Weekend Whipper: Sacrificial Lizard (5.11a/b), Jacks Canyon, AZ

We’ve been laughing as we get a bit more creative with some of our Whipper edits lately. Have fun and climb safe this weekend!

On a bitterly cold day in Jacks Canyon, near Winslow, Arizona, when most everyone’s fingers were too cold to climb, Barret Prosch became the proverbial sacrificial lamb on Sacrificial Lizard (5.11a/b).

Iain Macdonald, Prosch’s friend and the belayer, wrote to Rock and Ice: “It was early in the morning, and the rock had just finally gotten some sunlight. Before this our hands nearly froze off on the warmup routes. [Prosch] was our beta guinea pig, seeing as no one else wanted to go first.”

Tim Morgan, the third man in their party, filmed Prosch as he headed up Sacrificial Lizard. Macdonald wrote, “Prosch was working through the crux when he took his whip. He had already tried several other variations on the route, taking relatively small falls. He later told me that he had moved too far to the left of the route and was going to try working his way back down to the last clip.”

While Prosch’s foot got snagged behind the rope just as he let go, Macdonald was Johnny-on-the-spot and kept his pal off the ground despite the cartwheeling fall.

Oh and one more thing: Barret, buddy—put a helmet on!

Happy Friday and climb safe this weekend!

Also watch Weekend Whipper: First Normal Form (5.10a), Horseshoe Canyon Ranch, AR