Weekend Whipper: Fighting the Pump on “Gold Rush” (5.11a)

We’ve all been there…

Chris Herle told Rock and Ice, “This video is from a trip with a few friends of mine from the Chico State Climbing Club to the Trinity Arêtes in Northern California in November of 2018.

“I was fighting the pump near the top of Gold Rush, a 100-foot 5.11a. I got into one of those ‘I know if I make another move I’m going to come off’ situations and prepared myself for the fall.

“My belayer was anchored in to the platform at the base to protect against a ground fall early on, which resulted in me taking a harder fall than I would have liked. Next time I would have my belayer detach his anchor after I clipped the third bolt to hopefully get a softer catch.”

Thanks for the breakdown Chris—sounds like a pretty good plan to us!

Happy Friday and climb safe this weekend!

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