Local Doctor Assaults Maiden

He would not be denied again. Determined to get up White Maiden's Walkway this time, Ed pressed down on the broken ledge with both hands. He bit his lip as he pulled his leg up to complete the mantle move, all the while cursing the leader who chose the improbable-looking line saying "this variation can't be harder than 5.7---you'll do it, no problem." The young doctor smiled as his right foot approached the lip of the ledge. The smile twisted into a grimace as he felt his left foot slip from its precarious hold...

Ed and I enjoyed a late afternoon run up the "Maiden" this week. Finding the ourselves alone on the route this time, we were actually able to finish it.


Ed savors the exposure atop the fourth pitch


The last of the alpenglow chased us across the sixth pitch traverse. Over seven hundred feet up, Doc Rock is still smiling at sunset.