CAMP USA Athlete Scott Bennett and partner Brad Gobright have completed a huge linkup in Zion National Park, combining Sheer Lunacy, Monkey Finger, Moonlight Buttress, and Shune's Buttress in 19 hours.
Bennett and Gobright's day follows Nik Berry and Mason Earle's 2012 linkup, which did not include Shune's Buttress, and a March 2013 linkup of Moonlight, Sheer Lunacy, Touchstone Wall, and Spaceshot by Honnold & Caldwell. Bennett and Gobright's start time was limited by the NPS shuttle schedule, so the pair didn't begin hiking toward theie first climb until 7:30AM, and they returned from Shune's Buttress (their final route, climbed entirely by headlamp) at 2:50AM.
Bennett says "The CAMP Ovo belay device was the MVP, since we did so much belaying on Brad's 80m 9.8mm. I'm sure my shoulder would've fallen off belaying with an ATC after so much pitches."
Their rack for the endurance splitters typical of Zion was remarkably small, just a double set of cams to a .75 camalot, a single #1, #2, #3, and an extra .5 camalot for Moonlight Buttress.
They nearly called it a day after climbing the first 3 walls, but fired up a jetboil for some impromptu espresso at midnight, and then headed off to Shune's Buttress, fully-caffeinated.
"We each took a fall on Sheer, and also on Monkeyfinger", laments Bennett. "I fell on Sheer because of a broken handhold, and on Monkeyfinger because of pure exhaustion."
