Castle Rock State Park—Waterfall Cliff
Climb Review
I’ve climbed here so many times and my review from the previous time still stands.
Degeneration Left (5.6; Waterfall Cliff)—I climbed Degeneration earlier this year and since I hadn’t done it before, tried out the easier variation. It was fun with solid hands and feet just about everywhere. The last chimney squeeze is a fun little end too.
Lieback Corner (5.7; Waterfall Cliff)—I climbed this with my full pack and my approach shoes and hated it. The backpack made the layback move awkward (I should’ve cinched everything down so that the stuff in the pack didn’t jostle) and my shoes were oh-so slippery on the rock. I made it to the top of the route without falling, though I did take forever and a half.
What I Learned
The weather report stated that it’d be cold, but I still under estimated exactly how cold it’d be. I think next time I read the lows in the 40s and the highs in the 50s, I’ll wear proper underlayers and bring extra-layers for others.
Friends
I climbed with Louie, Mariah, and Emma. I hadn’t met Emma before but they were cool. They had on the least amount of layers, so they probably shivered the most. It had been a while since I hung out with Mariah, so it was pretty fun hanging out w/them. It was great to hear that they were applying to various colleges, though their selection method seemed a bit lax for what could change their life 4EVER. Louie was their awesome-self as they set and cleaned the anchor on both routes, as well as leading Layback Corner on trad gear. They also belayed everyone at Degen and two people on Lieback—definitely the MVP of today.
What Happened?
On a much too cold morning, I met up with Louie, Mariah, and Emma to go climb some easy routes at Castle Rock State Park. We parked, put our backpacks on, and then headed off to Goat Rock, where I imagined the warm sun would warm us up as we climbed up the south face of Goat Rock. Unfortunately, after a mile of hiking, we discovered that Goat Rock was occupied and so, we headed towards our alternate climb, the all-too-familiar waterfall cliff. And as I knew it would be, it was cold, cold, and cold. That didn’t stop us though.
Louie set the anchor on Degeneration, after which they and I rappelled down the route. Mariah and Louie climbed Degeneration while Emma and I climbed Degeneration Left. The layback moves were fun and all, but really, the exertion of the climb stopped us from shivering.
There were hints of dappled sunlight on the rock, but none of us were able to bask in it as the warm sun was fleeting. I think all of us took a long stare at the abandoned socks that were at the foot of the Degeneration route as it could have helped keep our toes (and possibly our fingers) warm. Alas, none of us were that brave (or desperate) to put on random socks, but Emma did build an altar to the sock god.
After that important semi-religious ceremony, we moved on to Layback Corner where Louie setup the anchor by leading the route with trad gear. We all then took turns climbing it before we realized how late it was getting. So, Louie climbed up the route a second time with their running shoes so that they could practice belaying from top. I struggled up the route, and we all hiked back to the parking lot.
The best part was probably getting into the warm car that had been basking in the sun the whole day as it slowly warmed up my cold cold bones.