Mt Russell — Fishhook Arete
15 September 2019
Garrett and I climbed Mt Russell’s Fishhook Arete on a cool blustery fall day, one of the best times to find yourself in the High Sierra. There’s probably some latent desire in my Wisconsinite blood to feel the winds of winter, the kind that rips to your core, and sends you cryin for mama, and so on … something about trying to “catch” all those good things from your childhood that are lost or become distant memories over time … like sledding in the snowy woods at the farm … the mind is an associative beast and I’m always surprised as to the memories that come up in the course of these outings which do seem to activate the senses in a way that everyday ho-hum living does not.
The climb came highly recommended from my mentor Erik and it did not disappoint in any way. Acres of cracks and beautiful juggy golden granite the whole way up. The climbing encompasses a variety of techniques, from the techy face of P1, the slab walking of P2, and fin wrangling of P3, to the exposed miracle jugs of P5 (the best on the route) out of the notch, and finally the chimney-ish P6 and wandery notches and baby cracks of the upper arete.
I guess this was my first alpine climb where I spearheaded the effort i.e. actually led a good variety of pitches instead of just following the whole way up. It was satisfying to feel in control and make the whole outing feel pretty cruiser. There was only one stretch on P4 that presented a serious mental obstacle. Garrett had ran across the entire arete into the notch without putting any pro in, or even stopping to wrap the rope around a horn — nothing. I had to make a very awkward mantle onto the arete, near the start of the pitch, with the entire rope draped elegantly across the void outside the arete. It pretty much sucked and I downclimbed into the notch a shivering mess. Thankfully Garrett was able to cheer me up and apologized for the lack of style. Going up P5, I felt like a humpback whale breaching from the deep — not entirely sure why I still wanted to go up, but feeling better and better until cresting the surface and breathing the free and easy alpine aire ……
