Fred Zimmerman

Above: Moving closer to the crux

I went to Caley today with Ed to climb Fred Zimmerman the proper way. The loss of the bolt has pushed the grade up to E6 6a**, with a skyhook now the crucial gear. I don't own a skyhook so thought that I could get away with a bulldog, but this would not sit on the placement properly. I did find an edge it would stay on, but is was even lower and poorer than the skyhook. Opting for max poor gear I placed one on the normal spot as well, but this caused problems on the ascent so was ditched. After a quick toprope to place and tape the runners down it was game on. It started to rain which flustered me a little, but after a quick minute I was all good and finished it off.

Below: On the jug and safe after the crux

Ed then cruised Route 1 VS 4c and Route 2 HVS 5a before we headed to the roadside. Ed flashed Bob's Bastard V1 and Chicken Heads V2. We then climbed a few classics before I on sight soloed Ephedrine E4 6a*.

With trashed skin we called it a day, pretty happy.