1967: The 8th Ascent of the Diamond
In the winter and spring of 1967, I was enjoying reconnecting with my climbing friends and also climbing with new partners. One of these was Jamie Logan who I first met in the fall of 1966 when we climbed Canary Pass in Eldorado with Pat Ament. Pat did all the leading, so Jamie and I had a lot of time together hanging out in belays. Apparently we bonded that day because we’ve been close friends ever since.
Having foregone the opportunity to climb the Nose of El Cap with Pat, my sights were set on the Diamond, which had been climbed only seven times since the first ascent in 1960. At this time in Colorado, climbing the Diamond was the ultimate achievement. In the previous season of 1966, a new climb had been established by Larry Dalke, Wayne Goss, and George Hurley. They named it D7 because it was the 7th ascent of the Diamond, and they reported that it was an easy nail-up. Attempting the 2nd ascent was an obvious choice, so Jamie and I decided to give it a try. We made parallel plans with our friends Wayne Goss and Roger Dalke – they would try a new climb that passed through the Black Dagger Chimney, just to the right of D7.
In those days anyone who wanted to attempt the Diamond had to apply to the Park Service with a plan, a climbing resume, a list of equipment, and a support party on call in case rescue was needed. This was the last year the Park had this requirement. A week before our planned climbs the four of us drove an hour to the Longs Peak Ranger Station and laid out all our gear in the parking lot for a final inspection by the Head Ranger. We passed! We then did the long hike to the East Face, and strung fixed ropes in the North Chimney. This would save us some time when we returned a week later.Day One. The four of us hiked to the Chasm Lake Shelter Cabin with our huge loads – each team had fifty steel pitons, 50 carabiners, two heavy ropes, bivy gear, a stove, food, and water. In those days the cabin was open to anyone who wanted to spend the night.
Day Two. We woke up early, headed up to the East Face and ascended the fixed lines in the North Chimney. Then we traversed Broadway left to find the start of our climbs. Wayne and Roger planned to start up the Yellow Wall Route for three pitches until taking the Black Dagger crack system. Jamie and I found the crack system for the D7 about fifty feet to their left.
As expected, we found the climbing easy – we were doing almost entirely aid climbing, pounding in bomber pitons every four feet or so. I was leading the second pitch and found the rock to be very featured with small ledges and big flakes everywhere, so I took off free climbing to save time. I did about 30 feet of 5.8 before resuming aid climbing. We didn’t know it at the time, but we were being watched through a telescope by Park personnel in the fire watch tower at the top of Twin Sisters. It was still a rarity for climbers to be on the Diamond. I later learned that when I took off free climbing it was somewhat of a shock for them to see me float up thirty feet in about a minute, after the slow progress we had been making up until then. But they couldn’t tell how easy the climbing was.
It was cool having our friends Wayne and Roger nearby. At one point we watched Roger take a 30-footer, sailing through the air right next to us. Gradually, Jamie and I left Wayne and Roger behind since the climbing on our route was easier. The day was drawing to an end, and we needed to get up the final pitches to Table Ledge where we could spend the night. With two pitches to go, Jamie was leading and suddenly yelled as a large block came flying past me. After we recollected ourselves, Jamie told me to lower her back to the belay. Then I learned that she had dislodged that block and it crushed her thumb before falling free. She couldn’t lead anymore, and said to me in pain, Roger, it’s up to you to get us up.
Although I was very tired, I was anxious to get up to Table Ledge before nightfall and climbed quickly. Finally, in almost total darkness, I reached the ledge where the climb ended, tied-off the rope so Jamie could jumar up the pitch, then I laid down and fell soundly asleep for about 15 minutes. That would be about the only sleep I would get for the rest of the night. When Jamie arrived, we got organized to spend a chilly night and found, to our surprise and disappointment, that the sum-total of our warm gear was one down jacket.
To this day, Jamie and I still laugh and scratch our heads over the one-jacket bivy. What were we thinking? Apparently, we never put much thought into where we would spend the night and what we would need to stay warm. Our two half-bags and the other down jacket were safely stashed in the shelter cabin where we had spent the previous night. But Jamie is quick to point out that the one jacket we did have was hers, making her slightly less lame than me. We were basically goofy kids who were pretty clueless about big wall climbing. So, we spent a very cold night at 13,800 feet sharing one down jacket.
Day Three. The dawn and sunrise from high on the Diamond is a religious experience when you’re freezing cold. The first rays of sun warmed us immediately and, except for Jamie’s injury, we were feeling good. We had succeeded on our climb – the 2nd ascent of D7 and the 8th ascent of the Diamond. Within a few hours the 9th ascent of the Diamond and the 1st ascent of the Black Dagger Chimney Route was completed by Wayne and Roger. They spent an uncomfortable night on a tiny stance, but at least they brought their bivy gear! Jamie and I did the long walk-off of Longs Peak and drove down to the medical clinic in Estes Park to find that she had broken her thumb.
My first climb of the Diamond was both memorable and comical – at least, Jamie and I have had a lot of laughs recalling the story over the years. Little did I know at the time, in the summer of 1967, that I would climb the Diamond a hundred more times before my last climb in 2011 – all without any comedy.