike up to the famed “Lunch Rock” staging spot at the base of Lily Rock (aka Tahquitz), our first objective for the day.  While generally fit for our combined ‘four score and two' years, neither Peter nor I were entirely prepared for the level of exertion required of this approach trail, and all before our true climb of the day had even begun.  Heavy breathing and numerous rest stops portended an arduous routine to come.

There were no other souls immediately evident at the bottom of the face, until a colorful knapsack gave away the presence of two aid-climbers who were just beginning their chosen route.  Was this a bad sign, or did we just pick the best day to be at this usually popular, crowded spot?  By now, the approach hike clearly suggested that the easiest route was in order, hence the 5.3-4 rated Trough climb.  We calculated a relatively short, 4-5 pitch ascent, traveling light, with time for a late lunch back at our gear stowage spot by around 1:00 or 1:30pm.

“Peter,” I called, “How’s it going down there?”  I was surprised to note how crisp and unimpeded the transmission of sound was in the cool, open mountain air.  Peter’s response, in his distinct Australian accent, was a loud and clear, “Been better.”

We’d begun climbing together indoors once a week at a local climbing gym just nine weeks earlier.  While I had climbed indoors and out, on and off for years, this day brought to seven Peter’s total climbing experiences anywhere; his first on ‘real rock’.  It had briefly occurred to me that a ‘real rock’ climb might be too ambitions relative to his experience to date (perhaps all too briefly).  Such a notion was quickly dismissed, however, given that I had climbed here before, his rock sense had developed rapidly and ‘easy’ routes here were relatively abundant - no accounting for route finding!  As the lead climber, I was responsible for the overall safety of our duo, which included route finding, pro placement and adherence to all other accepted climbing standards. Taking such responsibility very seriously, I determined to identify a range of possible routes, all of which would be well-within our combined skill level.  It was with this attitude we both eagerly anticipated the day’s climb.

(continued in parts 2 and 3)