Best offwidths?

[dunndan]

Want to tackle a few good offwidths this season... Any good ones to start with? Boogie til you puke is on the list for sure...

[jstod]

Hypertension!

[bradley3297]

pitch 5 of borderline. split beaver.

[squamish climber]

Did someone say Hypertension?

Photographer, Chris Christie posted these on the forum picture gallery way back.


Let's see some more photos of Squamish burly off-widths.

[dunndan]

I did some snooping and found this guy... Offwidth mid-way up Polaris

http://cascadeclimbers.com/trip-reports ... 2008-3478/

[dunndan]

... And Pipeline on the Squaw... might be an 'end of season' tick....

http://www3.telus.net/public/7394243/cl ... sode5.html

[slopr]

Your thread title may be a paradox to many climbers- "best" offwidth haha

Tantalus crack

Good luck and have fun feeling like you are going to puke, check out this dudes site if you are looking for inspiration.

http://www3.telus.net/public/7394243/cl ... idths.html

[slopr]

Your thread title may be a paradox to many climbers- "best" offwidth haha

Tantalus crack

Good luck and have fun feeling like you are going to puke, check out this dudes site if you are looking for inspiration.

http://www3.telus.net/public/7394243/cl ... idths.html

oops didn't see that someone beat me to posting this link

[scrubber]

Pitch two of Tantalus wall is also amazing: Yosemite Crack. In my opinion Boogie Till You Puke is the best though. Split Beaver is good practice if you havn't taken the training wheels off yet.

Kris

[Tricouni]

Go for the squeeze chimney on Yosemite Pinnacle Left side. First led (and entirely free) by Hamish Mutch in 1965 with old-style gear. I graded it as 5.8 at the time we did it, so I suppose it would be solid 5.10 now.

Check it out.

[squamish climber]

Yosemite Pinnacle and Yosemite crack are those two climbs the same?

Tricouni and Kris can either of post some pics of these climbs?

[scrubber]

They're not the same route, just on the same feature. Kind of like the Split Pillar and the Left Side of the Split. I've done both routes you mention but I don't think I have pics of either. On Yosemite Pinnacle Left Side, the bushes were so thick that my belayer couldn't have seen me after 20 feet or so anyway. That pitch is one of those truely old school sandbags. The Jim Campbell guide had it listed as 5.8! It's currently given 10b, but even that is pretty stout. I'd say its as hard as Hypertension (probably Squamish's only softly graded O-W).

The front version, Yosemite Crack aka P2 of Tantalus Wall, is an awesome straight in splitter. Not nearly as sustained as many of the routes at the Cirque of the Uncrackables, but burly in its own right. Those folks with longer arms (than me) may have a much easier time because they can reach a perpendicular crack in the back. With that in hand, it's simply like laybacking with one arm in the back and one squeezing the outer edge. Your ankles however, will get just as mangled.

If its something that's ever been on your tick list, go right now and get your guidebook. Now write down that a #5 camalot (old #4 size) is not big enough. Older editions of the guidebooks had the crux listed as a 4" O-W crack. It is more like 5 1/2" to 6" at the crux which is right at the beginning. You need a new #6 (old #4.5) to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. This was a hard-won and terrifying bit if beta to come by so treat it wisely. Up higher you can blindly place smaller cams in the crack in the back of the big one. Yes blind, you are sizing them completely by feel.

Have fun!

Kris

[Brendan]

pitch 5 of borderline. split beaver.

This pitch doesn’t really count!? Not only is it bolted, but it doesn’t require one single "offwidth" move/technique. It’s a combination of a lieback and a face climb.

Hypertension can be laybacked, unfortunately. So can the Scimitar.

[bradley3297]

whatever man. its a off size crack. offwidth. its also memorable because its probably the hardest pitch in my opionion. considering its one of the easiest graded pitches on the climb.

[slopr]

whatever man. its a off size crack. offwidth. its also memorable because its probably the hardest pitch in my opionion. considering its one of the easiest graded pitches on the climb.

I'll second the sandbag factor on this one, if you know how to climb OW you will probably layback/face climb it and think no big deal. If you have no idea how to climb OW you will probably try to armbar/kneejam/chimney it and have a huge thrutchfest. I have heard of this happening to many ppl on this pitch. Skullduggery in the bluffs is the same, looks like you are going to get right in it, then you end up laybacking-what a tease! Pure OW definitely seems to be the least available size of crack in Squam, not that many ppl mind.

Scrubber, that OW on Polaris looks awesome! How does polaris compare to freeway in terms of difficulty/commitment? that crux pitch looks stellar too, great TR too-might have to head up there this summer.