The Tapeworm 

Ben, again I'm really impressed. That doesn't sound like very much fun to me, but some people have different ideas of fun. A few questions: When you say A3 nailing in the fishers, I'm curious as to what you mean. Do you typically evaluate placements like you would in granite, and rate them that way, thereby making an A3 fishers pitch way scarier than an A3 El Cap pithc because the rock quality is always suspect. Or do you take rock quality into consideration, meaning an A3 pitch would probably be A2 on El Cap, but it's not here, since the rock is so questionable. Thanks!

Very good question. I guess I take rock quality into account a little, but as little as I can. Someone once told me that what would be an A1 crack in granite would be an A3 crack in the Fishers. I do not believe this to be true. I try to always think of everything in New Wave ratings. On Death of American Democracy on King Fisher, the fourth pitch was heading off the belay for 25 feet or so, and then beaks and tied off blades after that for a ways. I thought the pitch was A3+, and in granite, I probably would have rated it a little easier, like A3 or something. This is a hard question to answer. Okay, here's a better example. I am putting up a route in the San Rafael Swell right now. In two days this weekend we only climbed the first 100 feet of very difficult nailing. At about 60 feet up, I drilled a bolt in a blank spot. After that, it was 40 feet of shallow beaks and one very shallow tied off blade to the next bolt that I drilled. Nothing would have held a fall, and I figured that section of the climb was about A3+. Probably about the same rating as it would have been if it was granite. So I really try hard not to let the rock quality determine ratings. I just try to let fall potential and difficulty of making the placements determine the rating. I hope that kindof answers your question. I guess I have never thought about it that much. I'll think about it more, and see if I can make myself more clear.

Ben

Ben- O.K. Im pretty sure I get what you're saying. I guess my question went more like this. In granite, you usually have a number of placements that you know probably won't take a fall - heads, beaks, most hooks, tiny RPs, sketchy tied offs etc. This would obviously be the same on sandstone. But say you're in the middle of some A3 Fisher Towers pitch and after a long ways get in a decent angle. That's the only piece from you to the belay that might hold a fall, but becasue the rock is usually suspect, it's hard to rely on this one piece to catch a huge fall. Therefore, is this pitch A3, or say A4, assuming that maybe that piece won't hold the fall, where in perfect rock, you'd be quite confident that it would? This is all just curiousity. I've done some granite big walls and the colorado ridge, but I'm just trying to find out what the realms of possibility are to expect on an A3 route in the fisher towers. So, answer if you can, I guess. Thanks, andy.

Andy,

I guess it really depends oh how good the angle is. I believe that a well placed angle, blade or Arrow in Sandstone can hold huge falls. Difficult sandstone nailing is usually more scary to me than granite though. The thing that is exciting about sandstone nailing is that it is more uncertain. There is always a question mark in the back of your mind. Here is an example. After we climbed the Tapeworm, I told one of my friends (Ray) about it, and he went down to solo it, and took a near 100 footer and ended up bailing. The A3 rating on the tapeworm is maybe a little bit of a sandbag though. It's definately the hardest A3 route I've done. For the most part though, ratings in sandstone should be about the same fall and danger factor as in granite.

Ben

Andy, By the way, I was scared shitless the whole time we were on this route. I was freezing cold. My sleeping bag sucked and we didn't have a fly on our ledge. I wanted to bail the whoe time, and my partner wouldn't even consider it. It was because of his determination that we finished this route. Ben

How are the rap stations down the bowel of the tapeworm? Did you rap the route?

It was 1994 when we did this route, so I don't know what the condition of the anchors is rapping down the bowels of the tapeworm, but when we did it they were bomber and it was a quick descent from the top.