So, we tried to climb Spire One. One of the fun things about climbing
in the Cathedral Spires is the ambiguity of the guidebook descriptions.
Add that to my constantly askew sense of direction (this only happens in the
Black Hills--could be due to the Cosmos), and you've got a recipe for
adventure! After much debate we agreed upon this wide crack as the
best match to the description (yes, we even consulted a compass!).
Theoretically this pitch is only 5.5, but after about 50 or 60 feet I was
totally stumped. What had been a miserable, but manageable, squeeze
chimney squeezed down even more at this point and I just couldn't figure out
how to proceed. At this point, way in the back of the crack was an old
ring-piton. I marveled out how anyone could wiggle into a position to
hammer a pin in this crack, then clipped into it and began downclimbing.
I was bailing off a 5.5 route!!!
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