The other day at Potter...

...Matt and I went up to try Leroy Brown again. Well, I was trying it again -- Matt was trying it for the first time. And like most of this season, it was raining a little. And it had been wet the night before. But, we went out anyway.

It just so happens that because there is a little roof that hangs over the crack for at least the first 60 feet, that first 60 feet stays dry (for the most part). So we set to projecting the route.

Matt got on first as I had been there before. Fresh perspective and all. The first 15 feet are, technically speaking, the hardest. Matt worked out the gear placements and some of the beta, but could seem to get around the first little bulge. After he came down, I went up to give it a try. After some tomfoolery, sassy highsteps, and double horizontal hand/fist jamming, the crux was unlocked.

After the crux, which is a traverse crux, the angle of the line changes. No longer a traverse, but a 45 degree overhung hand-to-finger crack. I guess I should be fare and say that it's really only a 45 degree overhang if you lay it back. If you jam, it's only slightly overhung. That said, there are times that you have to lay it back.

We made it another 20 feet or so up the crack, but the rain started to come down harder, and the crack started to seep a little more. At this point the hold were definitely wet, which is really too bad because we were starting to make some serious progress on the thing.

It will definitely go down soon. I just hope it doesn't happen while I'm away. Maybe it will be a next-summer-send.