Vice Squad

Vice Squad is a nasty crimpy 12d at Red Wing, and one of a select few routes that I still haven't done at Red Wing (didn't I write a post about this at some point? Ah, found it.). I spent a day on it in maybe 2006 or so, and tried it again last weekend. I managed to do all the moves, but I was totally spent by the time I knew how to do it. Hopefully, I'll have a chance to try it this weekend.



Here's a video of my first try on it. Sorry for the long period of nothing. I don't have any editing software. After I get to the stahttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifnce, I just stand there for a while and don't know what to do. I think I fall at about 2 minutes, if you want to skip ahead. Then it's over. Only a couple of the groaning noises are me. The higher pitched ones are the guy climbing behind us. I swear.

It ends on a good right foot, a greasy sloper left foot, and a right two finger pocket at chest height. From there, you have to do the crux (a surprise for me! - I thought I was already through the meat of it).

The crux starts with, for me, a long reach to the sidepull thing to the right, then high step, balancing body tension move to stand up. Then you have to loosen up A LOT, and make a couple of reaches to sloping sidepull crimps, and get all fluid to make it through the next section, which suddenly changes from tight little crimps to big reaches on better holds that are further apart.



These videos don't show much. Maybe this weekend, I can rig it up so that it is recording from above.

I am pleasantly surprised to actually like this route. First of all, it looks like shit. Second of all, I've never seen any chalk on it, much less climbers. Third, it's dirty as hell. Finally, it's a crimpy tricky bastard, and all the holds through the crux are within a fourteen inch band down the wall, so that, for me anyway, it's very minging. Somehow still, I like it.
Don't get me wrong, it's no world class thing. I spent twenty minutes cleaning it and chalking holds from a toprope off an adjacent route, and I was still pulling down sand into my eyes on my redpoint attempt.
It's good to work your weaknesses, right? This type of climbing is certainly a weakness for me. I was disappointed that I didn't manage to do it last weekend, but it's nice to have something simmering on the back burner.