The Challenger is an unrelenting and sustained 5.11a rock climb, with five of six pitches clocking 5.10c or above. It’s a beast – and a classic.
The Challenger reminds me of The Snaz in Grand Teton National Park – not in difficulty – as the the Snaz is far easier at 5.10a – but in character. The Snaz is a true test of all traditional climbing styles – dihedrals, finger cracks, hand cracks, offwidths, chimneys, runout slabs and roofs. To succeed, a climber needs to wield all the swords. The Challenger matches this diversity, just at a higher grade. Competency in burly roofs, technical corners, wide cracks, runouts and cryptic gear placements are demanded. With one pitch of 5.10c, three pitches of 5.10d, one pitch of 5.11a, and only one pitch of 5.8 – it’s solid at the grade.
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My 5.13 rope gun Jordan was the partner again. He led the insanely intimidating (and sandbagged) 5.10d roof of pitch one with such grace I almost thought I had a chance – wrong! I couldn’t even do all the moves, and ended up penduluming to an adjacent crack to bypass the crux. Pitch two was my only success of the day: an onsight of a cryptic 5.10d stemming corner. An errant foot pop derailed me late into the 5.10c third pitch, and a scary runout on pitch four, 5.11a, brought me back to the belay in shame. No surprise, Jordan made it look 5.9.
The original Challenger is only these four pitches, but we finished the extension with a meandering 5.8 pitch, and a penultimate 5.10d flare. Being the last pitch of the day, I skipped pitch six in fear of injury, and had Jordan retrieve me on rappel. A few more raps and we were on the ground.
Having only successfully freed two of the six pitches, I was beaten down, physically and emotionally. My ego was bruised and my moral shattered. Had I not onsighted my first pitch of 5.10d on pitch two, I probably would’ve quit climbing all together and taken up golf. But when the dust settles, I know lofty adventures like these sow the seeds of growth. The Challenger is a truly exceptional rock climb with five full pitches of difficult, engaging and varied climbing at the grade. After fortifying my 5.10+/5.11- trad pyramid, I’ll be back.
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DISCLAIMER
Ski mountaineering, rock climbing, ice climbing and all other forms of mountain recreation are inherently dangerous. Should you decide to attempt anything you read about in this article, you are doing so at your own risk! This article is written to the best possible level of accuracy and detail, but I am only human – information could be presented wrong. Furthermore, conditions in the mountains are subject to change at any time. Ten Thousand Too Far and Brandon Wanthal are not liable for any actions or repercussions acted upon or suffered from the result of this article’s reading.
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