No Name Ridge

[daniel banquo merrick]

For some reason I haven't spent enough time at NNR. I was looking though my old Spencer guide and I see a notation on a route called Woodstock. The notation is dated 8/89, changes the rating from 5.6 to 5.8 and adds "take larger pro #3, #4 friends."

Any thoughts?

[John]

We just did that one recently and I would call it a 5.8 too. Good rack notes, I started out on the face climb to the right and someone seems to have chopped a bolt so I headed towards Woodstock, had one #2 Camalot and wished I had more.

In regards to the face climb right of Woodstock, I am going to call it Lava Lamp in my notes since the line and lava lamp feature marked in the Spencer Guide is not even a climb and honestly looks hideous. The chimney is pretty sketchy and doesn't appear to be LL either. The second bolt is missing from LL an I am guessing it was chopped since by some standards it is pretty close to the crack of Woodstock. I have been planning to replace the bolts but probably won't replace the chopped one. It is a closed-casket fall if the third bolt blew and I think it might be the crux so the rest of the bolts would be better off replaced.

The climb to the right of the chimney has the same pull-tab (Pika?) strap hanger on it so it is almost a sure thing that it was done by the same party. BTW the face climb to the right is really good. About 5.7-8 and has an anchor which you need two ropes to get down from.

We put up a climb maybe 50' right of that called Cannonball and it is about 5.6-7 and has a single rope rap from an anchor. Two bolts (the first is pretty high) to gear to 3"(?). Bring slings for knobs. Starts in a notch along the base of the next slab to the right of the climbs I was just discussing. That climb is really fun.

[daniel banquo merrick]

I remember when the Spencer guide came out thinking that Lava Lamp looked pretty cool. I'm sure I have looked for it but either I never found it or didn't like to look of it because I don't claim to have climbed it.

[susan]

Is this here pictured the "lava lamp" feature?


Here are some other views of this feature:




Below is a photo of the climb that goes to anchors just right of the feature above which does not appear in the Spencer Guide.
Then there is a Spencer Guide mention of a route to the right of this one pictured here, and that is the 5.8 called "To Be Continued."

[susan]

Here is a shot of what John is talking about - having started on the face climb right of Woodstock and climbing left into Woodstock.

[daniel banquo merrick]

Yep, I believe that's the lava lamp. Looks like it could pop off any time. The Spencer guide shows two finishes to Lava Lamp, the one next to the lamp is shown as 5.6 and the other 5.10a.

[susan]

Saw that in the book. In person, looks a bit unlikely even rapping by. Maybe through time that spot significantly changed, or maybe it wasn't exactly the spot just near it, or maybe it is what it is and others have to climb it to be sure? Did not appeal to us.

The face climb we did right of it was an excellent 5.6-7 or so, but gear was kind of questionable to me until a little ways up. After a diet of mostly granite, that rock can feel a little heady like switching to sandstone - it seems lightweight, soft yet brittle, petrified wood-like and has me thinking snap-crackle-pop.