Pinnacles—Anvil and Pipsqueak

Climb Review:

The hiking portion was similar to the hike I did with the girls earlier this year.

The Anvil (Easy 5th; Anvil)—I thought this was around a 5.4, but maybe it’s easier than that to some people. I soloed the north side—there’s no way to add protection. Once I trusted the rock, it was a pretty easy climb, and there were some bomber rappel rings on the south-side for the descent.
Regular Route (5.4; Pipsqueak Pinnacle)—I was a bit nervous about this climb as it had been half a year since my first lead climb and Jo had never lead belayed (and she didn’t have much experience belaying). I just told myself to treat this like a solo climb, which felt strangely better. Once I got to the first bolt, Jo and I practiced lowering and I went real slow the whole time. When I got to the top, we realized that it was about 60’ to the ground on the left side (vs 80’ closer to the Rightfoot route), which meant that I could just rap down with my 35m rope.

What I Learned:

I was much less nervous than I thought I would be. I am now very sure that my level of fear (in terms of heights) has gone down every month since I’ve started climbing.
I took a good, hard look at the Unmentionable, but just didn’t want to climb more. I think next time, it’d be great to come back with other adults and climb various routes at Tourist Trap, the Unmentionable and Photographer’s Delight.
I learned the mountaineer’s coil for rope the night before this trip, and I feel I got the hang of it. It was really useful for the first climb as I thought it’d be the best way to carry rope up since I wanted to rap down.

Fears Faced:

I had to get used to the rock, and the fear of heights was only a hum in the background. I didn’t freak out nor did my palms get too sweaty, but I did have to take a big breath before some of the moves.

Friends:

Jo and Scarlett carpooled with us. I provided the ride and a snack at the end, and Jo brought lunch. Pretty awesome team work.

What Happened?

I had wanted to come here two weeks ago, but rain stopped us completely. And today, we were supposed to have various other friends join, but all had to bow out for various reasons. Still, the ever steadfast Jo and Scarlett joined us, and we ended up having a fun day—the girls (like always) played well together, I got to climb, and Jo got to learn how to lead belay.

After the climbing was all finished, we drove to the visitor center for a snack run, where we shared soda and pringles. We then drove back from the bright the sunny Pinnacles to the cloudy and rainy bay area.