This weekend was the Badass Bitches Climber Crew climbing trip. We went out to Jackson Falls for the weekend with a crew of nearly a dozen women. We stayed up at the campsite near the dog walk which was a first for me. We arrived Friday night and just passed out.
Saturday we went down the dog walk to Snakes Roof where several of the ladies stayed to climb. My friends Lena, Natalie, and I went over to Spleef Peak to get on some different climbs. We started out on the 5.8 Blue Spark which was an okay climb. Followed up an okay crack in the wall but didn’t have much in regards to feet.
Next we did Through the Smoke (5.9). This was a tough one to the left of Blue Spark. I got two bolts up and was going for the third when I fell. I unfortunately swung and caught my leg on the side of the rope and got a bad rope burn on my leg.
Beautiful right? But I got back up and finished the route with no other issues. The top part was more pleasant than the bottom part. There is a frequent occurence in Jackson that the bottom part of the routes are tougher than the rest of the climb. (Not always though.)
Next we tackled the 10a to the right of Blue Spark. This route was probably my favorite of the three we did on Spleef Peak. It had a lot of interesting foot holds and the hand holds were clear to see. The moves were challenging enough for it to be enjoyable though. It was also my first on-sight 10 outside. So I was pretty excited. You can also see that there is a pleasant little sitting area at the top to enjoy the views of Jackson.
After that Lena and I went to meet up with my friend Peggy who was crushing it on Feed the Rat. Our friend James Fran made the FA of this huge off-width that required Cams the size of your head and a lot of courage.
At this point my leg was not in the mood to do anything else for the day. I had intentions of trying Wild at Heart (5.11a) which was opposite wall of Feeding the Rat. I had TR it the fall before but I just wasn’t feeling 100% for it. So I chilled for the rest of the day in hopes that I’d feel better.
We went back to camp and went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant about 30 min from our campsite. After stuffing ourselves full of delicious food we went back to meet up with some other friends who happened to be at Jackson that weekend. When we got there we saw glowing Easter eggs around the campsite and people wearing bunny ears around the campfire. I got to meet some UIUC alumni that are currently living in Chattanooga. There were great stories and company. Probably one of my happiest nights around a campfire I’ve ever had.
That night I tried my new blow up mattress and slept in my car. It was so much better than the dinky sleeping pad I had been using.
The next day we got up and went to go watch Peggy climb Off-Width Exam. Our buddy Alex crashed our girls weekend and joined us. Peggy has the energy of a goddess. It took her about an hour but after several dozen tough moves, two pigeons flying out of the crack at her, and some serious bad ass persistence she topped out of the climb.
After that three of the girls wanted to head home but I decided to stay. So I followed them to the falls where they climbed out on a 5.8 called Lovin’ Lizards after one last foot dip to the falls. Then I headed back to Exam Wall area to meet back up with Alex, Peggy and some of the people from the campfire the night before. Alex was trying to finish a route called Eminent Domain (5.12D) that had a bail beaner left behind. After several valiant attempts he switched out with Peggy who also gave it a go.
After that we could tell it was going to start raining soon so I wanted to get in one more climb really quick before we had to head back. So I did The Dagger (5.8) a few routes over and my leg was throbbing from the rope burn so I wasn’t on the top of my mental game. I managed to finish and get to the top where I found a tiny painting about 2″ x 3.5″ on a tiny easle. It was a nice scene of a forest, lake, and a little sun. I have seen several of these around Jackson now. They are apparently left behind by the cancer society. It’s super inspiring. I’d love to figure out the stories of those who put them there. Anyway…I finished the route and then Alex decided he wanted to give it a go too. I gave him a belay where he practically ran up the face of the wal, then we decided to head out due to the growing thunder.
We headed out of the canyon and went to clean the anchor for Off-Width Exam. It was then that the rain started to pour. The others told me to go on ahead to get out of the rain. So I literally RAN all the way back to the parking lot and threw my stuff in the car. First off…I haven’t ran in the rain in years. It made me feel so refreshed and like a kid. (Plus it kind of washed off the grims and sweat of the last two days of climbing.) It felt so amazing. Alex and Peggy came shortly after and after briefly saying we were going for food. We headed out of Jackson and stopped at Tequillas in Marion where we had well deserved Margaritas and food.
One of the best trips I’ve ever been on.
– Trip report by Paige Mundy, April 2017