Trip Report
Petit Grepon TR

by Reilly
Monday June 29, 2009 3:36pm
I still say this route is the most fun you can legally have in the mountains without an inordinate fear of failure or death.

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Check out the Brit's stylish button-down apparel!
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The best belay in the world?
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Cue the timpani! Let the thunder commence, we're outta here!
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  Trip Report Views: 5,362
Reilly 		About the Author
Reilly is a mountain climber from Monrovia, CA.

Comments
Prod

Trad climber
  Jun 29, 2009 - 04:00pm PT
Nice!
Chiloe

Trad climber
Lee, NH
  Jun 29, 2009 - 04:26pm PT
I have fond recollections of that route from, umm, 37 years back.

Roger Briggs:



A less fossilized Chiloe, climbing up toward a nasty storm.
TKingsbury

Trad climber
MT
  Jun 29, 2009 - 04:28pm PT
SA-WEET!
survival

Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
  Jun 29, 2009 - 04:38pm PT
HA! I didn't get to climb it "until" I was fossilized!
What a great pinnacle that thing is. One of the most spectacular anywhere!
SteveW

Trad climber
The state of confusion
  Jun 29, 2009 - 05:15pm PT
'Tis a gem of a climb. But now, probably lines
to do it!!!!
Euroford

Trad climber
Louisville, CO
  Jun 29, 2009 - 05:19pm PT
that is a true classic. must be done on a weekday though. i'd do it again (and again).

ever since my first trip 'out west' i've wanted to climb its neighbor the sharkstooth more than anything. its become my arch nemesis, 3 attempts thus far and my best attempt yielded a downclimb bail from about 30 feet up the first pitch.
drljefe

climber
El Presidio San Augustin del Tucson
  Jun 29, 2009 - 11:02pm PT
*BUMP*

Thanks, that was great!
donini

Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
  Jun 29, 2009 - 11:08pm PT
A real classic! The best single pitch 5.8's are in the Gunks, but the Petit Grepon is right up there with Irene's Arete as the best multi pitch 5.8.
drljefe

climber
El Presidio San Augustin del Tucson
  Jun 29, 2009 - 11:15pm PT
Listen here Donini...
I didn't bump this under appreciated climbing thread just so you could get all grumpy on it.
Sheesh!
TRY to be more positive OK?
donini

Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
  Jun 29, 2009 - 11:24pm PT
drljefe, is there any treatment for my problem, any at all? I'll try anything....ANYTHING!
You just don't know what it's like to be grumpy. You can't taste your food, people shun you, dogs cower. The horror,,,the horror...the....
Decko

Trad climber
Colorado
  Jun 29, 2009 - 11:29pm PT
Hmmm I Dunno the Petite may be better than Irenes I mean the scenery is pretty darn good at Sky Pond.....and well the climbing is just fun....
F10

Trad climber
Bishop
  Jun 29, 2009 - 11:33pm PT
I wanna do this one !
Peter Haan

Trad climber
Wyoming
  Jun 29, 2009 - 11:36pm PT
Doninininini,

It's really clear, didn't you get the memo? You do Le Petit Grepon, and you are cured, that's what the thread is all about! Apologies to Oryx.
donini

Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
  Jun 29, 2009 - 11:44pm PT
Peter,
What a relief! I'll sleep well tonight.
Byron

Ice climber
Uxbridge, MA
  Jul 8, 2009 - 11:36am PT
Did it last year during the week. Nobody had been up there because of a pile of unseasonable snow--we expected to be closed down when we got to the base. We found conditions dry and we had the whole place to ourselves--no afternoon weather, either. Sometimes you roll a winner. Pitch after pitch of beautiful rock on a sunny day in a fantastic setting. A perfect day.
survival

Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
  Jul 8, 2009 - 12:33pm PT
Euro sez.."that is a true classic. must be done on a weekday though. i'd do it again (and again)."

True. We did it on a weekday and had side by side routes to ourselves. Although there was a team getting spanked on the Shark Thingy to our right.

Maybe we can put a Get Some Joy In Donini's Face Fund together...

mike m

Trad climber
black hills
  Oct 17, 2011 - 12:49pm PT
Petite bump
survival

Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
  Oct 17, 2011 - 12:56pm PT
Reilly Cozmic Debris bump!!

Hell yeah!!
Ezra Ellis

Trad climber
North wet, and Da souf
  Oct 17, 2011 - 09:24pm PT
Beautiful pics and TR, another for the list!
StahlBro

Trad climber
San Diego, CA
  Oct 17, 2011 - 09:38pm PT
Love that picture of the belay!

Thanks for posting Reilly
Gilroy

Social climber
Bolderado
  Oct 17, 2011 - 09:58pm PT

One of the Fifty Crowded Classics for good reason. What a sweet summit in regal environs! A day of good weather on the Petite is heaven. Having the route to yourself <fill in blank>.

kg
TWP

Trad climber
Mancos, CO & Bend, OR
  Mar 12, 2012 - 03:00pm PT
Around July 2002, I realized I was standing on the Pizza Pan Belay when I looked down at my feet and saw my stance consisted of a circular platform with circumference marginally longer than the length of my foot. I climbed this route going from the couch to rock after a two year layoff. During that portion of my life, I allowed my wife to dominate and control me up to the outer limits of my endurance. She died and I upgraded to a second wife of vastly superior personality and character. Yipee! Now I go climbing when I want!
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Author's Reply  Mar 12, 2012 - 03:06pm PT
One of the Fifty Crowded Classics for good reason. What a sweet summit in regal environs! A day of good weather on the Petite is heaven. Having the route to yourself <fill in blank>.

I feel so filthy for starting this paean. When I first did it there
wasn't even anybody else at the lake let alone on any rock anywhere near!
Plaidman

Trad climber
West Slope of Powell Butte, Portland, Oregon, USA
  Mar 12, 2012 - 03:12pm PT
It's a good one for sure. Did it in 2005. Only moderate traffic that day. Awesome weather. Always is a good memory. Love that place. Long hike though. Made for a very long day.
Brokedownclimber

Trad climber
Douglas, WY
  Mar 12, 2012 - 03:41pm PT
This is still on my "very short list" of things to do!
bhilden

Trad climber
Mountain View, CA/Boulder, CO
  Mar 12, 2012 - 03:56pm PT
I first did this climb back in July 1980 and there was no one around. We did it the way the route should be done. Hike into the base. Climb up and over and hike out down the Andrews Glacier just like they do all the big climbs in the Alps. This leaving stuff at the base and then rapping back down to retrieve it is for wussies!
mike m

Trad climber
black hills
  Mar 13, 2012 - 01:48pm PT
It was surprising at how big the summit actually is probably the sive of a large car or bigger. I guess that is not that big for a spire that a thousand foot climb on it. Super fun climbing and very consistent difficulty on varied terrain for the upper 3/4 of the route.
KaiPL

Mountain climber
Boulder, Colorado
  Mar 13, 2012 - 01:58pm PT
A fat and friendly resident of the Petit Grepon
MH2

Boulder climber
Andy Cairns
  May 29, 2015 - 05:58pm PT
The man, the myth, the TR.
tuolumne_tradster

Trad climber
Leading Edge of North American Plate
  May 29, 2015 - 07:27pm PT
I've never climbed the Petit Grepon but an ol' buddy of mine who did told me that just when he reached the summit there was a constant flux of clouds passing overhead at a fast rate and he experienced a sense of relative motion which made it feel like the Grepon was tipping over.
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