DISPATCHES

Anderson

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I inspect the section of rock in front of me for an easy safe route; unfortunately nothing jumps out at me. The angle of the rock is fairly low, but the surface is full of "potato chip" flakes barely attached to the wall and more importantly, there are no cracks in which I might place protection. Thirty feet above me I can see some small seams filled in with dirt and lichen that may hide a usable crack.

I take a few deep breaths, exhaling nervous energy, then slowly start to move upward, tapping on loose looking flakes, brushing off dirty holds. I place my left hand on a small crimper, right hand palms a bulge and I bring my right foot up to my hip and rock onto a sloping dish-shaped foothold. I continue this game of serious connect-the-dots until I'm about 30 feet above Jimmy. I fiddle with micro cams and steel nuts and other gear in an attempt to get some decent gear.

I call down to Jimmy, "Ok, I'm going to check out this next bit." The climbing steepens, and hope of future placements disappear as the seam bottoms out and the rock quality gets worse. I am committed; the only direction is up. The next 45 feet is a blur of technical stemming, and pawing at rounded, crumbling flakes. My legs are getting worked. At the crux my right leg starts doing an "Elvis" impersonation. "Stop shaking, damn you," I will my leg to stop.

"Keep breathing Dave, don't fucking whip man," Jimmy shouts encouragingly from below.

At last I get a locker jam, sink in a solid No. 2 Camalot and let out a victory "yalp." An interesting pitch for my first climbing in Pakistan.

I then run the rope out over fourth class terrain, to the base of an 800-foot dihedral that soars upward arching slightly to the left. This area will be the sight of our first wall camp. Jimmy quickly leads the initial pitch of the dihedral but runs out of rope before the really cool climbing starts.

Meanwhile, Brady and Steph have been busy moving our fixed lines into a more direct position, so hauling will be easier. We all rappel in the dark. Tired and worked we are greeted warmly by Ali and Zahid, who have prepared a feast of sushi rolls and pakora. A big day!

— Dave Anderson, MountainZone.com Correspondent

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