Yo Sonnie. Looks like from the footage that you pre-placed the gear in the crux. Is that really a true trad ascent? I climbed that route a couple of years ago and it seemed that the gear was pretty darn good. Why the need to fix it. Too pumped or scared to put in the gear on lead?

Sup Cod, ha ha, Good question, Yah, terrified. That Zion sandstone is s-s-s-cary. ha ha. Actually the real reason we left in the gear, was because we had three people trying to do the climb that day, and taking out the cams each time and putting them all back in would take way too much time between burns and also it was freezing cold, so staying warm and fighting the daylight were our top priorities. It was easy 5.12 climbing up to the crux, with very easy to place gear, the crux is also easily protectable, because there's a pretty chill rest before the roof, but, the rope would get jammed in the crack over the lip, so we opted to leave a micro cam pre-placed off to the right to keep the rope running smoothly. We just decided it was more important for us all to have fun and have some good solid burns rather than to worry about 'true trad'. There is a time and place for redpoint climbing, and it's different for everyone, but this wasn't one of those times for us. However, I think Ben (who was the first person to free climb it) DID place his gear on lead. Respect.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by and checking out the video's. I appreciate the comments. And Julian, you're absolutely right, MAGIC indeed. Best wishes y'all, have fun.