Weekend Whipper: Flash Attempt + Overhanging Ringlocks = Indian Creek Backslapper
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
This week’s whipper comes from the classic Annunaki (5.11+) in Indian Creek. John Nguyen had a proud flash attempt on the 50-foot pitch, placing good, spaced gear and flowing through the initial bouldery sections.
Onsight spoiler alert! The crux is just below the chains—a fierce, overhanging sequence of ringlocks—which has surely spoiled more flashes than just Nguyen’s. When he pops off, Nguyen’s heel wanders behind the rope and he knows he’s in for it. “I tried my best to tuck [so I’d] hit my butt or back against the wall instead of my head,” he told Climbing.
Fortunately Nguyen wasn’t hurt, though he dumped some chalk out during the fall. He says he hopped back on after a rest and “learned how to ringlock that day.”
Happy Friday, and be safe out there this weekend.
Readers, please send your whipper videos, information, and any lessons learned to Anthony Walsh, awalsh@outsideinc.com.
This article is free. Sign up with a Climbing membership, now just $2 a month for a limited time, and you get unlimited access to thousands of stories and articles by world-class authors on climbing.com plus a print subscription to Climbing and our annual coffee-table edition of Ascent. Please join the Climbing team today.