TR: The Spirit of Hartouni
Originally posted to Supertopo.com, April '07
http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.html?topic_id=352929

So Will and I are sitting around drinking.... I mean we're sitting here working and we get to blabbing about going to do some JT OW..... after scouring the internet we keep bumping into a rig called Ipecac. It seems this thing always has the tag line of "go try it", and "must do" attached to various posts all over Usenet. I'm thinking sandbag. Being slightly fortified we finally figure out where it is located and head out loaded for bear.

It is a 122ft long gaping maw..... It reeks of physicality..... the grains are pretty large and a for all the world looks like a longer version of 1096 if you squint and the sun is in your eyes.

Here is the Beast in all its glory:

Ok.... you are saying no way that thing is 122ft long. You are correct... the "1" in front of the "22" is a typo. It feels like 122ft, but might only be about 18.

Here is Will shown for scale.....

It is pretty squeezy if you have been on a steady diet of BBQ and liquor since the Diet Challenge. Pro is good and you need nothing outrageous, just a few cams to 5" and then something thin for the top, which is the crux. It is awkward thin hands to fingers getting out of the maw with bad feet..... standard fare for Josh. If you fail to protect for the follower (like I did) you better hope they don't pop at the crux. They will for sure clang outta there and hit a couple of slabby ledges before they come to a bloody rest. As for living up to the name and the hype.... well..... Will might have got a small burp or two, but no actual vomit.

After ticking Ipecac we decide to do a warmdown (?) on Point of No Return. At a minimum we could go out there and look at it while drinking a beer. I had not been there in about 25 years and the memory fades..... so I decide to lead it, again.

Here is a vintage shot of Robert Carrere plugged into the business in 1980 or so:



Will had a 12" BigBro that I futzed around with looking for a good placement while still in my tennies.... I found a placement, but it would only really keep me from rolling down the hill if I fell. Even though we were "loaded for bear", none of our cams or extruded extra long hexes were even remotely large enough to protect the start...


oh well.... I boot up and launch into the thing. I don't really fit and have to go to the outside edge with a really tight chickenwing.... Will is nervous and moves into the cave at the start so I don't land on him if I pop. Good plan, as it is the kind of thing a larger man might pop out of.... and if he does, he has about a 1 in 15 chance of being able to walk back to the car unassisted. The grimness continues and the one cam I have is totally tipped out and pretty useless..... wiggle wiggle wiggle..... push cam higher.... wiggle wiggle wiggle..... push cam higher.... Yipee! The cam is finally good and the OW eases into a good rest before the interesting roof moves to belly roll onto the summit. Here is Will on the follow, right about the time a reliving burp saved him from throwing up in his mouth. This is right about where the #5 Camalot starts to work too....


We had wild plans of doing the Triple Crown of JT OW's, which would include The Inquisition or The Maneater, but thank God it started to get dark and we could go home. We'll save those just in case Ed plans a visit.

Comments from the forum:

Author: Elcapinyoazz
KickASSSS™
The Point of No Return was a proud off the couch, beer fortified, scary lead by Russ (Ipecac at least had good pro). 100% chance of grievous injury if you blow the crux, unless you have a 10" cam. A green camalot won't even start to work until halfway up the wide section, and isn't really secure until about 2/3.
25' of climbing that feels like doing ten pitches and then getting in a bar fight.
This thing is NICE. So tight at the bottom you can't turn your head without losing all the skin on your nose, and basically bombay on the entry. At least you can inhale and get a no hands/no arms rest from a chest jam. Starts about 10" and gradually narrows to about 5" in the back at the top. Cool exit moves over the roof too.
Nature is correct, Ipecac is the stuff mom used to keep in the medicine cabinet in case the rugrats drank the drano and needed forced barfing.
Bluering, turning the roof is actually easy and alot of fun. I won't give away the secrets, but the easiest way isn't the most obvious one.

Author: steelmnkey
I belayed the mighty Brutus on that Ipecac thing once (not the FA). Nearly threw up from the effort.

Author: Elcapinyoazz
"Natural Light and Natural Ice? What's up with that? "
Crag beers. See, you usually need cans for your crag beers since they often travel unprotected in your pack, and something that's a weak flavored lager....basically barley-pop so it's not heavy or sticky in the 80 deg heat. So the first choice is usually Beast Ice, 5.9%, $4.99/12pk at Rite Aid.
But when Rite Aid is out of Beast Ice, and they run out quite often, the next stop is Natty Ice, and god forbid they run out of the ice beers, because then it's down to like Beast Light or Natty Light and you lose your 5.9% advantage.
In this case, we actually had a playmate mini cooler with some bottles of Red Hook ESBs as well as the Natty. When you come off one of these wide things, not far from vomiting, the lighter swill is more appealing. Rest assured, we made up for it with plenty of ESBs and Green labels with the steaks afterwards.
But really, you're missing the best part of that picture. When (if ever) was the last time you saw an 8" wide hex?

Author: Prod
Hey Elcapinyoazz,
I did notice the 8" hex and said to myself "Self, you don't see that too often" Reminded me of piles of stuff in Sibleys back yard from when he used to make Colorado Nuts.
Got it on the ice beer, thanks for the lesson. I guess I'm more of a light weight though as I stick to my Pabst at $12.99 a 30 pack from Rite aid. You know Pabst was voted Aberica's best beer in 1893...
Prod

Author: susan peplow
Ha! Jaybro, you must have been typing your post as I was emailing you.
Holy crap. You, the monkey, Russ and Will. I'd better renew my CPR certification.
~Sooze

Author: Jaybro
Don't worry, I just re-upped mine, I'll gasp out protocol while you do the work.

Author: Watusi
Wow Russ, I haven't thought of The Maneater since Bill Russell and I did the first way back...

Author: Jaybro
You guys did first on Maneater, Mike? No wonder it felt so welcoming.
I saw It on the way to a TR solofest of O'/banger. Could not resist it's siren call. Scrambled up and placed a #5 cam attached via a long sling to my harness. Made it through the bidness and unclipped the 'biner when the sling got tight. Afterwards I scrambled up and removed the green. A very cool route.