MRC 5.9
MRC is a line that has caught my eye since our first climbing trip to Vedauwoo. From the parking lot in central Vedauwoo, MRC can't be missed--it's one of the most obvious and aesthetic lines in sight. Over the years we'd noticed a steady amount of traffic on the route--even before we were climbers and knew the route had a name. It is definitely held as a classic for it's grade in the area.
While, I always felt the lure of MRC, there is a serious intimidation factor involved with climbing a Vedauwoo 5.9. Back in the day when the locals were really pushing the grades, no one wanted to be the first to claim 5.10. (I know, I know, this goes against everything you ever heard about climbers and their egos!) As a result, a 5.9 rating can be quite misleading in Vedauwoo. Some Vedauwoo 5.9's could actually be considered 5.10 or even 5.11 if they were in other areas.
Then there is the roof factor.
The crux of the climb is turning a rather large roof split by a wide hand crack.
In September of 2000 we watched from the parking lot as this roof resisted Rod's
attempts to surmount it. Rod had been very instrumental in teaching us to
climb early on, and we very much looked up to him as a sort of uber-climber.
If he couldn't flash that roof we knew it must be hard.
Finally in May 2001, by teaming up with Chris and Will, I got my first chance to check out MRC in person. Will, I believe, had already been up the climb, so he let me and Chris do the leading. Chris was very gung-ho about doing the climb. I on the other hand was still a little unsure about that crux roof and wanted to check it out more than anything. Therefore, I was more than happy to let Chris have the crux pitch.
So, I got to lead the first pitch which goes at 5.8
and the last pitch which is a run-out 5.4. I was quite
happy with this. At the time, leading trad 5.8 in Vedauwoo was a decent
accomplishment for me (actually, I guess it still is!).
Since I was the first one up pitch
one, that meant I would be the last to take on pitch two. It was still
morning so the climb was in the shade, and the air was turning rather damp.
Luckily Will was nice enough to bring my shell jacket up with him--otherwise I
might have froze to death. My feet were totally numb by the time I got to
move again.
Meanwhile,
Chris did battle with the crux roof. He got worked pretty hard and popped
off about 5 times. Each time he got a little further only to fall back to
the beginning again. We were leading on my rack and he repeatedly tested
my red Alien. That poor little cam definitely earned it's keep that day!
Eventually, Chris got all the moves worked out and cruised the rest of the
pitch. Will and I soon followed him up.
The last pitch is barely 5th class, but is
exciting
nonetheless as you have to chimney over a very large chasm with very little pro.
Soon we were on top and captured a few portraits before heading down. All
in all it was a great time. I couldn't wait to do it again and give the
crux a try for myself!
I didn't get back to MRC until September 2003 after climbing in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. This time it was just Angela and I. I got to lead the first two pitches and she led the final one. My climbing (especially my leading) had improved since the last time. I was so close to pulling that darn roof without a fall! My feet slipped once and I lost contact except for one solid hand jam. It's debatable whether or not I weighted the rope or caught myself. Either way, I could have done it better.
Angela, on the other hand, sailed over the roof like it wasn't even there. I thought this was pretty impressive. When I had followed Will and Chris up it on top rope, the rope constantly got in the way of my hand jams in the roof. Somehow Angela dealt with this difficulty and didn't let it get to her. She was stoked by her performance since she remembered Will mentioning that he hadn't known anybody to get over the roof without falling (either on lead or toprope). Once again she had even out-performed her own expectations of herself! That's my girl!!
