This is the story of my journey to send The Cleaver; a brutal 5.13 offwidth roof in Moab. There were ups, downs, and plenty of challenges. Hopefully, it'll inspire you to get out and try something that pushes your limits.
Chapters:
00:00 Opening scene
00:37 Intro/Background
02:09 Mary’s experience with The Cleaver
03:10 First ascent with Sam Foreman
03:26 Think Tank Rotation 180 50L+
04:00 Arriving at The Cleaver
04:20 Getting ready for the 1st try
05:12 Sam Macllwaine
06:13 Offwidth’s Greatest Nightmare
07:25 Tom Randall’s cam slip
08:33 Pitch 1
11:18 Pitch 2 (Evan)
13:24 Pitch 2 (Sam)
19:09 “Rest days” (Ancient Art and Exit Wound)
21:21 Hero helpers
23:04 Pitch 2, 2nd session
27:40 Pitch 2, 3rd session
My adventurebased camera bags of choice:
ThinkTank, MindShift Rotation180 50L+ https://www.thinktankphoto.com/produc...
ThinkTank, PressPass Sling. https://www.thinktankphoto.com/produc...
A note about the bolt:
After my first attempt on the line, I top roped to clean the gear, and to rehearse the moves more. Once on the ground, I realized that I had cut my rope about 25% through on one of my falls! A year later, I decided a bolt in this strategic location would prevent the rope from going over the roof's edge in a sharp angle. This worked well, but the bolt was difficult to clip on lead, so we just clipped it for cleaning on TR. We now have a different way of placing the gear, where the rope avoids the sharp edge of the crack and we can safely clean on the way down, so the bolt is no longer necessary. I plan on removing the bolt and patching the hole when I have the proper epoxy putty where the filled hole will be invisible. Maybe I'll get that done when I head up there to belay YOU!