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This weekend, Erin and I were joined by Cindy and Sameer, a couple of friends of hers from school. We didn't have time for a full weekend trip to the Valley, so we chose to return to the Grotto. Jack was also in the neighbourhood - he had spent the previous day at the Far Side, and agreed to join us. We had some fun at the first gate - several horses were present, blocking the way, and didn't want to move. After some gentle pushing, we finally got them off the road and I quickly drove through, though they retaliated by trying to eat my rear windshield wiper. Just as we started hiking up the road, Jack arrived, along with a crew from Ironworks - Adam, Cathy, Carlos and Carlos' girlfriend, whose name I never learned. When we arrived at the Grotto, we discovered to our dismay that it was very wet, despite the fact that it was a beautiful day. A week of rain had soaked the ground, and it was seeping through the rock in many places. I set up a rope on Sidesaddle (5.9+), on the right side of the Ort wall, for Cindy and Sameer to try, then belayed Jack as he warmed up on Rawhide (5.10d), after which I set up another line on Chicken Ranch Bingo (5.10a). Erin led the 5.9, while the rest of the Ironworks crew started on Granted (5.9) and Three Fingered Jack (5.10b), and I did a couple of laps on Rawhide. At that point, Jack felt warm enough to lead Snake Bite (5.11b). He was doing great until he got to the section with the loose block off to the right. As he was pulling on it, it ripped out and came hurtling toward me accompanied by shouts of "rock!" Luckily I dodged and it missed me, but as I hauled in the slack Jack shouted "I'm still on!" Amazingly enough, he hadn't fallen and so kept going. Moments later, I was almost beaned by a dropped belay device from another party on Three Fingered Jack. Despite all the commotion, Jack kept on going and made a clean ascent. Wow!

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The rock of (almost) doom

I followed and cleaned, and then continued onto Ejection Seat (5.12a). I was cruising pleasantly along, until I was thwarted by a series of sopping wet holds at the crux. Unwilling to make a very committing move liebacking off a wet sloper after skipping three other equally wet holds, I took. Luckily, after resting a bit, I was able to pull through on tenuous and slimy holds, using alternate beta, and got to the top. I guess it'll have to wait for a drier day. I looked longingly at Flight Simulator, but it was completely out of the question, being much wetter.

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Lunch and Erin on Grotto Monkey

After pausing for lunch, Jack decided to have a try at Grotto Monkey (5.12a). We preclipped the first bolt to prevent an ugly fall in case the holds were wet, and after that Jack went bolt to bolt. Most of the holds were dry, but a couple of key ones were dripping. I followed it with equal success, and then Erin had a go as well. After that I led Snake Bite, then Three Fingered Jack. Meanwhile, Jack did some laps - both up and down - on Rawhide. Erin then had a go at leading Three Fingered Jack, and sent it without issue, leapfrogging over the whole 5.9 and 5.10a grades in her trad leading repertoire! At this rate she'll be leading 5.12 trad by the end of the summer - finally, someone to lead the really hard stuff for me!

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A cheeky slug, and Erin on Three Fingered Jack

I finished off on Hole in the Wall (5.10a), while Erin cleaned Chicken Ranch Bingo. Cindy and Sameer were beat - this was their first time climbing outside, and had been playing on Chicken Ranch, and Granted. Their arms were tired, their hands bloodied and scratched, but they were happy. Hopefully they'll stay happy and won't discover that they came into contact with Poison Oak.... We headed back to the car, and drove back, running into Brian at the Taqueria. He had been at Jailhouse, which had been equally wet. Bugger. Well, the weather's supposed to stay dry for the coming week, so maybe the conditions will improve. So the dilemma is where to go next weekend - the Valley or Jailhouse. Decisions, decisions.....