Heart Creek is one of those spots that is – literally – a 10 minute drive from our house, and yet I’ve only been there once before. Not that we explored the area much this time either as “First Rock”, the first established cliff in this valley, as the name would suggest, is a mere 10 minute walk from the parking area.
As the closest climbing to the parking, “First Rock” is also incredibly slippery, almost as if someone had come by and polished the first couple of metres of rock. Despite the slippery starts, we still managed to get in a few good climbs, and I even managed to rig up a top rope to try some more “proper” climbing photography.
I also tried a new camera/lens combo – the old stand-by Canon 5D with my absolute favourite lens, the Canon 24mm f1.4L II. Due to the crappy AF system (compared to my workhorse 1-series) I used the centre focus point only. Thoughts?
Another hot, sunny day in the Rockies. Time to find some shade…
Jenn, Scott and Farzad gearing up.
Farzad high up on Potentilla Pillar, 5.8.
Jenn on Potentilla Pillar. Ignore the ropes and draws, we were having some issues (still safe, just not pretty!)
Jenn on the slabby crux at the top.
Scott.
Farzad.
Jenn.
Canon 5D + 24/1.4 = love.
Not sure if this works as well in a small size on the blog… looks great filling a 23″ screen, though!
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Really good shots. I like the one of Jenn from above, although with the ropes and draws look like a disaster waiting to happen. I guess that’s why you always climb the clipped end of the rope and don’t start at the third bolt.
Comment by Scott August 29, 2011 @ 11:14Lesson learned, hehe. We should do this again soon, though I’ll have to remember to rig myself up properly, too!
Comment by andronowski August 29, 2011 @ 11:21The climbing definitely gets better the further back you go. There’s some fun longer routes at SMC Buttress. Even further is a 2-pitch 5.9 that might be good for taking pictures from above if you had 2 ropes.
Comment by Sarah September 1, 2011 @ 22:05