The approach trail was moderately difficult since I was carrying both a rope and rack. Towards the bottom there was horse poop which had to be dodged and overall the trail had many snowy sections. The current snow conditions are tricky because if you weight your feet too much you break through the crust and sink through to the bottom. We signed in at the box and headed towards Minky wall; our destination. We arrived at the scrambling section and were delighted to see that the ice was completely melted away. Some brave (and probably really handsome) men must have replaced the fixed ropes through this area over the winter because the ones present looked solid and trustworthy. This is good news because otherwise, we considered leading this section on traditional rock climbing gear, since I’m told that it is probably 5.1 or 5.2. We finally got to the crag at around 5:20 and sat down to have a rest and enjoy the scenery. I wore my new North Face GoreTex XCR sneakers for the trail but would probably make some changes if I did it again… so to others, here’s the footwear I’d recommend for the Minky approach for this weekend:
- 1)Comfortable shoes for the sections that are clear of snow and poop
2)Quality hiking boots for the sections that are rocky and/or poopy
3)Snow shoes for the sections with crusty snow so you don’t fall through like I did
4)Comfortable trad shoes unless you’re confident FREE SOLOING 5.1 or 5.2
Now thoroughly warmed-up, Burley began to traditionally lead climb "A Warm & Salty Evening"; which goes at a YDS grade of 5.9! Since I wasn’t needed to belay, I scouted the area for potential routes. I wore my helmet since it is spring and the risk of rock fall is probably extreme! I wonder if we could organize a Welsford climbing committee to assess rock fall hazard and close down areas when deemed too risky for safe recreation? I’d certainly feel better if I knew somebody had assessed these hazards and made the information available. Perhaps they could post it on the internet?
Anyway, I found a nice looking crack system called “Salty Peppers” and started to psych myself up for the lead. Just then my good friend Chris H. arrived with Marcel and agreed to give me a belay. I roped up, racked up, and looked in my pack for climbing shoes. I had brought two pairs with me: La Sportiva Miura’s and La Sportiva Trad Master’s. One is for advanced face climbing routes and the other for long traditional climbs. I decided to use the former but was uneasy about the decision. Does anybody on this forum have an opinion about the shoes I should have worn? I should have sought experienced input first but oh well.
I started the lead but found no gear at all until about 8 feet up! It was a #4 Black Diamond Stopper which I extended with a long sling to avoid rope drag further up. I climbed past it to the right side of the boulder which is perched on the ledge of the King Arthur’s Playground area. Making a few mantle moves I gained the top of this boulder and the main crack. At this point I felt very exposed since I only had 1 piece of gear in far, far below me. I placed a yellow Metolious TCU, and a #8 Stopper in close succession before heading off. Making a few juggy moves I gained a horizontal ledge with a sweet incut jug at the back just before the crux. I made sure that I had a good nest of gear in before I committed to the next moves. That included my smallest BD hex in the horizontal, a #6 stopper in the crack, and a yellow WC Zero cam higher up. At this point I rested and got the entire beta I needed from Burley; who was abseiling to the left of me after completing his route. On his advice, I crossed to an undercling with my right hand, moved my feet high in the crack, and busted out with my left into the insecure, sloppy, diagonal crack. I had to try this move twice as I chickened out the first time and down-climbed back to the big jug. The second time was a charm though and I succeeded. For the remainder of the route I placed my #0.3, #0.4, and #1 BD Camelot C4’s and I slung a pinched off boulder just before the anchor tree. Before finishing I noticed that Chris had become bored with belaying me and had handed the work off to Burley. I hope this was done safely! Afterwards, Burley seconded me and cleaned my gear, commenting that all was bomber except for a large nut placed down lower as a redundancy piece to keep me off the big ledge. As he finished climbing the sun set and we abseiled down to our packs. We had a pleasant hike back to the car light by the moon and our trusty headlamps.
All in all, a great expedition to Minky wall!
p.s. thanks for reading… a true storey… even if written in a little tongue-in-cheek!
