Creating the Rainy Day Crag

Based on previous rainy day blues at Boven, I decided that we need to have climbs that can be ascended soon after a rainstorm or after several days of continuous rain. Most crags are wet during the rain and many of them seep water for days afterward. I wanted to "solve" this issue.

While this may not look like the ideal day to stroll off and find the Rainy Day Crag, we know bettter.

We found this great corner with a crack in the back. With a little work, I made it big enough to get my fingers into. It seemed like a great candidate since it had a giant roof above it to keep the rain off and no signs of seepage.

Some trad climbing got me above the corner and below the massive roof. I was placing this anchor bolt while holding on with one arm and protected by cams in a slot surrounded by suspect blocks.

My handhold broke which send the block toward my belayer's helmet. Gustav caught my massive winger on to above mentioned suspect cams despite the rather large tap to the head from my handhold block. My first action at the end of the fall was to remove the drill bit and toss it to the ground. I then lunged for our 2nd line, expecting my cams to pop at any moment. They held.
Gustav top-roped the line to verify and adjust bolt positions. We then handed up his drill and he proceeded to bolt our first rainy day route.
Caesar was on standby to supervise Gustav as needed.
Bolts in place ready for Chris to test. Notice the white spots on the wall where the alternate options for bolts could have been. It is always tricky to strike a balance between safety and aesthetics. Keep the rope out of the way of the climber and out of the crack. Avoid nasty clips and ground fall potential. Etc.

Michael testing the bolted version of the climb.

Chris looking where to run to if Michael falls on the last bolt. Sometimes airspace and easy ground lead us to bolt more sparingly and leave some excitement in the climb: just the right amount though, nothing to crazy.

As promised, soon after we finished equipping the route, the mother of all thunderstorms let rip. The concussions from the thunder blew the air in our direction with such force that we actually got a bit wet under our massive roof.

You can see our top rope on the route in the left of this photo and the temporary waterfall beyond our roof. Dirt just pours in from above ..

And now for a test of the Rainy Day Crag while the storm is still raging and with parts of our rain proof wall actually wet from the spray. These great pictures were taken by Gustav.

Under normal conditions, heading out to the Rainy Day Crag a few hours after a big storm, this would be a perfect rainy day climb. During a massive downpour: well, you can make it work but only just.

The climb is rated 18 and is called Jamani.