 The route on NNE face, as seen from the N |
 Heading out just after dawn, on morn of 01-31-2020. We will go up left side. |
 Me ascending the fixed line. Lower gray section is free- hanging. |
 Negotiating some rock lips on the way. |
 Anji tops the last lip |
 Now we are on the second "hard" section. The wall is very steep, but there are cobbles for holds. The blue 8mm is used here as a handline, but will be a rap line on descent. |
 The 3rd "thoughtful" section just below the summit ridge, and is composed of crumbly rock |
 iew S over peak 3515 to Spirit Mt |
 Pinto BM to N. Very pretty, I'll be there in 3 days. |
 Anji on top of Real Devil's Thumb |
 Me rapping down the 2nd interesting stretch |
 Anji raps down. Yes I was belaying (that's why the shot is blurry) |
 3515. or next goal |
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 View back at Real Devil's Thumb |
 The summit rigde of 3515 is actually quite sharp |
 summit block |
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 Anji on 3515 |
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 We came down the east side |
 Real Dev il's Thumb, S side |
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The day before the 1st ascent, I had used 6mm rope to lasso two tiny, but firmly set cobbles, about 15-20' up on the wall. This was farther east from the 2022 location of the rope, and the bottom of the wall was actually overhung. Many people seem to think this was a relatively trivial endeavor; it was not, so I thought I'd update the explanation in 2022. I DON'T RECOMMEND THIS METHOD!
The 6mm, dyneema-core rope had a weight tied in the middle, which was to be launched over a higher horn via an arborist device. Just as I launched, a wind came up and blew the rope to the side, and as it rolled down, it caught over two tiny projections. I could not pull the rope down, even with my full weight. I bounced in my harness on the overhanging rope, till I was convinced the cobbles would hold "enough" for me to self-belay once I overcame the overhang. I put schwabisch knots (made from 1850 lb thin dyneema-core polyester) around both ropes and v-e-e-e-r-r-r-y-y carefully ascended the wall, dragging a 9mm rope behind me. After the first few feet of overhang, I just climbed the wall, moving up the friction knots as a self-belay; I didn’t want to weight it any more than I needed. Chunks of rock came loose occasionally, and I had to move with utmost caution. (In the new 2022 location, the rope has been ascended many times, and the shorter wall was cleaned of the worst loose rock.) When I got over the final ledge, I suddenly felt religious. It was probably one of the stupidest things I have done. I could just pick the ropes off the projections, with no pulling. I then secured the 9mm to a sturdier, taller horn (about 25' above the deck), rapped down on a sketchy pendulum, and returned to my co-conspirators the next morn.
(2022 note: when I came back in 2021 to reposition the rope, it had blown about 10-15' up on the wall, so I used the ledge bypass (unroped) to get the old rope and pull up a tougher new rope. This and the first time I went up, I was alone
Why bring this up? Well, we have a lot of "fixed ropes" in Red Rock (near Las Vegas); but those are meant as handlines, have knots and loops to aid grip. That rock is not steep enough to warrant a true use of friction knots or mechnical ascenders. Ascending a "fixed line," like the one below, is NOT LIKE THAT... especially with rock lips/edges blocking progress. A lot of folks think they could just "batman up" a vertical hanging rope; that would be especially dangerous here, as it could pull the anchor off the shallow horn.
Three years back, Anji, Tracy and I trained in ascending fixed ropes, for an upcoming scary trip. Tracy and I have places we can practice in our homes, and I practice passing over rock lips at an overhung dryfall near home. Many things can go wrong, and leave you stuck hanging midway. On this last trip, Anji's ascender caught in the thread used for the middle mark, and it took her 5 minutes, some scary moves, and calm reasoning to get the ascender free. I always have a rap line nearby and am prepared to assist; 2x on Pichacho, I have needed to rap down to assist a person who was stuck. It is scary and nerve-wracking for all involved