We arrived at the Fisher Towers on Saturday evening, May 12. We had just enough time to make a round trip out to the Titan that evening. HOT! Worrisome hot! Supposed to be in the high-70s or low-80s, but we got there to find high-80s and low-90s were on the menu for weeks. Sigh.
Sunday, May 13th found us making the five-mile round-trip again and again, moving loads to the start of the route. NO fun! This is why I could never be a mountaineer! I much prefer a belay right out of the car… you know, slam the car door on the rope to bring the falling leader to a stop! This load-humping bit is just useless! Fortunately, I had a great support team! By 9pm, all that was left was one pack-full for me to take in the next morning as my final trek out to the base.
My support team piled into the car and left by about 10pm. Strange! I felt a rush of something like “homesickness.” It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this totally alone. I mean, it’s a solo climb, so no surprise that I would be alone. Right? But I was surprised at my reaction.
It’s been 15 years since I did something really hard. And recreational climbing just does not get the “head” ready for something like this. So, I’m having to draw deep inside and hope to find the “hard man” that once lived in there. We’ll see. I have to know. But I went to sleep feeling sore, weak, lonely, and something like “metaphysically alone.”
Monday, May 14th. Major-sore from the day before, the trek in was slow going, even with an only 40-pound pack. Feeling less like a wuss, but still surprised at how “alone” this feels. Well, it’s what I wanted.
At the base, the next step was to establish some sort of base-camp, and everything around the base of the Titan is just sloping, melting mud! So, I hooked up an overhanging buttress and placed a bolt to hang my porta-ledge from. Then I dug out a fairly flat area underneath it, which provided a nice place in the shade. The heat of the day is going to be brutal! Not sure if I can handle that or brought enough water for it! This is at least 15 degrees hotter than it was supposed to be! I may have to climb until the sun hits the wall about 1:30pm, then rap off and retreat into the shade. Once I get about 400 feet fixed, I’ll move onto the wall, and then “retreating into the shade” will just have to be huddling under the porta-ledge until the sun gets low enough to be bearable.
First thing tomorrow, I can sort tons of gear and start leading. Right away, looking up at the opening seam of the route, I see trenched head-slots! So, the first-ascent team was just trenching heads. Well, now I know what to expect: a heavily modified climb. These will NOT be “natural” placements. Interesting. I wondered what style the Spanish would employ. Now I know. Okay, we’ll see what tomorrow brings.