TRIP REPORT: POC at SENECA -- OCTOBER 18-19, 2003

Ross Potter and I drove to Seneca in his very comfortable and well-designed Chevy Avalanche. We tried the Route 43 Turnpike extension from Route 51 just south of Miflin to Route 40 near Brownsville. It was so much longer that, despite the higher speed limits, it actually took ten or fifteen minutes longer than driving directly down Rt. 51 to 119 and Route 40. Anyway, we arrived at about 8:30 and set up our tents in Groupsite "D." Only Wyatt True's friend, Andrew, was there before us. There was also a tent up in Groupsite "E," but we didn't see anyone there. It had rained a lot on the way down, but there was only a very light rain as we were setting up, and that stopped shortly later. Predictions for Saturday and Sunday were "partly cloudy."

Other volunteer leaders arrived shortly after us. Jim Schuring, Maggie Schneider, and Barb Homistek all arrived early. I was pleasantly surprised when George Chapman from Baltimore showed up with his regular climbing partner Dave. Dennis Melko and Dave Maltz would arrive later. John Hrizo, Tom Prigg, and his wife Jen Phillips were also available, but by the time they checked in with the organizers, all the first-timers had already been assigned to three-person teams. That left them free to check out ECP Mountaineering School Students on Rock-Climbing and Multi-pitch skills. We would see them on the rocks.

About 9 or 9:30 the main group arrived from Pitt - four vans and about a dozen cars all in a convoy. It was pretty spectacular. They all parked in the groupsite "E" parking lot, and about 9:55 a large group came lugging their tents and gear up to site "D" since the "E" sites were already filled. The organizational meeting had been planned for 10:00, but it was obvious the group wouldn't be ready for that until later. The meeting finally was held at 10:30 by the campfire in site "E." Janella "Jello" New gave the general directions, including the request to "keep the noise level down" (Camp Mgr. Dean had asked for this since the person in the trailer nearby had had a hard day…General camp policy is that after 10 pm is "quiet time" though strict enforcement of that would be difficult and sometimes nasty). The campers did keep the talking reasonable, but with so many people, it may have added up to a fair volume. Dennis Melko told us later that he had had words with Dean over it.

The students and leaders then separated into groups according to their plans for Saturday activities - Cavers, Hikers, Paddlers, Climbers, and Relaxers. Emily Cough sorted the climbers out, assigning first-timers to Leaders. Maggie would be doing trailwork on Saturday, so she was not at the Friday night meeting. George Chapman had misunderstood the time of the meeting (he thought it was to be 10 o'clock Saturday morning), and Dave Maltz wouldn't arrive until much later. Still, with a number of good student leaders and five volunteer leaders (including myself) we had more than enough leaders to get all the climbers on teams of three. The groupings were not all optimal, but they would work.

My assigned team was Christian Mason and Jennifer Einstein, both reasonably strong climbers, but both doing their first multi-pitch. Oh, well, I would be starting out very easy anyway. I told them the time we would be starting out (leave camp at 7:45), and what they would need by way of gear. They both had shoes and were able to check out the hardware and slings they would need. Helmets would be checked out at 7 in the morning.

Ross Potter would have two students with some previous multi-pitch experience, Ibai Munoz and Abigail Good. That would work, even though neither was a veteran second. I found out later that no student had been assigned to Barb and Jim. Obviously there was some confusion. I went to my tent and lay down - fell asleep on top of my sleeping bag wearing all my clothes. Later I awoke, stripped, and crawled into the bag and slept until almost 7.

Saturday - Climbing with Dave Maltz and Jen Einstein

As I was setting out my breakfast, I was greeted by a smiling Dave Maltz. I didn't even recognize him at first, it had been so long since I had seen him. As soon as we started talking, I knew the perfect adjustment for my team assignment. Dave needed a partner who could second, and George and his partner Dave had no student since they had missed the Friday night organizational meeting, so I decided to have George and Dave take one of my first-timers, and I would team up with Dave Maltz with the other first-timer. Both George Chapman and Dave Maltz can lead 5.hard, but I figured George's partner Dave could probably second harder climbs than I could, so I introduced Chris to George and his partner and let them be a team. Jennifer would be teamed up with Dave Maltz and me.

We moved my climbing gear into Dave Maltz's car (even though Ross thoughtfully provided me with a spare key to his truck in case I needed access while he was up on the rocks). Then we drove down to the parking lot and geared up. I didn't use the checklist this time, but we didn't forget anything. We left the radios behind, because Dave prefers not using them. We took Dave's rack and my twin ropes. I also carried my trusty #11 hex and some extra slings and 'biners. We took my pack, but Dave carried all of what he needed strapped or clipped on himself, so I put my fanny pack with all my "emergency stuff and lunch," as well as my fleece, inside the pack. Jennifer also carried most of what she needed (mag light, rain jacket, lunch, nalgene of water, and shoes) clipped to her harness, so it was a really light pack.

Dave let me decide on the routes, so (avoiding the "stairmaster" as much as possible) I chose the Ecstasy-West Buttress Variation, followed by the final pitch of Ecstasy Junior. We were in luck. No one was ahead of us on our chosen climbs.

Dave had the rack on, so he led the first pitch with me belaying. He used much less gear than I would have, so he was up there quite quickly. As he was finishing the pitch, a couple of fellows came to wait in line behind us. They were going to do the three pitches of Ecstasy. Jen went next and, after a bit of a slow start, did just fine on the pitch. I followed and cleaned. When I got up there, it was apparent that Dave was right in line to go up the second pitch and I was properly anchored to belay him. So I gave Dave the few pieces I had cleaned, and he led the second pitch. I don't think we exchanged or restacked the ropes, but they fed out smoothly anyway, and Dave was soon anchored on the ledge above us.

Jen followed, again with no problems. I came up last and cleaned. Somewhere along the line I remember struggling a bit with one of Dave's cams, but it came out with a bit of a tug. Again, there were only a few pieces to clean.

At that ledge, there was more room to move around, so it was easy for me to take Dave's rack and slings and a second rope end, and set up to lead our third pitch (final pitch of Ecstasy Junior). I had no trouble leading the pitch, and again had my favorite placement for my #11 hex (first placement when I come around to the west side of the wall). At the top I was very sorry to see that the small, pine tree on the left wall of the belay ledge has been blown down or pulled down. It is still attached by one or two small roots in a crack on its southern side, but they probably aren't enough to sustain it. I then brought up Jen and Dave, who made it very fast.

We coiled the ropes and scrambled through to the wide, pleasant couloire between the top of the west buttress and the main wall. It was just about 12:30. We had a quick lunch and started up the couloire toward Luncheon Ledge and the major South Peak climbs. On the way, we stopped for some photos where there was an especially good view out to the west along Seneca Creek Valley.

On the way along the West Side, Dave pointed out to Jen the major formations and climbs. He told of having climbed Marshall's Madness with Todd Mummert in years past, and his wish to lead it now. I told him that was one I wasn't ready to second at this point. Again, Dave let me pick the route, so this time I chose to lead the first pitch of Prune, to be followed by Dave leading Front-C if that was okay with him. Dave was agreeable to that plan. Jen had enjoyed the climbs so far, so we figured that should be doable for her.

I took the rack again, and led Prune-1. Sometimes I have found it hard; this time it went easy, and I went just about straight up - at least my pro was in pretty much a straight line. I anchored and belayed Jen up. I tied her off and photographed her finishing the pitch. I had her anchor to the tree at the base of Front-C.

When Dave came up, we exchanged rope-ends and the rack and slings. Then Dave traversed to Front-C and led it, setting a good first directional and only a couple of additional pieces. He stemmed and face-climbed the whole way up, never once resorting to lay-back mode. Nice Lead, Dave! Jen followed, pretty much the same way Dave had done it. She struggled a bit, but she made it all the way with no problems. I went up last, and pretty much did it the same way, but I think I might have gone into a layback briefly while figuring where my next holds would be.

While we were doing Front-C, we got to watch Nick Sisk doing a nice job on Monkey-See-Monkey-Do (5.8) to the north of us. Nick is formerly from the Pittsburgh/Johnstown area, and we used to see him frequently at Derry, White Rocks, and other SW Pennsylvania top-roping crags with Dutch Cirilano and Rick . For several years he was a guide at Tom Cecil's Seneca Mountain Guides. Now he is married and living near the eastern seabord.

After we finished Front-C and as we were setting up for our final pitch of the day, we got to watch our colleague, Ross Potter, setting up a rappel for his team at the top of "Old Man's Route."

From the top of Front-C I was ready to lead to the top of "Old Man's" at the Traffic Jam Tunnel. Dave asked, "How about Critter Crack instead?"

"Okay, but you'll have to lead it, I responded. That was fine with Dave. Dave and I could scramble to the base of Critter Crack, but we decided that with a first-timer we should lead it as a pitch. So I led it, putting a sling on the big tree between the finale of "Old Man's" and the gully up to the base of Critter Crack. Jen followed, and Dave walked up after her carrying his rope.

I put Dave on belay, and he led up Critter Crack making it look easy, placing four, maybe five, pieces of pro. It took him almost as long to set things up at the top as it had taken him to do the pitch.

Jen went next. For her, this was a tough one; she had to work hard. She expressed doubt a couple of times and fell once or twice, but she made it up and was rightfully exhilarated at the achievement.

I brought up the rear, cleaning. Dave's first placement was a #10 hex about 6 or 7 meters up the crack and pretty deep into the crack. My first attempts at removing it from below were to no avail, and I was getting worried. It was too deep to use a nut-pick and hammer. Fortunately, I got it to move a bit when I got a little higher and had better leverage. I was able to remove it. I continued climbing. It was a hard climb for me (it always has been) both in the physical effort it took and the mental challenge of finding holds and ridges that would work for my hands and feet. Nevertheless, I moved up pretty steadily and had no problems in removing the few remaining pieces Dave had placed. I got to the top, quite tired and puffing, but very pleased at being there. Dave belayed me and Jennifer down to the Summit Ledges on the east side, then free soloed down himself.

We took our ropes and gear and scrambled up to the south peak. It was pretty late, (after 5, I think) but we wanted Jen to have a chance to be on the summit. I scrambled up with a rope, and belayed Jen up, with Dave following right behind her. We quickly made our entries in the summit log book and took a few obligatory photos. As I was belaying Jen down, she stopped for a last photo of Seneca Valley from the peak. I told her then that now our primary consideration had to be "Time," because darkness would soon find us.

There was a party ahead of us on the rappel at the top of Conn's West Direct Finish. Dave went down with a rope to be on line and to start setting up our rappel as soon as they were down. I kept the second rope and put Jennifer on belay for the scramble down to the rappel station. Jennifer and I were waiting until at least one of the team ahead of us had cleared to make room at the belay station. This gave me time to get out my new bright LED "head-lamp" and attach it to my helmet (I used tape to make sure it would stay in place). While we were waiting, a couple of fellows from WVU who had come after us scrambled down. So I then belayed Jen down to join Dave and keep our place in line and make sure he had both ropes when it was time to set up our rappel. I then followed.

Dave suggested that the two fellows from WVU rap down on our ropes and set up the next (final) rappel using their rope. That worked, and we were all down on the trail while there was still daylight. I kept my rock shoes on until I got down to the hemlock grove. Of course the further down we went the darker it got, due to both our movement and the suns apparent movement. By the time I had my shoes changed and started down the stairs, I had time to try my LED head-lamp. It worked fairly well, but wouldn't be good for finding a route or viewing things at any distance.

Saturday Evening - Festivities at Seneca Mountain Guides

Back at Dave's car, we stowed our gear and drove to "town." It was jammed…there were cars everywhere. Dave found a place to park his, and we headed towards The Gendarme for the big Chili-Cookoff that was being this evening. We quickly learned that the chili had long since been consumed, and the slide-show was in progress. I hope the trail-workers, at least, got to taste some of the chili; they earned it. With the hundreds of people that were there that evening, I can readily see that the chili-would have been gone early. There was even a waiting line for tables at the front porch.

But we were in luck. Things got rolling just a bit later at Tom Cecil's Seneca Mountain Guides. The Blue Grass band had just gotten started, and there was still some food and beer left. Tom told me they had started with a lot of meat (I think he said 80 pounds), but there was not much left by this time (7 or 7:30). I had a small portion of it, and plenty of beans, and some delicious salad (cabbage and horseradish and probably some other items).

We really enjoyed the music. Pretty soon people couldn't keep their feet still and there was lots of stomp'n and clogg'n on the deck. It was great to see Tom again and introduce some of our group to him. I introduced our Climbing co-chair, Emily Cough, to him, and the next day he was able to help her out on the rocks. As she explained it, she struggled a long time with a cam that had "walked" deep into the crack, and Tom came by and showed her how to extract it.

Back at the campsite, Matt was heating up some chili that he and Emily had made, but I was quite satisfied by now, so I didn't get around to trying it. At 10:00 we again had the organizational meeting to plan Sunday activities. Dennis Melko made an announcement about keeping the noise level down as much as possible, so we wouldn't have problems with the camp manager. The climbing teams were again set up. This time Chris would be teamed up with Dave Maltz; he was hoping to do something somewhat harder than the 5.4 he had done on Saturday.

Sunday - Climbing with Ross Potter and Andrew Prince

I teamed up with Ross Potter. We would have two students, Rob Bailey and Andrew Prince. Both can climb pretty hard climbs, but are bothered by the exposure of Seneca climbs. We would make a good team, because Ross is just getting back into leading after a fairly long time away from it, and we would be doing something easy and not too exposed - probably "Old Man's." Rob had a six-page paper to do and was concerned about getting back to Pittsburgh in time to get it done; he finally decided to go home with Ibai who would be driving home starting at 6 a.m. Sunday. So our team would be Ross Potter, myself, and Andrew. I knew that we wouldn't be able to start as early as we had on Saturday; we had to break camp and pack our tents and gear before leaving Sunday morning. We made plans to get started from camp by 8:45 the next morning.

I went to bed and slept very well. Fortunately, it did not rain nor fog over during the night. The tent was dry when I awoke in the morning, so packing to leave was fairly easy. We would be using my ropes and Ross's rack. Ross had a lot of organizing to do, so it was later than planned when we got started.

I am very slow on the steep approach stairs and trail to the rocks. So it took us quite a while to ascend. Several parties passed us on the way, and Dennis Melko and his partner were right behind us when we reached the bottom of "Old Man's" and "Conn's West." (They both start at the same spot.) When we arrived there, a party of two was climbing "Old Man's;" the second was just starting up. A party of three was waiting ahead of us; they were planning to climb Conn's West. The second climber in that party was from my age cohort - he has been climbing since 1953. Their leader started soon after the people ahead of them cleared the bottom section. He had 60 meter double or twin ropes, and I soon realized he had climbed right past the first Conn's West belay station and was heading for the second.

Ross suggested that he would be comfortable with it if I wanted to lead the pitch since I knew the route and it would be new for him. I took the rack and got ready to lead. We checked out our radios on frequency 7.8.

When the elderly second climber was well on his way, I asked the remaining climber if it would be okay if I started my lead, keeping pretty much away from his line of pro. He said okay, so I led up, keeping to the left of their line. I did finally have to cross his line, since the "Old Man's Route" ends to the right of "Conn's West." I made the crossing at a flat section right behind a big root that crosses both routes. (That level section is the first belay station for "Old Man's" - seldom used now that ropes longer than 120 feet are standard). I crossed under their rope at that point, since their last climber would be going up before I would be bringing my first partner up.

On the final twenty foot section, I made a special effort to climb up the right side of the north-facing flake, avoiding the inside, off-width crack that has stymied so many beginning climbers. They get comfortably wedged into the crack, then have not the room to move themselves up. I put my pro in on the right and went up to the finish. Before I was finished, the last fellow on the "Conn's West" party climbed up to and across my line, so all was clear between me and the rest of my party.

At the top, I set up a directional off the tree about fifteen feet back from the north-facing edge. I planned to belay through it rather than directly down off my harness. Before I got it set up, I learned I was out of rope, so I had to considerably extend the directional anchor. Finally I got it all set, and put Andrew on belay and brought him up. He came up with no problems, but when he got to the bottom of the last vertical section right below me, he was puzzled. He didn't know which way to go. I told him to take the route to the right where my pro was, and Dennis Melko, who had already led up to the first Conn's West belay station even showed him where to traverse out to the right to follow my route. However, Andrew chose to stay in close to the corner where there is less exposure. He got unclipped from my placement, then came up on the inside corner. He is a capable climber, and got himself up without getting stuck in the offwidth - at least not for long. I directed him back to the big tree where he clipped in; then I took him off belay.

While Andrew was climbing, Mike brown had brought his partner, Mandy Waksmonski, up to the old first belay station on "Old Man's." Mandy is enrolled in the ECP Mountaineering School, and this year each student is getting in a climb at Seneca as a test of their readiness for the school. They must have basic rock climbing skills in order to be accepted for the school. Mandy completed the ECP Rock School last spring, but she had been unable to attend the "Graduation Climb" at Seneca in early May. She was now getting a somewhat unusual introduction to multi-pitch, since Mike Brown basically free solos "Old Man's." He didn't use any pro between that first belay station and the ledge where I was. He climbed to my ledge, brought Mandy up and the two of them were off on the traverse pitch all in the time I was bringing Ross up on belay. I was sorry that I was busy belaying and could not take pictures of Mike and Mandy or of Dennis and his partner while they were in the vicinity.

Ross cleaned our route with no problems and tied in on the far side of the tree. I went over and gave him the pro and slings, and generally explained where the second pitch (a fairly easy traverse) went and where it ended. I set up to belay him from right there. Andrew asked if we shouldn't bring the ropes over to where I was belaying from. I said no, indicating that they were properly stacked where they were. It turned out Andrew was right. My haste made waste. A loop of the red rope did get stuck in a gap between some rocks, and I had to have Ross clip in where he was while I went back and retrieved the stacked red rope. Finally I putt Ross back on belay, and he finished the traverse and brought Andrew over. I followed, carrying the rope over the traverse in the interest of saving time. We met at some of the trees above Le Gourmet Direct and got reorganized, and I took a couple of snapshots.

Then I led to the top of "Old Man's" As I was starting the last twenty-foot vertical inside corner, Toby (one of the Seneca Mountain Guides) asked if they could drop their rappel rope. I didn't like that idea at all. I had only a short section to go, but it was one of the two vertical sections on the whole route, and I didn't fancy having ropes or rappellers coming down while I was climbing it. I suggested they drop their rope over the west side, to the next rappel station, but Toby indicated that that wasn't where they wanted to go, so they would wait. When I anchored to the tree, Toby and his client tossed out their rope and rapped down.

While I was setting up the belay for Andrew, another of the guides came through the tunnel and asked if he could set up his rappel. I really wanted the area to be as clear as possible for our team coming up, so I suggested that he and his partner rap down on Toby's rope that was already in place, while I waited to bring Andrew up the last pitch. They got Toby's permission for that, and were off the station and the rappel rope was down in fairly reasonable time. Then I brought Andrew up and had him go into the Traffic Jam tunnel and untie. It was not yet quite 3 p.m., so there was time enough, I figured, to go to the summit and still get down by 5 (the planned departure time for the vans). I asked Andrew if he wanted to go to the summit or just rappel out from where we were. He indicated that he was cool with just rapping out from where we were.

I brought Ross up on belay and had him join Andrew in the Traffic Jam Tunnel. While I was belaying Ross up, another team of two came up from the other side of the belay/rappel ledge (Tripple S Direct Finish?). They were ready to rappel out, so I suggested they just set up their rappel rope on the south side of the big tree (behind me) and rap on out. They did that.

Next was the logistics of setting up our rappel so that Andrew and Ross could easily and safely get down to the next belay station. I threaded the red rope (the only one on which the center is clearly identified) through the cold shuts in the wall and dropped it. Next was the problem of rigging a safety anchor that would work for Andrew. He was not comfortable with the idea of going back into the tunnel to untie and retrieve his safety line after setting up on rappel. It took quite a while to work this out. While we were discussing it, a couple of climbers came through the tunnel and asked if they could do the first rap on our rope and set up their rope for the second rappel while we were working that out. It sounded like a good plan, so they went ahead. Meanwhile, as I came down from the high ledge to a lower one, I realized that I could solve the problem by tying Andrew's safety line to the same tree I was tied-in to. Then I could retrieve it, and Andrew would only have to unclip.

Ross rapped down. He was going to wait on a ledge above the next rappel station for one of the two fellows to clear space at the next station. I urged him to finish his rappel, since there was easily room enough for three at that second rappel ledge. When he was off rappel, Andrew put his rappel rig on, and I checked him out. As soon as one of the fellas was rappelling from the station below, Andrew unclipped his safety line and started rapping, with Ross giving a fireman's belay from below. It took a while for Andrew to get down and safely clipped at the next station, but when he was clear of the rope, I rapped down, stopping at the higher ledge where I could reach the cold shuts. I was surprised to see the rappel rope to the bottom had been pulled. Ross explained that it was a single rope and only reached to some ledges below; you had to fourth class it from the end of the rope to the trail. Ross didn't think that would work well for our party, and he was right.

I threaded the end of our black rope through the cold shuts, tied the ropes with a square knot backed with a double fisherman's on each end, and coiled and dropped each of the ropes. They went most of the way with no problems and Ross indicated he could handle any tangles or hang-ups toward the bottom. Ross went down first, and set up a fireman's belay for Andrew. I explained to Andrew that these were thin ropes and went much faster and hotter than the usual 10.5 to 11 mm rappel ropes. I told him I had a glove he could use. He said "I'm Okay," and I took him at his word - that was a mistake; Andrew didn't realize what I was saying, and he used his guide hand above the rappel device to try to slow his descent. He ended up with some painful rope burns on his guide hand.

Local Icons - and homeward bound

While I was waiting I saw some of the Seneca icons. First I saw a "crazy man" free soloing Le Gourmet Direct. It turned out to be Harrison Schull. He lives in Asheville now, but comes back to Seneca for special events like the chili cookoff (Harrison has won it most years; I forgot to ask him if he won it this year). Ross later told me someone had put up a stepladder on South Peak Summit to get a photo of both sides of the mountain. I'll bet that was Photographer Harrison; he was probably running up to the summit to retrieve his ladder.

Then I saw Mike Goff scrambling around the trees and ledges at the end of Old Man's traverse. We chatted briefly, then he was off. Later, in the parking lot, he indicated he has "retired." I knew he was retired from teaching (at Univ. of Northern Arizona at Flagstaff), but I think he meant in this case that he was retired from the trailwork crew. He is working a couple of days a week at an old-style lumber mill. I got the impression that he gets paid in lumber and is using it for building on his property. Some years ago he told me he had two pieces of property…one in Moorsfield and the other down near Franklin. One was his home and the other was his garden. His description of his place this time suggested that maybe he had another different location, but maybe he was just giving a more detailed description of the location of the property down near Franklin. Mike is one of those wonderful, charismatic people that I would gladly follow anywhere.

Once Andrew was off rappel, I rapped down, wearing the glove I had gotten out for Andrew. Even with the glove, it was hot on my hand. At the bottom of the rappel, we met up with Dan and Christian and some other POC climbers who were heading down for the 5p.m. vans. I am slow going down, so I told Dan and the others to go ahead and not wait for me. Ross and I pulled the ropes ("Pull Red") and coiled them (Ross does a figure-8 coil on his feet). Then we headed down. I changed into my approach shoes at the Hemlock Grove. Ross kept his on "to break them in."

I think Andrew and the other POC climbers made the 5 p.m. deadline, but it was 5:05 when Ross and I walked into the parking lot. It was certainly a good thing we had not tried to go up to the summit.

It turned out that the last van had to wait anyway. Maggie and Ann and Jennifer were still up on the rocks. I called Maggie on the ECP radio channel, and she answered right away that they were at the rappel station at the top of Conn's West Direct Finish. It was good news that they were okay, but disconcerting that they were forty-five minutes or more from the parking lot. A group of students made a hacky-sack circle and whiled away the time. Ross and I decided to head out. We made a stop at the rest-room and started the drive back to Pittsburgh.

The trip home was pleasant. I offered to drive if Ross got sleepy, but he was good all the way. Meanwhile, I dozed on and off for much of the trip. We reached West Miflin about ten o'clock or a little after. We transferred my gear into my minivan, and I was home in time for the late TV news. I was able to report to my wife that it had been a great trip… one of the best in recent times. Excellent weather and excellent companions. I'll be looking forward to going again next spring.