The Pinnacle Butt-Rest

By:  Greg
July 23, 2014 5:45 pm | Category: Climbing, Summer

Here’s Mr. Flagg’s original route sketch (or “topo” in modern climbing lingo):

If you scratch out “BAD” and replace it with “tears”, scratch out “VERY BAD” and replace it with “pants-accident”, and scratch out “DINNER” and replace it with “Pop Tart crumbs,” this topo more or less describes our day and the route we chose as well (also scratch out “TWO” and replace it with “FIVE”). We trended a little further right than them on a few occasions, namely through Allis’ Chimney, and also a modern variation near the top that many today refer to as the “Fairytale Traverse.” We only did so however to keep with the tradition of parties approaching the butt-rest via the hardest route their mettle can withstand.

We swung leads almost all day. The first two pitches were pretty easy, even for hacks like us. Here’s Christian heading out on P2 with way too much gear.
too much gear

At the bottom of P3, a party ahead of us was combining pitches, and so taking a little longer. Christian caught up with them, and I enjoyed a laid back belay while Christian searched around for an alternate anchor.
on belay

It was my turn again on P3, a short 5.7 pitch leading up to Allis’ Chimney. It was the first real test of the climb. It reminded me a lot of the 2nd pitch of the Quartz Crack in Smuggler’s Notch. Oddly I enjoyed the pitch, but Christian found it awkward and hateful. We joke a lot about how when we lead, we find ways to move through terrain easily, but on second we both struggle like fish out of water. Something about the lead forces you to focus I guess. Regardless, our ascent to the butt-rest was going well, we were feeling good, and the climb was starting to feel pretty airy. But Allis’ Chimney loomed above.
first airy feel of the climb

We protected a downclimb so that we could get to a good belay below Allis’ Chimney. We took a short break, and Christian geared up to lead. The history was palpable. I could almost see Mr. Allis himself shaking like a tuna to get up that thing. Oh wait no. That was Christian.
Christian shaking like a tuna
Or if you prefer:
shaking like a tuna
Of course Christian managed his own worthless wanton wiggle. He’s a human. He figured it out. Nice job dude.

With the crux behind us, we started cruising, and feeling a little better. Pitch 5 was easy going. I led, and ran it out to a straightforward step which had nice cracks and gear placements. I probably should have belayed from the bottom of the step, but instead kept climbing, and linked the pitch up to above the step. Looking back on it, had I fallen on the step I was definitely hitting the deck because of the rope stretch that would have ensued. Luckily I didn’t have to discover this at the time. The step was incredibly airy, hanging over Pinnacle Gully for its last few moves. See Christian seconding here.
airy

Then came the Fairytale Traverse, a 5.4 traverse (although I think the rating is sandbagged a point or two, and you should probably put another “VERY BAD” on Mr. Flagg’s topo here just for us) out in space with Pinnacle Gully’s stream gushing below. It’s easy to scoot around this pitch to the left and avoid it, but of course we had to climb it. Since it was my big idea to do this, I agreed to break our cycle, and lead this pitch also. I was pretty spooked by this. It was the first real traverse I’d ever led climbed. Even though the hands are awesome, the feet aren’t there in a few moves and you have to resort to smearing. Moreover, a fall would (at least in my mind) not be a fun thing to deal with, perhaps dangling in space if a nut placement popped out. Nevertheless, I strongly recommend the pitch as the de rigueur cherry on one’s climb of the butt-rest. Here’s Christian cleaning up, which is not much less spooky than leading on traverses, mind you; a fall just after cleaning a piece would be as bad for Christian as a fall for me just before installing one:

He seemed to do just fine though. In fact…wait… is that a?…hell yeah Christian! Way to put the “party” in “climbing party!”
beer traverse
beer traverse
Apparently this guy’s fairytales include a beer. What a spot to pop one. #jealous

He finished his suds before coming up the final crack to the top of the pitch.
jealous

The last pitch is just a few moves off a HUGE belay ledge before achieving the butt-rest proper. We roped up, but didn’t get any pictures of this pitch. Once up top though, it was nothing but celebration. We’d done it. Only a mere 104 years after Mr. Flagg and friends rested their butts on the Pinnacle after strife, so too did we:
on the beer rest
(the weird rock-crop is from using rocks as a makeshift tripod)

Leaving the Pinnacle butt-rest was hard to do, but we had to head down. In a nod to the history of the route, Christian did his best to imitate Mr. Flagg’s pose from the 1910 sketch:
historical comparison

We caught a sunset from the Lion Head (another great butt-rest), and then headed back down to the valley.

I strongly encourage you to challenge yourself, and rest your butt atop the Pinnacle someday too. I don’t know exactly why, but it’s worth it.

Continue Reading: «Prev 1 2

Tags:
, , , , , , ,

Related Stuff:

  1. A First Step
  2. SPA Trip #15: Family Friendly 5.Fun
  3. Steep Jugs! (5.9)
  4. SPA Trip #9: Colder Boulders
  5. TR: A Trinity — The Dregs of a New Hampshire Winter
  6. HIKE WEEK! SPA Trip #10: The World’s Most Interesting Hike (Given its Ease)

8 Comments

  1. Harvey
    wrote on July 24th, 2014 at 3:38 pm  
    1

    Love these photos. They leave a lump in my throat.

    Sorry I can’t come up with a more original comment.

    Respond to this comment/comment thread
  2. Peter
    wrote on July 25th, 2014 at 10:04 am  
    2

    very rad. Absolutely love the composite shots. And that traverse looks like a bucket full of NOPE to me.

    Respond to this comment/comment thread
  3. SignGuy
    wrote on July 26th, 2014 at 4:10 pm  
    3

    I second the love for the composite shots! Great TR.

    Respond to this comment/comment thread
  4. ml242
    wrote on July 31st, 2014 at 11:56 pm  
    4

    Great post, Greg and Christian. Nice pics and illustrations. Mount Washington really is a place for all seasons.

    I’ve been unsuccessful in my three attempts at big outdoor climbs this summer, and seeing this really makes me want to get out there immediately to rectify it, even if I finally got around to posting my effort from May on Harvey’s blog.

    I had quite the similar issue with a traverse, of course it involved using the force to float oneself to a small ledge and was rated (cough cough) 10+, but still, the rgba equivalent of the poop smear in my shorts was really close to (0,0,0, 1.0) for the internet savvy.

    Still a couple months left, I can’t wait to see some orange and red underneath my feet before the snowliage comes in as well.

    Respond to this comment/comment thread
    • Greg
      wrote on August 4th, 2014 at 5:13 pm  
      5

      just got caught up on your adventure in the Gunks… jeez that sounds scary man!

      hopefully it doesnt hold you back though… hope you get out and get climbing on a project soon. Hit us up if you’re ever thinking about climbing in Smugg’s… happy to show you the very little we know!

  5. mtl_ripper
    wrote on August 7th, 2014 at 10:45 am  
    6

    a lot of BAD ended up looking like FUN – not my cup of tea, tho. Dig the photoshopped pics, nice twist. Enjoy the hot season!

    Respond to this comment/comment thread
  6. I'm_a_crappy_skier
    wrote on September 2nd, 2014 at 4:00 pm  
    7

    Beautiful pics! I don’t have the huevos for that!

    Respond to this comment/comment thread
  7. Butch Chamberlain
    wrote on September 18th, 2014 at 8:30 am  
    8

    Well, it’s me again. I have to say that those photos of the HR bring some pleasant memories back. When I was younger, (much younger), I went on an excursion into HRavine. I didn’t do the daring Pinnacle climb, however, did cheat an go up through the gully. Which for me was impressive. Your pics are really top notch as usual. I dare say that Christian has overwhelming love of all things vertical and flat. OMG those drops are something else. Again, a great TR guys. Keep bringing us all the fun. Most of us live in a vicarius world. And for me that is enough.

    Respond to this comment/comment thread
Please consider visiting our sponsors.

Leave a Reply

(no login required)

Check for email notifications of new comments (valid email required)        


Next (newer) Post:
Random Post Previous (older) Post:
Home
Stay in touch: Click here to follow us on Twitter. Click here to subscribe for updates to be delivered via RSS. Click here to become a fan on Facebook. Click here to read and share real time weather observations. Learn more over at the account. It's awesome. We promise!