A Momentary Lapse of Season: the first ascent of Synergy

First ascent of Synergy, aka, A Momentary Lapse of Season:

Wednesday, January 25th saw the Smoke Hole canyon region enjoying another of its sunny mid-winter days, and the Gypsies made lemonade from automotive lemons to get out and climb with visiting trail repair guru and shredder Jed Page, a one-time resident of the Virgin Islands now living and working in NoVA.

In the last four months, Jed has worked on the Long Branch trail at the base of the Beautiful Loser wall, built steps and laid in support for Gui...de Wall and Ninja Walls trails old and new, picked up trash and helped shore up problem areas at Reeds Creek. Even when his trip was only a matter of hours, Jed managed to support access while getting in some climbing on the sweet lines of Smoke Hole.

While Jed and Cindy warmed up on the Guide Wall 5.8 Arete, I dropped a top rope on a line we had looked at last week and installed a pair of anchors. Birds were singing in the trees, squirrels scurrying through the leaves as insects buzzed around my face, the river shining like a line of silver and gold through the bare limbs of the forest below. The racket of the drill caused only a pause in the midwinter celebration of life, and then the song of the canyon resumed.

Back on the ground, I warmed up on a TR run of the Arete Jed had already cruised on-sight, always an enjoyable start to the day. Threading the anchor, I visually double-checked the anchor and my set-up and exchanged verbal checks with my belayer before unclipping from the anchor. Jed lowered me smoothly to the ground, gear was gathered, and we three made our way to the project.

Cindy Gray, soaking up the Vitamin D as she moves into the crack and flake section of the climb.

We took turns working on moves and scrubbing, prying at surprisingly solid holds and establishing clip stances. Satisfied with the effort, I took a last scrubbing run, pulled up gear and rapped from the anchors to place four bolts.

Curmudgeon, in production mode; just doin' what he does best

Jed was offered the first attempt as a guest and trail work supporter, and styled the moves to the anchor in short order, grinning all the way.

I pulled the rope and followed his fine example, albeit with less grace and far more effort, with Miss Pinkpants offering encouragement as Jed cheered from the sidelines and snapped pictures.

Two generations of climbers, one great little wall

The old man going for the repeat, with Miss Pink on belay.

Jed finished the day with an on-sight of the 5.9 Hummingbird, one of the wall's first and still best lines, before growling stomachs called us home to pizza and celebration.

Getting in touch with his inner primate, Jed guns for the ledge on the sweet 5.9 'Hummingbird'

Snow came in overnight, and shortcut our plans for another day of climbing and the installation of anchor chains. Instead, I climbed to the top of the buttress and rapped down past the bolt ahnger anchors, retrieving my quick draws and hastily gathering gear for a strategic withdrawal as the blowing rain became snow and sleet coming in gale-force gusts.


Back at Casa Escondido, Jed packed and headed back to Babylon, leaving the Gypsies to plot on other lines and days to come, while snow blew across the mountains beyond their window.
Synergy, 5.8+, four bolts, two bolted top anchors, 36 feet+/-. Starting from the ledge above and left of Native Suns, clip a high first bolt and make a few interesting moves to the second bolt, before gaining a ledge with a bolt, crack and flake. Chase the crack and flake feature past another bolt to jugs and the anchor.

A #7-9 wired stopper and a .75 Camalot can help alleviate any feeling of runout between bolts #2 and #4.

-MG

Long Branch and the Guide Walls: Discovering the Heart of Smoke Hole

Discovering the Heart of Smoke Hole Canyon:

Long Branch and the Guide Walls

 Looking upstream from the top of 'Shattered Illusions', at the height of summer; the route’s anchors sit near the top of the Long Branch Buttress, rewarding climbers with one of the most amazing views in the canyon.

Climbers are a quixotic breed. We are known to leave behind good jobs, family and loved ones to cross the country, camping in our cars or sketchy rest areas, pounding down twisting wash boarded backroads, living on fast food and cheap beer, bush whacking and hiking for miles, thrashing through thorns and stumbling across talus, to find great crags in unique settings.

Truly great climbs and climbing areas both challenge and inspire; they motivate us to push the edge, to ‘rage against the dying of the light’, and they return us to that quiet place inside, where wonder still lives.

These are the crags from which we return tired but renewed, exhausted and at the same time, restored.

The crags that sit on either side of Long Branch, two miles downstream from Shreve’s little store in the heart of Smoke Hole Canyon, are the perfect setting for this dualistic pursuit of peace and adventure.

Hidden behind a screen of trees and perched high on the ridge, the Guide Walls’ southern end soaks up sun all year long, and is dubbed, imaginatively enough, The Sunshine Wall.

The east end of the Sunshine Wall on a fall day, as seen from the approach trail; these conditions can persist into the middle of winter. Photo by Mike Gray.

Heather Jiles spots Andrea Nelson as she heads through cracks and buckets on the 5.8+ Arete of the Sunshine Wall. Photo by Tyrel Johnson.

Here you can shed those layers and dance up lines like the long-distance 5.8+ Guide’s Arete, 5.9s Zendo, Funboy and The Never Ending Story, huck and crimp your way through the Guide’s 5.11 or George’s Dilemma, another great bucket tour that leads to a challenging 5.10 roof crux.

Most of these lines were put up by the Seneca Guides of the early 90s, including Darrell Hensley, Tony Barnes, and Tom Cecil. Mike Fisher and I came back in 2003 to add ‘Funboy’ and ‘Zendo’ on an overlooked panel on a ledge in the middle of the wall.

The author and Andreas Czerwinski enjoying some fall sunshine on The routes of the Macdaddy Roof; the 5.9 Never Ending Story (R) and the Guide 10b (L)

Around the corner, on the crag’s middle section and northern end, the east-facing lines of the Ninja Walls offer climbers both summer shade and a haven from winter’s cold, as leaves and temperatures begin to fall.

Michael Fisher cruising the bomber moves and stone of 'Destiny', one of the original lines at the Ninja Walls.

Chris Beauchamp’s ‘Glossolalia’ kicks things off and Nick Kurland’s ‘Cu Rodeo’ ups the ante with thin holds on steep ground and a touch of run-out.

Beyond these wait classic Ninja lines like ‘Destiny’ and ‘Hummingbird’, the 5.9-  trad headpoint “Name Your Poison’ and mind-boggling roof of 5.10c/d ‘Carpe Diem’. 

For a final burn of all remaining rounds, hike out to the north end and jump on crusher Mike Fisher lines like ‘Slight of Hand’, ‘Defenders of the Faith’, or Chris Beauchamp’s thuggish ‘Pon Hoss’.

 

Tyrel Johnson fighting the good fight and looking for Zen on the steep Mike Fisher route 'Defenders of the Faith' (5.10d), at the Ninja Walls.

The incredible Long Branch Buttress, with 'Beautiful Loser' on the left end, and the overhanging Darkside on the right. Photo by Mike Gray.

On the south side of the creek, Long Branch is home to some of the tallest faces, as well as some of the most difficult technical lines, to be found in the canyon.

Tom Cecil’s world-class ‘Beautiful Loser’ checks in at a sustained 5.11 with 9 well-spaced bolts, nearby ‘Shattered Illusions’ requires a full bag of 5.10 tricks over the course of 11 bolts and a V-slot through a roof, while ‘Big Johnson’, ‘The Ron Jeremy Arete’, ‘The Darkness’, ‘The Lightness’, ‘Gone Sniffin’’, ‘Local Hospitality’ and Parker Smith’s new addition ‘Shorty’s Lament’, all lay solid claim to territory at 5.12 and above.


Troy Johnson and I first came here in the very early 90s, at the invitation of Darrell Hensley, the Seneca Rocks guide and WV native who explored Smoke Hole and climbed here before most people knew the canyon existed. Franklin Gorge, where we had all been climbing for years, was filling up with people and the number of new routes left for development was down to maybe a handful of good lines and a dozen or so more mediocre routes.

Troy and I drove up to Smoke Hole on a windy, rainy day, waving at Franklin as we passed, grabbing coffee at the Shell station at the light, then rolling up 220 through pastureland and river bottom farms. We stared up at Reed Creek and wondered again if the “No Trespassing” signs were bogus (it turned out that they were, but that is another story), waved at the old men of the Liar’s Club, drinking coffee on the bench in front of Kile’s Grocery in Upper Tract, and turned off just before the old iron bridge.

We rounded the curve, crossed the hill by the old Alt farmhouse, and dropped into wonderland. Cliffs rose up on both sides of the river, the nearest just ten feet from the car windows as we stopped to stare up at the huge roof of the Entrance Walls. Another shower drove us back into the car, and hid most of Eagle Rocks and the French Fin from our gaping view as we passed. 

Eventually we reached Shreve’s Store, got our bearings, and had almost returned to sanity when we dropped into the lower canyon, and saw that all that had gone before was just a prelude.

We gibbered. We pointed, craned our necks and pointed some more, making nonsense noises and banging our heads on the windshield, spilling coffee. 

Two miles beyond the store, we reached the destination Darrell had described and a breaking point at the same instant; parked, grabbed water bottles, and scrambled madly up the talus slope leading to the base of the Long Branch Buttress.

After half an hour of absolutely speechless wandering, we nodded to each other, returned to the car, and headed home to gather allies and supplies.

Troy came back and bolted “Local Hospitality’, ‘Big Johnson’, ‘Pigs on the Wing’, and began the task of ground-up bolting the visionary project that would eventually become Mike Farnsworth’s ‘The Lightness’. He took off from the start of my mixed route “Through the Looking Glass’ and gave us the superb 5.11 ‘Pigs on the Wing’.

Rachel Levinson and Melissa Wine joined us, as did Mike Fisher, Greg Fangor, Chris Riha and a host of talented climbers from the Shenandoah and Albemarle valleys. Together, the group of us cleaned and put up ‘Shattered Illusions’, then Melissa and I produced ‘Hippo Head’ (the wall’s first all-female FA by Wine and Levinson), ‘Batteries Not Included’ and ‘Overtime’.

Taking a break from developing routes on the far side of the creek, at the Sunshine Wall, Tom Cecil, Tony Barnes and Darrell came over to bolt ‘Beautiful Loser’ and put up a 5.8 mixed line in the cave to the left.

Mike Fisher had dubbed our group the Five Deadly Ninjas, a tongue-in-cheek nod from his deep love of Kung Fu theater. Troy, Rachel, Melissa, myself, and Mr. Fisher decided that we needed a look at the walls they were developing on the other side of the creek, and the classic lines of the Ninja Walls were born in the following months.

Life went on, our little crew drifted apart, and I moved off to the west. I would call Mike Fisher on my occasional trips home, and we would invariably wind up at Smoke Hole for a climb or three, plotting on the remaining lines in this apparently forgotten corner of West Virginia.

In 2003, I returned to the Valley, and we put up Funboy and Zendo on an overlooked ledge at the Sunshine Wall.  Four years later, we bolted and led the routes of the Corvinus Cave, at Long Branch.

A recent surge in activity saw four new lines at or above 5.12, bolted and led by Michael Farnsworth, the guy who conquered one of the steepest routes of Seneca Rocks. Added to the already impressive set of routes in place, you have an area to test the mettle of climbers from around the globe.

Mike Farnsworth, on the crux of "The Lightness", 5.12d, Darkside, Long Branch Buttress.

Mahtaab Bagherzadeh eyes the long road ahead, facing the first of many cruxes on ‘Shattered Illusions’, the longest 5.10 on the Long Branch Buttress. Photo by Tyrel Johnson.

But don’t worry, moderate climbers and fun seekers… there’s still plenty of good times to be had, with enjoyable lines tucked in amongst the test pieces and enduro routes. 

Smile your way through sport warm-ups like 'My Silver Lining' (5.7), 'Lost World Arete' (5.7), or ‘Batteries Not Included’ (5.8+), mix things up with bolt and gear offerings like the 5.8 'Through the Looking Glass', or take a break from the bolts and pull out the whole rack for the long trad adventure of 5.7 'Cherry Lane'.

Racked up and ready for ground-up adventure; the author clips in for the first ascent of 'Cherry Lane', 5.7, Darkside, Long Branch Buttress.

Now beta for the heart of the canyon is available in a new, stand-alone phone app from rakkup.com, with all the info on new routes, great navigation features, and plenty of eye candy action shots:

http://rakkup.com/…/smoke-hole-canyon-long-branch-and-guid…/

Although the road is a bit bumpy, and even dusty and blessed with more than its share of potholes, from the crags of Long Branch and the Guide Walls, climbers are still less than an hour from hot food, showers and all the comforts of modern life.

Volunteers are constantly working to protect access, maintain the trails and improve old routes with new hardware.

No bushwhacking, no epics, no ‘scene’,  just great lines of all levels on great stone, a zen garden in which to find a bit of peace and quiet, in the beat of your heart, in the heart of the canyon.

And a Happy New Year

Weather for the weekend's trail and anchor survey was a bonus.

At Reed Creek, Saturday began downright cold, but a breakfast burrito and cuppa fresh-perked dark roast later, the day was on its way to being sunny with mild breezes.

Despite temps at cliffside that reached the upper 60s, there was no climber traffic beyond the Gypsy Wall until mid-afternoon allowing us a chance to address some of the problem areas without inconveniencing anyone who had just come to climb.

Cindy and John took on the heavily impacted area at the popular Reach Wall, in particular, the belay below Golden Horseshoe; clearing the displaced steps and platform down to solid rock, reinforcing the edging along the trail in both directions.

Meanwhile, your humble editor rebuilt the steps leading up from the lower trail, which Cindy then tested for quality control.

We moved up the trail and took a run up Dr. Taco to stretch out after our labors.

A chainsaw-like noise kept buzzing around, and we decided to move on; after a quick look around at the trouble spots on the way down and a conversation with Chris Beauchamp that revealed the sound had been his drone, taking pictures of us aware as we relaxed, we were on our way to the Lower Canyon to see what we could see and to knock out a bit more trail work while surveying anchors and bolts for replacement.

While Cindy remained at the vehicle and enjoyed the afternoon sunshine along the river, John and I marched up the sustained approach trail to the Guide Walls, where we saw Tyrel Johnson and Heather Jiles, sending routes and loving the sun at the Guide Wall's Sunnyside.

We kept on trekking, and soon ran into Nick Kurland and Travis Wilson, back towards the Ninja Walls, fresh off some goodness of their own.

Nick and I talked about new development and discussed the problem of the wedge of private property that divides the Ninja Walls from the Sunnyside, something most people just don't seem to register, instead choosing to believe that we just suddenly stopped developing routes on all that 'perfectly good rock'.

The problem of drills is they seem to preclude the reading of maps and a basic understanding of boundaries. I've been guilty of it myself, which is one reason I work so hard on instilling respect into today's climbers, and have reached out again and again to local landowners for permission to climb on their lands.

The conversation turned to drones, trails, and the weather before we parted ways; Nick went to finish his climbing day as John and I turned back to trail work.

After weighing our options, we decided on a focal point and built steps down the slot, on the section of trail that leads from Hummingbird, on the south end of the Ninja area, down to the trail below 'Carpe Diem' and around the corner to 'Slight of Hand' and 'Dread Skills'. At the bottom of the slot, we redirected traffic with a short switchback to encourage wear on the inside of the hill, rather than on the unstable slope.

The trail around the north end remains a work in progress, with hopes of returning next weekend to finish our efforts there.

Afternoon turned to early evening, it was time to go, and Cindy was waiting at the car.  We drove out of the canyon to the sounds of the Cocteau Twins, letting the memories of other times and climbs roll over us like the river as we passed Shreve's Store, Fat Boys and Eagle Rocks Campground, climbed up over the gorge and Copperhead Cove, dropping down to the Entrance Walls with sunshine glowing on the far ridge.

John waved good-bye at our van, parked at the end of Reed's, and we stowed gear before walking back up the hill to visit with some non-climber friends of ours who live nearby, in Upper Tract.

Sunday, the sun was out again, but a cold north wind was roaring, as it had since midnight, pushing temps down towards freezing.

I revised my plan for replacing anchors and bolts on The Spankers when a branch the size of my thigh tumbled down on the scree field about fifty yards ahead of me on my initial approach, throwing fist-sized shrapnel over my head.

Switching gears, I began clearing the Darkside approach trail from the parking area, typically used during the winter, when runoff  in the creek between the crags often made it a necessity to walk up the south bank instead of crossing the creek.

After almost an hour of raking gravel and shifting stones, with more incursions by branches, blasts of road dust, and leaves that went right back in the holes from which I had just scooped them, the warmth of my waiting RV began to look more and more attractive. My knee throbbed in confirmation, the wind dropped another handful of branches on me for emphasis; I surrendered and limped for shelter.

The trail up to the Darkside of Long Branch is a challenge, probably the greatest challenge to be found for trail builders in Smoke Hole; the talus field makes everything harder by refusing to yield a lot of readily-shifted stone, then giving you far too much of it at either edge.

We've done a lot of work here over the last twenty years; Troy, Rachel, Big E, Melissa and I were constantly installing and repairing steps during the early years, while Fred Topper and I spent a week shifting stones and steps across the lower talus field back in '03 or '04. As long as limited funds and time, the demands of family and a beat-up body allow, I will continue to do more, but I'm also contacting some folks with heavier tools and experience, to see about their aid.

In addition, I would encourage anyone who belongs to the Access Fund to nominate the approach to Long Branch and/or The Guide Wall trail for work by the Conservation team, perhaps in conjunction with the rock wranglers of the Potomac-Appalachian Trail Club's Mountaineering Section, and the assistance of the Vermont Sensei and his Lyndon State College crew.

Today, I am making notes, ordering hardware, icing an elevated knee and watching episodes of "Criminal Minds" as the thermometer defies all encouragement to rise above freezing, an snow flurries play against the glass.