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Working at the Office
Wall Camp on Tahir Tower, Kondus Valley - Thursday, July 6, 2000
DISPATCHES
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The last couple of days we've been putting a lot of time in at the office. Our office is located at 1000 feet above the valley floor in northeastern Pakistan on Tahir Tower. We established our first wall camp on a large sloping scree ledge. The ledge permits us to walk around and yet still enjoy the views of the vertical world. Our daily commute consists of jugging up fixed lines above camp and freeing new pitches in the Great Dihedral.
The rock quality is slowly improving as we gain altitude. We have been able to free climb all of the pitches so far. The majority of the climbing has been in the 5.10 range. However, onsighting the individual pitches has been challenging. Many of the cracks are filled with dirt and have to be cleaned before they will accept fingers or protection. The climbing itself involves liebacking and stemming, with the crack ranging in size from finger tips to the occasional hand jam.
The unknown factor of this type of climbing is both exhilarating and nerve-racking: not knowing if the individual moves will be within our climbing ability, if there will be adequate protection, or if the blocks that we pull on will remain in place since no one has ever pulled on them before. But the satisfaction in completing a 200-foot pitch in good style is the ultimate daily reward for our time in the office.
Jimmy Chin
We are enjoying a beautiful evening after a long day of climbing. Full bellies and Thievery Corporation, on our Hi-Fi system, high above the valley floor... life is good. The climbing is definitely improving at this point. The last pitch of the day was a super classic 150-foot 5.10+ fingers pitch. Our 800-foot dihedral is turning into a 1200-foot dihedral. We are all getting psyched for the steep pitches coming up.
— Dave Anderson and Jimmy Chin, MountainZone.com Correspondents
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