Glass Menagerie History
compiled by Mike Reardon
Aid Attempts: The first pitch was a Brad Shaver, Bob Mitchell, Will Fulton aid project
called Rubber Ducky. Circa 1977, two teams freed Rubber Ducky; Jeep Gaskin with
Don Hunley and Bob Rotert with Randy Mann, and a new name sprouted;
Contemporary Insanity. It was a milestone in its day considering the Glass had only
seen a few routes to push into the 5.11 territory. Rotert recalled freeing this first pitch
shortly after “Hot” Henry Barber freed Cornflake Crack, showing once again how
influential Hot Henry’s ascent was. In 1980, Jeep Gaskin spent a number of days
pushing the route higher via aid until completing it with John Borstelman. The route
inspired many other area aid lines to punch through the North Face.
Free Attempts: In 1991, Jeff Burton, Whitney Heuermann, Keith Robinson, Monty
Regan, Jeep Gaskin and Kris Kline made progress freeing the “White Book” pitch.
Gaskin and Kline put a number of days into freeing the pitch, pulling all of the major
cruxes but never all in one go. Fast forward to 1993, and Kris Kline partnered with some
other talented locals. Arno Ilgner recalls “In 1995, Kris Kline, Pascal Robert and I made
several visits. We’d replaced some old bolts with new ones after getting permission
from the FA party. We were ready to get some air. On the day we did our free team
ascent we were intending to just work the crux pitches so we could come back to do a
complete free ascent. But, it soon changed into a ‘let’s free it today’ effort. Kris did a
phenomenal job of redpointing the third dihedral pitch at 5.12c, and after his success
we decided we could push the rest free. On the fifth roof pitch Pascal got it on his first
effort. An incredible performance! The roof involves intricate sequences on thin moves
going diagonally left through a 10-foot roof. It ended with a very devious featureless
bulge. Kris attempted to follow but couldn’t and I did follow it free. At the time we rated
it 5.12d but Pascal and I climbed it again several weeks later thinking it to be harder.
Consensus is now 13a. After the roof and bulge the “roof” pitch continues with the aid
line trending left. It was pretty smooth so we did a variation going straight up for about
20 feet. So, with the roof pitch below us we only had a few pitches of moderate free
climbing to the top. We had done the first free team ascent of the Menagerie.”
The Controversy: A few weeks prior to the first free ascent, Pascal and Arno placed
two bolts on rappel to protect the final free variation. Several weeks after their free
team ascent, the pair returned to complete the climb again. As they were climbing,
Pascal let in on the displeasure of a few climbers about the bolts that were put in on
rappel. Pascal, who hated confrontation and hated bolt bickering, seemed to think that
he needed to take the bolts out. As Pascal and Arno were completing the route, a party
to the left shouted “If you don’t take those bolts out, I will”. In true Pascal style, he
climbed up past the roof crux to the first bolt above the roof that was previously
placed on rappel. Instead of grabbing a quick draw and clipping his rope in to protect
the 11+ mantel move, he grabbed his wrench, quietly unscrewed the bolt, put it in his
chalk bag, and climbed on. At the second bolt, he did the same.
The Solution: For nearly a decade, the free pitch sat without the two protection bolts,
and almost certainly without a repeated ascent. In the early 2000’s, Harrison Shull
decided to give it a go. Teaming with Biff Farrell, he worked over the roof crux, got
established above the roof on the steep face and found the former location of the
removed first bolt. The face was covered in lichen but the stances were decent so he
continued on. He pushed past the 5.11 sequence to the location of the removed second
bolt, at an easy stance within spitting distance of the anchors. But then something
happened. Harrison recalls; “I just couldn’t get myself to make that nasty, lichen coated
5.11 mantel with all that boltless air under me. I told Biff to work in some rope as I
started down climbing. Cleaning all the lichen on the way up had coated the holds
below with ball bearings and a few moves down a foot blew, and the longest fall of my
climbing career ensued. Before I knew it, I was dangling in the void below Biff’s stance
under the roof and thirty feet out from the wall.” Super excited from the recon mission,
Harrison called Pascal that night to lobby for the replacement of the two removed bolts.
Pascal agreed and took it a step further and offered a gift; the two original bolts that
had once protected the crux pitch. Harrison returned and replaced those two exact
bolts into their original holes where they still stand today. If you are attempting the free
variation, take a moment to imagine this scenario; instead of clipping those key
protection bolts, you grab a wrench, remove them, put them in your chalk bag, and
keep moving.