Satan's Slab - East Face aka Purgatory (5.6X)

October 7, 2011

Closing in on Dr. Flatiron it was finally time to climb Satan's Slab. I had posted looking for partner and wasn't really surprised that nobody jumped at the X rating. Jamie and Shaun decided to join me on this climb and I do have to admit that I'd been putting it off. The standard east face has a dangerous reputation due to the long unprotected leads to gain the initial ridgeline. A fall from the crux P2 would most likely land the leader on the ground, not a pleasant thought. It was a beautiful day and although a but windy, the fall weather was splendid. The first 3 pitches were indeed runout with pitch 2 being a definite exercise in mind-control. My friend Shaun did a nice job with the crux lead and other than having to simul to be able to build an anchor the pitch went smoothly. The rest of the climb cruised along and it was fun negotiating all the steps and notches on the ridge. 4 to go!

Here is a short slide-show I slapped together in iMovie (sorry about the Blair-Witch-esq nausea video at the end)...