The Open Book is Closed

No Joke. Walking by the electronic clock on campus I have noticed several times in the past couple of weeks that it has been 92 degrees here in SoCal. I've never experienced such a hot November--ever. Darren and I had thought that we would not be able to go back to Tahquitz to climb until next spring, but with such hot weather, last Saturday we decided to take a chance and climb Tahquitz's most visually distinct route: Open Book.

I have never experienced such beautiful weather at that mountain. I had to climb sans my long-sleeved shirt and Darren went shirtless (lucky boys!). After the steep hike to the top, past the famous penny log, lunch rock, and various climbing routes, we were able to look over the landscape and appreciate the mixture of endless green and yellow leafed trees. Yes, fall has somewhat hit Tahquitz with leaf color changes. I was giddy.

Even more beautiful was the view of the sun starting to set. Somewhere during the climb Darren told me to look out at the scenery again. The sun was casting a bright reflection off...the OCEAN!!! Far off in the distance we could observe its shimmery waters, something I hadn't previously seen there. At the top we serenely watched a while until our thirst and appetite took over. The climb had been a bit more challenging then the dinky 5.6s and 5.7s I had been leading in recent trips and we were ready for replenishment.

The route being more challenging made it all the more interesting. It starts with a bouldery overhang. I had to restart to get the proper hand holds. Then it moves through some cracks, chimneys, flakes, and plenty of liebacks! In fact the last part of the second pitch was pretty much used all liebacks. Some people try to chicken-wing their way up it, but thankfully I had the advice to crank up in lieback style (lybacking--not sure of the spelling--as best I can describe it, is pulling on a flake or part of a crack with straight arms, pasting and pushing ones feet against the rock wall, and using those forces to propel oneself up a rock. It can be tiring, but I actually like doing it because sometimes one can cruise around difficult moves this way).

At the top of the 2nd or 3rd pitch I had to squeeze myself into a medium-sized crack and sit on a small chockstone in order to belay. I had the entire rope on my lap in this little cubby hole and couldn't see Darren climbing because a massive rock and flake blocked my view. Eventually I could tell he was finished because he gave me the mandatory 3 tugs on the rope, and I peeled my way out with a very asleep right foot.

The last two pitches were also super fun. Just after the chockstone, I had to do a delicate chimney and then traverse to a different crack. Near the top I pulled myself onto a rock face using lots of fun twisting moves that take awhile for one to notice. It was an engaging climb. I was stoked we'd come back one last time in order to conquer it.