Spire
One
Spire One resisted our advances. We first tried to climb it in July of 2003 after successfully summiting Spire Two. We wanted to climb the original line of ascent, a circuitous Conn route that winds it's way around the three stacked blocks that make up Spire One. Being our first time in the Spire One area, it took us a while to decided just which tight chimney the climb should start in. (It didn't help that I used to be perpetually direction lost when in the Cathedral Spires!) After breaking out the compass and reading the brief description in the guidebook multiple times, we finally picked out what was most likely the start of the climb.
So, we roped up and I took the lead, groveling up the ever
tightening chimney. After about 30 feet the toy carabiner I was using to
hold my chalkbag to my harness got ripped open as I slid my butt up the rough
wall of the chimney. Oh well, no more "white courage" for me! As I
grunted and ground upward, I kept thinking in the back of my mind, "How could
this possibly have been one of the Conns' favorite routes?!" Finally,
about 20 feet further along, the chimney narrowed to a definite
constriction.
I could see there was little hope of my body fitting through and to venture out
and around the constriction just seemed too crazy. I had already expended
entirely too much energy just getting up 50 feet of this climb. I was
getting spanked on a 5.5! Oh, the shame! Nonetheless I decided it
was in my best interest to bail. I struggled to reach into the back of the
chimney and clipped my rope into an ancient ring-angle piton (probably placed by
Herb Conn himself). Then I proceeded to downclimb the route, cleaning my
gear as I went. Summiting this spire would have to wait for another day...
May, 2004
Once again, after climbing Spire Two with Will and Alison, we headed over to Spire One for a rematch. However, I had no intention of suffering up that damn squeeze chimney again! This time we would try a variation to the first pitch which is supposed to be two grades harder (5.7). I know, it may seem silly to try a harder route after failing miserably the first time, but this harder variation didn't involve any damn squeeze chimney, and that can make all the difference! Unfortunately I only made it 20 feet up the rock this time before I heard the rumble of thunder and the pitter patter of raindrops around me. Once again I went into retreat mode and climbed down the route.
Three days later the four of us hiked back up to Spire One. Once again things were not stacked in our favor. Since we had to drive back to Omaha in the afternoon, we had gotten an early start and it was pretty damn chilly. When we reached the base of Spire One, the northwest wind was howling between the spires! On top of the less than ideal conditions, Alison was feeling rather sick. Obviously by this time I was becoming obsessed with Spire One. I wasn't going to let a little wind (gusts over 40 mph!) or a little chilly air (mid 40's) stand in my way. Angela and I decided to at least try and make it up the first pitch of the climb.
Not
even twenty feet up the climb my hands were completely numb from gripping the
cold rock. Despite not being able to tell just how hard I was pinching the
crystals, I made steady progress upward. After ascending the initial crack
to a ledge there came a delicate traverse to the left. At the end of this
traverse was a large horn which made a wonderful handhold and was the last
chance for any pro for a while. Above this the rock steepened and was
devoid of cracks for another 15 feet or so. This certainly seemed to be
the point of no return. I gathered my courage briefly and then balanced my
way upward from crystal to crystal trusting that this path would not come to an
abrupt end.
My
faith in the crystals was rewarded when I safely reached an easy ramp which lead
to the next crack and more decent pro. After quickly ascending this crack,
I once again confronted a long run out up a crystal covered face. Luckily
this time the angle was not as severe and the crystals were bigger because the
wind was really howling! I could hear the gusts coming across the tops of
the pines below me and would lean in close to the rock as the wind ripped by.
After each gust died down I would make a few more moves up the face and then
repeat the process. Eventually I made it to the anchor at the end of the
pitch! I was ecstatic! I had finally made it through the crux pitch
of the climb!
The wind at the first belay was intense. I
hunkered down as I belayed Angela up the pitch. After standing in the
shade to belay me, she had to start out the climb already cold. When she
finally reached the end she commented on how numb her hands had been and how she
had climbed the entire pitch without being able to feel the rock at all!
In
the meantime, while we had been busy climbing, Will and Alison were hanging out
at the bottom trying to keep warm. Will scrambled up a rock just below
Station 13 and anchored himself to it to get a better perspective on the climb
and to snap some photos of us climbing.
As
Angela tied in to the belay anchor, we discussed our options. The second
pitch traverses around the spire to the even windier side, so the choice was
pretty obvious--once again we'd be leaving Spire One without reaching the
summit. To our amusement, as we prepared the anchor for the rappel down,
Will and Alison belted out the tune "Happy Birthday" for Angela. We
both laughed. It's good to have such silly, fun friends!
September, 2005
Once again, we traveled to the Black Hills to meet up with Will and Alison for some climbing adventures. After arriving a day earlier than them and successfully climbing Spire Three, Angela and I were feeling quite confident. Surely on this trip we would finally make it to the top of Spire One! When Will and Alison did arrive, we wasted no time and headed right for the Spire One area. Angela and I were bent on settling the score with this rock, and Will and Alison had decided to try climbing the ominous looking Station 13 which is nearby. If we were successful, we would swap routes so that all four of us could climb these two spires on the same day.
This time the weather was much nicer. We were able to climb in short
sleeves rather than Windstopper Fleece and stocking caps! The first Pitch
went without a hitch and seemed considerably easier since our fingers were
capable of feeling the rock this time. Compared to the first pitch, the
following pitches are dead easy, quite short, and went without a hitch.
The second pitch is simply a horizontal traverse around the spire on a fair
sized ledge to another belay. Then the
climb goes up a near vertical crack
and knobby face before traversing back around the spire again. All that
remains at this point is the 30 foot summit block. Angela took the lead,
and after a couple tricky moves to get off the ledge, she quickly scrambled to
the summit! I soon followed and we had finally finished climbing Spire
One!
Meanwhile, Will and Alison had made quick time on
Station 13 and were hanging out
in the sun on top waiting for us to summit. We congratulated each other
from across the way and snapped photos of each other on top. We lingered
for a while before descending, drinking in the amazing views of the Harney Range
and
savoring
our success on a climb that had taken so much effort complete.
Later
that afternoon, Will and Alison finally got their first chance on Spire One--the
other times they had accompanied us they had ended up just being spectators due
to the weather. Will led the exhilarating first
pitch
with ease and soon they too found their way over the remaining stacked blocks of
rock that make up Spire One. We watched them climb the summit block and
stand silhouetted against the sky from our vantage point on top of Station
13--but that's another story...
