With Tioga pass opening up early, and an advance presumption of forgiveness from my boss to take a couple of extra days off (while I'm sure he would have given me permission if I had asked him, I've always believed it's better to plead for forgiveness), I had high anticipation for a fun filled weekend of sport clipping in the gorge, and thrutching on the likes of Pratt's crack. The proverbial "Mission Accomplished" banner was already packed in the car. Then I looked at the weather forecast. Hunh. Since meteorology is a "psience", right up there with sociology, scientology, and "political science", and weather forecasters have an innate compulsion to lie, I grudgingly packed one pair of pants, and a shell, "just in case."

Over the course of several days, the entire bay area climbing community seemed to be oozing in an easterly direction. There were rumours that Dave Altman was going to be patrolling the Gorge, checking belay cards and knots. Melody, Rod and I were one of the last parties to leave, not departing Oaktown 'till 8. Though it made for a late arrival, we were able to avoid most of the traffic. It is possible that the high price of deceased dinosaurs kept some SUVs off the road, for which we must give kudos to the Shrub for his awesomely clever plan to promote more fuel efficient vehicles by simultaneously initiating a middle eastern conflict and a recession - it takes talent to strategize a double play like that. Sonora pass was still open, though Tioga had closed, which only added a half hour to the trip. That's the theory though - in practice, this can add an extra 4 hours to the drive, if you, like the Irishman, believe the sign that says Tioga is open, drive to Crane Flats to find that it's been closed in the interim, then get stuck by an accident that closes the road on your way back to 108. Some people get all the luck. In either case, it makes for a late arrival at Horton Creek. Luckily, the advance guard had staked out a bunch of sites, and indicated which were the slopiest bits to pitch a tent on.

The next morning dawned way too early. A large mug of Rod's coffee managed to wake me up a bit, though it did dissolve the spoon I used to mix in the half cup of sugar needed to mellow the bite (you owe me a new spoon Rod, and possibly a new jejunum). The low lying clouds portented something, but I had failed to read the auguries in the entrails of the road kill on the highway the night before, so I wasn't sure what. I packed for bear, with a puffy, shell, hat, gloves, rope, harness, shoes, 16 draws, 2 litres of water, extra rope, and combination padlock. The last two were unintentional, and only discovered at the base of Negress Wall. The warm ups there ( Fear of a Black Planet (5.10a), James Brown (5.11b), Ambassadors of Funk (5.10b) ),left me nervous and trembling, which I firmly attribute to Rod's devil brew. Melody though was in top form, and sent her hardest climb outside. In a shaky state of mind and being, we proceeded on to Dilithium Crystal, where Dan and I commandeered both ropes, and did Probation Violation (5.11c), an ok long route on the left side of the Eldo cave, leaving the girls without a rope. I thought an agreement had been mediated with some of the other parties, but that was apparently to the case. Ooops. After attempting to make amends, we moved into the cold side, and I tried, for the third time, to on-sight Enterprise (5.12b). Normally this would not be possible, as an on-sight precludes previous (failed) attempts, but my memory is so bad, that it's impossible for me to remember any beta, never mind a route last done a couple of years back. Things were going swimmingly until I realized that I had no sensation in my hands due to the cold, and couldn't distinguish between a jug and a sloper. This made the big throw at the crux somewhat problematic. Unable to tell if my left hand was actually connected to anything worthwhile, I threw caution to the winds and cut my feet free, expecting the big whip. I was most surprised to find myself still attached to the rock a few seconds later, and decided to continue on before gravity realized that I had deceived it. The rest of the climb was uneventful, and by the time I had reached the top, my hands had finally warmed up enough that I was able to clip the mussy hooks without incident. Good times! I finished off the day with an attempt at Klingon (5.12a), but burned out at the crux. I lack endurance for anything longer than a gym route these days.... It was starting to get a bit cold and windy by then, so we packed up and made the long slog up the scree and out of the gorge.

That night I learned why it is a mistake to pitch one's tent 5 feet from a campfire, especially if the 5 feet are downwind....

When we rose on Sunday, the low lying clouds in the sky did not bode well. Erika and Melody were due to leave by 1 or so, as they had to be back in the Bay Area on Monday, so we decided to hit the Upper Gorge as the approach is a bit shorter. Of course, picking which entrance is only the first of many long argued decisions. Once one steps foot on the trail, one is confronted by a whole slew of new decisions - where to get off the trail. After much debate, with excellent points being made by all informed parties (we won't mention the uninformed arguments), we went to Gotham Wall, which was fortunately also the closest one. It was already misting, with the occasional big drop falling from the sky. Dan put up Double Flipper (5.9) while Erika hopped on Dr. Evil (5.10a), and I wandered around looking for another warmup. I found one in Superfly (5.10c). The weather gods however did not approve of my choice, and the rain really began to fall as I started up it. Luckily it's pretty overhanging, so except for the slabby start, it was dry. Not so my rope..... Dan and Alex took some laps on it too, and Cam tried to turn my rope bag into a nest. By the time we were done, pretty much everything was soaked. Meldoy, Erika and Pascale decided to bail, as it would be a bit before stuff dried out. The rest of the gang slowly made our way downriver. Dan and I stopped at the Trestle Area, and gazed longingly at Bazooka Country (5.12a), which looked ok.... I convinced Dan to give it a go, and he almost on sighted it, almost snagging the throw at the crux, but not getting enough of his hand on the ledge. I stole all his beta, and was, amazingly enough, able to send it. Way fun!

While we were climbing, the rest of the gang had made their way to Gorgeous Towers, so Dan and I went to join them. I suggested Holy Trinity to Dan, and we had a go at Sex Packets (5.12a), and Sex (5.11d). I failed to see what Dan did on Sex Packets, and so didn't spot the undercling, and blew the crux. Bugger. I guess that's what experience brings. Sex Packets was a bit easier, though the move to top out was a little desperate....

On the way back to the car, we (I) decided to stop at All You Can Eat, and give Trundle of Joy (5.12b) one more shot. Just as I reached the crux, the skies opened up and some serious precipitation began to fall. Of course that's the reason that I failed in my attempt.... Nothing to do with a lack of technique or strength.... In the face of all the wetness, we went to town for dinner, and after dinner, Dan, Pascale, Matt and I stayed in town to watch the new Indiana Jones film. All I can say about that was it's better than sitting around a campfire in the rain....

It rained all night, which kinda screwed up my plan to hit some nice granite with Seth. We had planned on staying 'till tuesday and doing some trad stuff in the high country, but the elements were not cooperating, and we decided to bail with the rest. The passes were both closed in the morning, so we hung around for a while to see if the situation would improve. By noon it had, and we went over Tioga, where everything was cold, wet, and snowy. Not good climbing temps.... Oh well. The return traffic was not too bad, especially since we avoided the massive traffic jam in Oakdale where the fuzz was doing illegal "random" spot checks for DUIs. We turned left at the Jailhouse juncture, and took highway 4 back, which was a new road for me. There's some nice looking country up there.

Well, I've had better memorial weekend trips, weather-wise, but it was still great to get out of town. Despite the rain and the short stay, Melody really enjoyed her first trip to the east side. I'm sure there'll be many more.