David and I just got out to climb Rewritten, a mega-classic Eldo moderate. Enjoy a few pictures.
David leading Rewritten's classic 4th pitch
When we arrived in Eldo at 6:45 am, there were two cars in the entire park – and one group already on Rewritten. We decided to cruise up The Great Zot (5.8) to Swanson’s Arete (5.5) while the other climbers finished.
The west Redgarden wall. Rewritten climbs 500 feet of beautiful Eldo rock.
Rewritten’s first couple pitches and last pitch aren’t spectacular, so being the spoiled climbers we are, we decided to link the first two pitches of the Green Spur with the second two pitches of Rewritten and finish on Rebuffat’s arete. Doing this ensured that we never had to labor through a pitch that wasn’t at least three stars. The Green Spur was one of the best and most challenging Eldo 5.9s I’ve climbed.
Stareing up the awesome Rebuffat's Arete
We managed to screw up both descents, even after taking the precautions of careful study beforehand. We explored some choss-filled gullies on the north side of Redgarden that probably haven’t been visited in years.
After an hour of our "descent" we were about 100 feet above the peak of Rewritten.
David made the comment that a bad descent won’t overshadow a great climb. I agree.
David finishing up Rebuffat's Arete - This is what life's all about.
After 1000 feet of climbing and a ton of hiking in the intense sun, we were both exhausted and ready for a fresh glass of Pico’s watermelon juice. David will be heading back to Sandia National Labs next week. It’s been great having him in town. Before long he’ll be back to scaling Yosemite’s amazing granite walls.
I was actually going to suggest that link up the other day when we spoke (green spur). Thanks for the photos, see you soon.
E