Index, June 18

We started on the Great Northern Slab. It’s the easiest route at Index and the only thing I’ve done there. I started the day well by stepping on some algae and almost falling out of the slimy 5.2 ramp at the start, but soon enough (after a couple slug sightings), we climbed out of the deep forest into the sun and got views of snowy Index and Persis under a blue sky. It’s always nice when a questionable weather forecast turns into a great day. Especially when it’s a sunny Friday, there’s some dry rock, and I’ve got a great climbing partner, Chris, who’s willing to drive to Index despite its reputation for being too hard, etc.

After the easy and familiar was done with, it was time to look for a bit more of a challenge. I was a little confused because of a missing bolt and my inability to tell the difference between a 5.8 “difficult mantel” and a 5.11, but I did manage to find Princely Ambitions without any actual 5.11-attempting. The first pitch was super fun (even with treating myself to some classic rope drag and having to fix it with some downclimbing and backcleaning), with lots of I-hope-this-works and there’s-got-to-be-some-texture-on-that-blank-looking-slab. I even got to see a little snake retreating into a finger crack I was going to use! It’s also nice and long (40m if you count the easy block scramble between the ground and the first bolt). Because the route makes a sharp turn at the crux, it’s just as exciting for the second, but Chris cruised it despite not having done much multipitch climbing recently.

Chris on Princely Ambitions 5.9

After this assurance that 5.9 at Index is challenging, but not toooo haaard, we went looking for some more 5.9s. The classic Godzilla was occupied, of course. Some Index regulars saw me flipping through the book, and suggested a 5.9 offwidth called the Quarry Crack. We never made it there because someone else suggested a semi-secret moderate pitch — starting up Shirley (listed as a 5.11c in the book, so I flipped right past it) and escaping to another set of anchors before the hard part. The crux of the abbreviated version is a pretty arch feature marked as a 10a on the topo (or maybe the “exciting” traverse to the escape anchors). A nice bonus was the view of the crux of Thin Fingers (who wants to set up a TR for me on that?).

As I was putting away my rope, someone yelled “Rock!” I looked at them, saw the rock coming straight at me, and barely had time to stop looking at it as it hit me on the side of the head. I think I was literally the only person at the base wearing a helmet. All it did was make a loud noise, but if I wasn’t wearing a helmet it could have been a bad time. I’m not sure if I would call that bad luck or good luck! I climb at famous choss factories like Vantage and Exit 38 all the time, and the first time I get hit is at Index!

Slug and purple-stemmed monkeyflower

I definitely want to do a lot more at Index, especially if the rest of the 3 and 4 star 9s and 10as are anything like the two I got to try this time…

• Lower Town Wall, Great Northern Slab, 5.7 trad 3p (lead) Woo, easiest route at Index!
• Lower Town Wall, Princely Ambitions, 5.9 trad 2p (lead) Fun!
• Lower Town Wall, Little Shirley, 5.10a trad (lead) The first pitch of Shirley, escaping right to another anchor before the hard part. Fun little arch feature.