Rob, here's one for you
February 4, 1984
There was no trail. Well there were some animal trails but humans were not frequent in the area. Bird closures were such that if you saw raptors about, you did not climb. There was no flight activity on that day.
My brother Jon and I started out on Liebacker’s Lullaby. I got the first and third leads. Was as fun and exciting as most old school Pinnacles routes are.
After hiking back to our packs at the bottom of the wall, we picked up and moved over to the base of the deep, dark water streak left of Orion. It was around 2pm when I scrambled up the lower apron and entered the tube. Stemming up a ways, I wedged in and begin drilling a quarter incher. 3/8s bolts were hard to come by back then and I was saving the one I had for higher up. At Western Mountaineering, our local outdoors shop, the light selection of mank bolting gear they had was tucked away in a drawer behind the counter. Limited choices and I did not care for the Star Ds (D = death?).
Bolt went in fairly quick. The rawl holder I picked up at a flea market for a dollar. No nice rubber grip, just duck tape and some ½ tubular webbing as a leash. Hammer was an old Chouinard Yosemite.
Should have placed that first one higher. I climbed on up to where the chute started bending overhead. A short crack, flake thing took a number 2(?) friend. A fall would have meant some hospital time. I stemmed up several feet above and started drilling. Very slow and dainty at first, arms stretched up and back, pelvis pushed painfully in to keep from falling over backwards. Tap away for 10 hits, then quickly move back down to a one foot rest. Dance back and forth for awhile and then back up. Once a bit of bite was established I could smack it 20 to 30 hits before fading. Up, down, up, down, ninety-five minutes later the bolt was in. Bit was fairly new but old style twist. Forever drilling.
Jon lowered me off for a rest. After some recovery, I went back up and turned the first overhang. This drilling stance was butt/back against one side of the chute and feet splayed out on the other. Another quarter inch bolt - much faster to get in than the previous fatty. Good thing I can hammer with either hand. Took 15 minutes.
Next overhang was a quick move. Third was a desperate affair. Last bolt was the quarter incher well below the bulge below – looking at big air time if it didn’t pull. Almost came off. Awkward moves into the chimney crack thing and the light was starting to fade. I was able to stem over the poison oak bush and make the top just at dark. The belay was a sit upon some 9/16th slings around the flat chock stone at the top of the crack. Now I weigh 148 and Jon at 6’6” comes in at 200, but I’ve always had full faith in his abilities.
It was total dark by the time he got to the first overhang. Couldn’t suss out the moves by Braille. I lowered him off using my trusty old stitch belay plate.
Now the real dilemma... My rope (purchased second hand and came with a nice thick magic marker halfway point care of the previous owner) was a 45-meter line. I don’t recall if the lead was within that length, but for some reason remember that Jon had to scramble up the first 15 feet or maybe higher to allow me to top out. I rapped off and it was pitch black in that tube. I made it down to somewhere in the vicinity of the lowest bolt, pulled the rope and down climbed the remainder.
What a rush - excitement of a FA down in good style, free stance, no preview and no hangs. Adventure! We packed up and headed out. No flashlights of course. Must have been after 9pm. We stumbled across the slopes below Yaks Wall and before we knew it were looking at headlights way down in some wider valley than what equated to the access road. Disorientated. Uh oh. Bivy at the Pinns? We backtracked awhile and then with the occassional use of a bic lighter for visibility, bushwhacked down a hillside entirely covered with damp brush, bottoming out at one of the stone houses. We walked back up the road to the car and arrived home in the wee hours of the morning. What a fantastic day!!
(4th bolt and single belay bolt were added on subsequent leads.)
