Today I enjoyed a fantastic day climbing with some friends.  Ken Pitts came up for a vacation with the family with the idea of doing some crack climbing and working on harder routes.  Shawn and Kristen from DC came and joined in the fun.  Ken wanted to climb in the PMRP at Chico Bonita.  He was going on about this route there that we would love.   “Cheaper than a Movie” was the stated objective for me.  Ken said I would love this 5.8 and that I should climb it.

It was a long arching crack that started to arch right after a small roof.  This was the crux, but once pull started a long lie-back.  The crack was shallow in spots so jamming was not reliable.  I managed to place some gear in stances where I could get jams.  Overall this was a great route.

Next I lead the sport climbing Brown Eyed Girl 5.10a.  This was a fantastic face climb.  Be sure to bring a stick clip, as I could not find any long sticks around to make the first clip.  I top roped this climb once more and then it rained us out.  Two good climbs, one wet rope.

Patrick Weaver

Appalachian Mountain Institute