Muskrat Ramble

Went to back to Luggala with Andy on Saturday, started early so we were leaving as the day was really starting to heat up. Andy wanted an adventure and decided on Muskrat Ramble, the three star, three pitch HVS.

As we geared up a few midge lurked and I was worried but there was a decent breeze all day. Andy set off immediatly going off route as the guidebook start looked very dirty. He pulled quickly through some tricky climbing that didn't look that steep from the ground, an optical illusion, as it was steep and hard on the blunt end. The finish needed a good clean but overall decent pitch.

The belay was at this big oak tree and would be a great spot for a bivvy. The second pitch is the star. Steep and really really exposed. It made me feel like a beginner, nervous, overgripping and a little wobbly. Andy shot up it no hesitation. The same couldn't be said of me.

We belayed on the pine tree. Sensational spot, the rock dropping steeply beneath.

Andy decided on the last pitch of Crevasse Route rather than MR as it looked very dirty and probably isn't done very often. The start is a pretty hard, for VS, mantle onto a slab. I had trouble higher up, rushing a bit and getting all wrong handed.

We walked off and drank the beers Andy had stashed in the stream on the walk in. I was impressed with Andy's leading straight off the couch. The route felt hard and it appears that my goal of getting really solid on HVS is still a good bit off.

Oh and I spotted at least one very nice boulder problem.