Every time I have attempted a summit bid on the Wedge, we have ended up getting stormed off. Last year, on two separate occasions I got to listen to the bail 'biners hum with electricity as I waited to rap. This attempt, I figured (with my luck) would probably be no different.


We drove in the night before, and camped near the trailhead. The morning came quite quickly, and we made for the trail. The time went pretty quickly and before I knew it we were within viewing distance of the Wedge.




We came in a party of 6 and were the first to arrive. Travis and Pauly opted for Tiny Tim, a sporty bolt line near the left skyline. Brett and Billy went for the classic Mutt & Jeff, which is the obvious crack line cutting right to left under the 'cyclops eye'. Pat really had been wanting to do Gandalf for some time now. Legend has it that the Dirty Sox recruited Pat Callis for this climb after a few different attempts. It had a reputation for being stout and run out, but Pat wanted to drag me up it, I wasn't going to turn down the opportunity.


To get to the Balcony Ledge you have a handful of options. We ended up doing a mix of Spellcaster and Balcony Direct, and made pretty good time.




Out on the ledge, the wind was really whipping. It was pretty crazy. Pat and I discussed our options: Crux pitches in the super-wind, bail, or wait it out.

So we ended up chilling out on the Balcony for an hour or so, waiting for the wind to die down. It didn't. Finally Pat decided just to start up, wind be damned.



The zig back left through the roof is the technical crux. Quite the seam. Pat styled it, placing a number of BD micros.



When I got to the upper belay, Pat was all smiles, and so was I. I was smiling because I could see Travis on the summit peering over and hooting and hollering at us, knowing we would actually summit this time. Pat, I think, was smiling for different reasons. He points out the bail gear above, and reminds me of the run out that is coming up on the final pitch. After that last pitch I had completely forgotten it.

Pat casually climbs up the petering out seam and reaches the bail gear. "Woot! Woot! I guess this is how you score hb offsets now!" Pat hollers down. We laugh, and Pat fiddles in a couple more pieces at the end of the seam, the top of which is capped with a thin plate.

"I can see the bolt up there...watch me"

Pat sets off, reaching high on both side of the plate, mantling into the less than vertical terrain above. His right foot cuts, shooting out behind him, curling like the tail of a scorpion. Somehow he stays on and makes some of the stranger noises I have ever heard from my brother. He gingerly moves up and left, just out of sight, and I feel him make the clip.

"Wooooooooo! Pat Callis is a madman! And it ain't over yet!"


A few long minutes later and Pat tops out to cheers on the summit. I follow behind, and shake my head in disbelief. The terrain above is stout and there is only a single 1/4" bolt protecting the final 50 feet, drilled from the only available stance. Wow, glad I followed this one.....

Some summit shots....





Cheers,

Tom