Blodgett Canyon Climbing
Over the weekend I was able to go climbing with Dylan and Jason, a couple of Missoulians. We went to Blodgett Canyon, a 40 mile drive south on Highway 93. The route we did was the South Face of Shoshone Spire, listed in the Falcon Rock Climbing Montana guidebook as a 7-pitch 5.8+, described as
Probably the first multi-pitch route climbed in the canyon and still a mandatory classic.
The climb is all traditional style, with no bolts anywhere. It was definitely the tallest climb I had ever done. A bit scary in places but still a lot of fun.
Explain 7 pitch 5.8+ please.
7 pitches means that instead of just going up and coming right back down (a 1 pitch climb), you go up, bring the other people with you, reset everything, and then do that again 7 times.
5.8+ is the difficulty rating based on the Yosemite system. For more info see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grade_%28climbing%29 .
You rock, dude!
Hmm. no pun intended.