Dark Rhythm

After my first experience on Darrington rock last weekend (Dreamer/Urban Bypass, Green Giant Buttress) I was keen to get back and try another big route there. The beautiful alpine scenery, adventurous approaches and technical friction slabs captured my fascination. Exfoliation Dome caught my eye in particular, with its clean granite slabs towering thousands of feet above the treetops of the Clear Creek valley. Finding a keen and uninjured partner on campus proved challenging, but I easily joined forces with an engineer from Seattle, David, via the Cascade Climbers partner forum. An added bonus- his truck was much better suited to the rugged roads of Darrington than my Honda Civic!

Friday night we drove as far as we could to the trailhead for Exfoliation Dome, but the road was predictably blocked by down trees about a mile out. For a great update on the approach (maybe out of date now), see this report: http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1148008/TR_Darrington_Exfoliation_Dome#Post1148008.

Here is a (rough) breakdown of our Saturday on the route:

4:30-5:40 am: breakfast, packing up

5:40-7:20 am: Approach

7:40 am- 3:00 pm: Climbing

3:30-5:30: Descent

6:00-7:30pm: Walked back to car

8 pm- left Darrington

The "granite sidewalk" approach to the dome was a blast- imagine walking up a steep, highway-wide slab just low enough in angle to discredit the need for a rope. David had to put on his climbing shoes early on since his hiking shoes couldn't grip the water-worn granite- I was grateful to have comfortable, sticky approach shoes! The occasional tree-climb and waterfall kept things interesting, and before long we were at the base of the dome. It took a bit of searching to find the start of the route- for those interested, it is maybe 200 feet down and left of a 15 ft white stump.

Despite how big and technical of a route Dark Rhythm is (compared to my experience level anyway!) the whole thing felt surprisingly casual. I lead off first on a run-out and mossy 5.8 friction slab without much difficulty, and soon David and I settled into a "rhythm" of swinging leads: a 5.10a here, a 5.9 there- 11 pitches of slab climbing falling like dominoes. We took one fall each I think, both at the 5.10c crux which David lead competently.

The unique thing about slab climbing, for me anyway, is that it quiets the mind more than any other style of climbing. When you're climbing steep jugs or cracks, your next moves are laid out for you and it easy to maintain an inner dialogue ("my feet hurt/I'm hungry/this pitch is long/can I get a nut in there?"). On friction slabs, however, the climb-able features are so subtle that only a clear mind and pointed focus will allow you to perceive them. Your eyes become hawk-like, zooming in on slight scoops for feet and small knobs for hands. Definitely not a style for everyone, but I find it pretty zen!

The technical slabs behind us, early-season conditions required a final pitch of steep bushwhacking and post-holing through snow to reach the summit. The views up there were worth the struggle!

After a short bout of scenic lounging and lunch-eating we began the long haul towards home. The 9 rappels that we were supposed to take to the base somehow turned into 10 or 12 (we lost count), but fortunately they went without incident. Walking back down the steep granite sidewalk also proved to be easier than expected, but we really couldn't ease our concentration until we reached the road!