Ascents of French Desire

I climbed absolutely horribly but managed to crawl my way up this one

Okay now the holds were very wet. Slip fest

This was the warmup climb. Unfortunately got flash pumped hard and forgot my knee pads. The top of the mega-proj was wet again...

Cleaning up a old dog.

FFA.

I dedicate this ascent to C4 icy blue razz

Easy dog to remember the moves on FC and to check out the new finish. Having had a dorsal capsular sprain a week ago, I’m mighty glad to be able to climb today... and the next 4 months. Second shot only got exciting when I fluffed a clip! Swore a bit but sent. Lovely spider at the anchors...

Went to these anchors today, less pump than the full route for sure, though you still have to deal with the shield crux. I figure I'll tick this variant then the full FC.

3/3 times through the crux first shot after a sit at the kneebar. It feels close.

Brutally hot on the last day of 2016 with unusually little breeze. Went through twice and may have found some better kneebar rest beta but it was a low motivation day. Bailed to sit in a pool and drink beer.

3 shots. No breeze but progress. High point to last hold on shield crux on the link. Feeling close.

3 more shots. One fall at the crux each time, through easily to the chains after a quick hang.

Punting consistently at the last bump move in the shield crux.

Perfect perfect conditions in the cave today. Good breeze, no humidity. Even the crux crimps felt grippy and positive. It went third shot today, no expectations just climbed fast and everything felt positive, even in full arvo sun.

As for grade, it's harder than WJP and considerably harder than Terminus. Compared to the full FC you're missing the one awkward move up and right off the shield jug and a bolts worth of easy climbing. I've not done enough at the grade to call it with certainty, but it doesn't feel a complete grade easier. Peeling off clipping the FC anchor draw a few times next week might change that perspective yet...

4th climb of the day, after sending French, though I would give this a go for fitness if nothing else. Surprised myself getting to anchors clean, casually put the draw on the anchor and somehow slipped and fell! Buugger

Fun to do once, but French connection finish has a nice flow to it. Second shot after slipping at the anchors

Outstanding at 25. Got it first go, but it really only requires two or so easy moves to link from the shield jug into Terminus of Desire's final sequence, so I definitely can't claim anything more than a redpoint for the send. It's certainly not as good as the full French Connection, but it's easier than Wet Jigsaw and probably a fraction harder then Terminus, so I definitely think it's a worthwhile route. [1]

Warm up.

End of day attempt. Spooged off the last crux move. Great first day out for the year, despite the gross conditions.

Pretty sloppy in the crux and missed the bump to the jugs. Struggled to trust the shallow left-hand finger-lock with my dodgy finger...but at least I got to give Luke some good beta for his confident send.

Training lap. Climbed well to the crux but punted the bump to the jugs again. So weak today, but stoked we had good conditions!

Had a go at the end of the day but just too knackered. A decent link up, but not as nice as the standard line.

Felt about as hard as French, given that the traverse across the bulge is a bit tricky. A good linkup.

Had to dog past the crux. Need to work those moves fresh. Otherwise a fairly doable 25.

for fitness

Gotta work out what works best for me through the "shield", looking forward to going back to work on this one.