Rod and I had planned on going to Phantom Spires on Sunday, as the weather was warm and sunny, but when we got to the access road, the snow and ice proved to be more than a match for my Subaru. 4 wheel drive doesn't conquer everything. Chains would probably have worked, but it was too much effort to dig them out of the trunk and put them on. In retrospect, it was probably a good idea that we didn't make it up there, as it was HOT!

So we turned around and headed back to Sugarloaf. There were a few cars parked there, but the numbers weren't overwhelming. When we got to the crag, since Pony Express was busy, we decided to warm up on Shyster (5.7). I made the error of starting it without a shirt on, and then had to send down for one when I got to the OW, as my naked back was frightened by the rough rock. We then moved on to Taurus (5.11b), where I flailed on the first attempt, but sent it without problems on TR. Gee, I wonder why? Could it be that the pro is hard to place on lead, and I'm chicken? NB: small offset aliens would work great!

After lunch, we did a lap on Dominion (5.10a), then I TRed Captain Fingers (5.12c), and succeded in ripping of a nice chunk of the flake right at the crux. Seems hard for a 12c. Maybe I just turned it into a 12d? We then did the 5.8 to the right of the gully, linking the two pitches with one 60m rope. It's a bit run out, especially if you miss the bolts.... Apparently, there's a somewhat new 5.9 just to the left (shares the start, goes left at the roof past 5 bolts) that I'll have to try next time.

We finished off the day with Fractured (5.10d). It seemed harder than last time, when I did it by headlamp. My crack climbing skills have gone to pot. Good thing I can muscle my way past some of the hard stuff.

Of course, we stopped off at Z-Pie on the way back, and this time even picked up a six pack of frozen pies for later consumption. Mmmmmm....