Apologies for the delay.  I thought I might throw some No-star response time into the mix before people got too accustomed to my 5-star style.  May 2009 brought us a bit further up Little Cottonwood Canyon than usual.  Up to Lisa Falls with an approach short enough for the local teens to make in DC shoes with a Black'n'Mild in hand.

After one of the first warm spells of the year, the Lisa Falls waterfall was probably at the peak of the season.  Once we identified the bolts underneath the flow, a few routes were immediately knocked off the to-do list.  We all squeezed onto the slabs away from the mist.  Needless to say, it got a bit crowded.

A few annual challenges were initiated at this last meeting.  This will be a running event with the winner announced at the last meeting in the fall.  The winner will be the climber who climbs the hardest route of the year.  Only it isn't that simple.  You also have to crack open your beverage of choice.  And finish it (without spilling a drop) by the time you clip the chains.  The bar was set at 5.7 with Safety Blitz.

And quickly reset with Where's Winky (5.8 R).

Rodan (5.10d) managed to combine various aspects of slab smears and overhanging sport into a short pitch with committing rockovers, a few roofs, and (I think!) a mandatory slab-dyno.

Up over the falls, we found some of the steeper lines in the area.  It took some convincing, but we managed to talk the kids up on top of the hill to abstain from trundling the 200lb rock they had moved to the edge of the cliff directly onto us.  It took waaaay more convincing than one would expect (or hope!)

After staring at the disallowed routes most of the day, someone was finally talked into climbing the zero-star route that was nearly out from underneath the waterfall.  Nearly.  The only problem with climbing the picturesque routes right by the falls is that they had a bad habit of being water polished.  Very water polished. 

The water was not all bad however; it managed to tend to our "gear" quite nicely all afternoon.

Just a look at some of the faces from this last week.  Thanks for coming guys (and gals!)  Keep it up.

 - No Star Tuesday