I freakin' flashed this! Once again, though, I was following, and in this case,
that made a huge difference. With Left Ski Track,
which we did the last time we were here, I felt like I could have led it
without falling (albeit barely.) With this, I doubt it. This is one of the four
infamous (i.e. notoriously sand-bagged) “Joshua Tree .10c's”, each
of which is probably more like 5.11b. Grit Roof is actually now rated .11b,
because a crucial flake broke off at the lip of the roof. But O'Kelley's Crack,
Bearded Cabbage, and this route remain .10c, at least according to the
“official” sources. This was the last one of the four that Aaron
hadn't done. It is now the first one I have done. Of the four, he only
onsighted O'Kelley's. This one beat him pretty good, although a big part of
that was the gear placement. Either it was devious, or he was just being too
picky or paranoid. Better safe than sorry. It seemed to me like the crux of
this climb was the entire first half, which was all overhanging. Aaron got
seriously pumped out while trying to place a nut in the middle of this. After
that, he never fully de-pumped, and had to hang three or four more times. I
miraculously managed to hang on, but only because I let the gear hang on the
rope throughout the whole first half of the climb. When I finally got to the
first halfway decent rest, there were six or seven pieces stacked up on the
rope, and I had to rack them all with only one hand free. Fortunately the upper
part, albeit wide, was not difficult, and afforded some pretty decent rests. I
think I would rate this one 5.11a, just because it was so pumpy. It felt much
harder to me than Left Ski Track. I guess the holds were better, but it was
overhanging and more sustained.