🚀 go-pugleaf

> 
> I'm about to go out there on a climbing trip (Sept 6) and I was wondering
> if anyone reading this stuff has been on any of the big wall (or even
> small wall :-) ) climbs in Yosemite.
> 
> I'm planning to try the North Buttress of Middle Cathedral, the South Face
> of Washingtom Column, and some smaller routes. Does anyone have any
> suggestions
> or recommendations on routes, equipment, etc? I would like to do long routes
> with mostly free climbing at 5.7 to 5.9 difficulty. I have some aid
> experience,
> but only with nuts & friends - no iron. I feel like I can handle up to an A3
> pitch OK, but I'd rather avoid nailing.
> -- 
> Bill Putnam

If you have never been climbing before, [readers], Yosemite is not
the place to go.  The climbs tend to be long, steep and smooth.
If you climb, but have never been to Yosemite, you have to get used
to these things.  You especially have to refine your crack climbing.
I've done two Vs, not VIs [but I want to do the Lotus Flower Tower which was
a VI].  I did most short hard free.

1) it will be crowded.
2) register for longer climbs.  Do some 5.9 IIs and IIIs before
going up on longer Vs and VIs.  Nutcracker is very popular (1-5.8 move
with lots of laybacking, I suspect Robbins like laybacking, I'll ask
him).  For an easy long climb, everybody does Royal Arches [50 classics,
III,5.9] and Column Direct [III,5.7].  Get used to the smoothness and get used
to long lead outs [one partner took a 100 footer on me because he couldn't
put any pro in on a friction climb, and it was only 100 feet because I hauled
in a lot of rope: only abrasions, by the way].
Half Dome, Snake dike [1-5.7,III] is this way, 150 feet of 5.4 face
with no proo on one pitch.  Easy, but...  If you want a `weekend' VI,
there is the orignal route on Halfdome, but you have the slow guys
and the one-day all freers passing you or in front of you.
3) Aid climbing [after thought]  is frowned on unless you are doing
a V or VI.  The emphasis is to push the free.  Don't aid climbs which
now go free, push your abilities: Let us raise our level, not lower the
climb as Joe Brown said.  There a paradox in the Valley.  Anyway, you
typically don't need much iron except for Rurps and Knifeblades on walls.
Copperheads are popular, too.  Second, thought, just go and see for yourself.
Take a bicycle.  Nice way to see Yosemite Valley at 7 am before people
get up and not be surrounded by metal.

Summary, there's lots of routes.  If you want to get away from Yosemite
consider Tuolumne Meadows [lots of harder things, and in some cases, less
pro], Lover's Leap hear Tahoe, Robbins teachs school here. Tahquitz
near Los Angeles [I did one route, 10 pitches there!, lots of 8 pitch,
mostly 4-5 pitch], Suicide Rock across from Tahquitz.  If you want more
Alpine, let me suggest the Area around Mt. Whitney Portal and the Palisade
region of the Sierra: 14,000 foot elevation.  Piper at the Gates of Dawn
is good [III,5.8].  Even the East Face of Whitney is a pretty nice climb
[III,5.4-5.7].  Oh, outside L.A. is Joshua Tree.  Short, very rough rock,
taping hands helps.  There is only stuff, but I feel obliged not to
mention other places to visitors as locals get pisted.  I would
suggest places in Colorado and Utah, but I am only a semi-local due to
relatives.  Lastly, there are the Tetons and Winds in Wyoming, D.T., too.

Avoid a book named the Climber's Guide to N.A.  It's not very good.
I went to school with the author and did several of these climbs with
Harlan, but I think the tact of the book is wrong.  Get a local
Climbers Guide.

If anybody is interested, I'm always trying to find decent climbing
partners: one who likes to have fun, but swing their butt into free air.

--eugene miya
  NASA Ames Research Center
  {hplabs,ihnp4,dual,hao,decwrl,allegra}!ames!aurora!eugene
  emiya@ames-vmsb
Good partners are hard to find.
Have fun. :-)

> [ "The big walls, man, the big walls!" - Layton Kor ]
> 
> Eugene - you mention climbing in Yosemite...
> 
> I'm about to go out there on a climbing trip (Sept 6) and I was wondering
> if anyone reading this stuff has been on any of the big wall (or even
> small wall :-) ) climbs in Yosemite.
> 
> I'm planning to try the North Buttress of Middle Cathedral, the South Face
> of Washingtom Column, and some smaller routes. Does anyone have any suggestions
> or recommendations on routes, equipment, etc? I would like to do long routes
> with mostly free climbing at 5.7 to 5.9 difficulty. I have some aid experience,
> but only with nuts & friends - no iron. I feel like I can handle up to an A3
> pitch OK, but I'd rather avoid nailing.
> 
> Any suggestions will be appreciated...
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Bill Putnam
> School of Information & Computer Science, Georgia Tech, Atlanta GA 30332
> CSNet:	Putnam @ GATech		ARPA:	Putnam.GATech @ CSNet-Relay
> uucp:	...!{akgua,allegra,rlgvax,sb1,unmvax,ulysses,ut-sally}!gatech!putnam

In Fifty Classic Climbs of North America, there are a bunch of routes
mentioned for Yosemite.  These, being "classic" routes have been done and
redone so many times that you don't have to nail anything, all the bolts that
one might need are already up.  The problem is that in Yosemite, there's
really nothing new under the sun.

-eli
-- 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eli Liang  ---
        University of Maryland Computer Vision Lab, (301) 454-4526
        ARPA: liang@cvl, liang@lemuria, eli@mit-mc, eli@mit-prep
        CSNET: liang@cvl  UUCP: {seismo,allegra,brl-bmd}!umcp-cs!cvl!liang

First let me introduce myself. I'm a programmer at DEC's Western Software
Lab.  I lead 5.9 friction, 5.7 most other things. I climb mostly in
Yosemite, some at Pinnacles National Monument, and I've been to the
Shawangunks. I've never done any big wall climbing, but I have done a few
grade III's in the Valley.

Enough qualifications, I'd like to second Eugene's comments about first
time climbing in Yosemite. If you've never been there before, you should
try a few shorter climbs before embarking on a Grade IV or V adventure
[read fiasco]. Washington Column Direct is a good, fun climb. Snake Dike
is a bit exciting, but fun. Fairview Dome in Tuolumne has some nice climbs
on it too, but please, spend at least one day getting used to the rock
before you commit to a long climb.

A note about Royal Arches. "The log is gone." Yes, it's sad but true, the
rotten log finally fell. As far as anyone knows, it died peacefully in the
night, and no climbers were on it. I was in the valley that day, and two
of us had gone to the Glacier Point apron, two went to do Arches. They were
the first to the log that day, and discovered that it was gone. So Arches is now
5.9 instead of 5.6 A1. For those unfamiliar with the climb, Royal Arches
in Yosemite is a Grade III who's most famous pitch is at a 30 foot wide
crevice. The face of the crevice is 5.9, but fortunately there was a large
dead tree that fell just across the top of it. You got to walk, crawl, or
scoot across this log, above a drop of some hundreds of feet. To give you
some idea of the quality of the log, the first ascent party dubbed it "The
Rotten Log". The first ascent was in October 1936.

I disagree strongly about Eugene's comments about first timers. There are
a LOT of fairly easy, fun, climbs in Yosemite that are perfect for
beginners. Go with someone who knows the area, or sign up with Yosemite
mountaineering for some classes. For climbers with some experience, and
modest goals, I would recommend The Grack (Center) [5.6/5.7] otherwise
known as The Crack in the Grack. A fun climb, easy to protect, and you see
your climber the whole way. Very popular though. Aunt Fanny's Pantry [5.3]
and Uncle Fanny [5.6] in Church Bowl are easy short climbs. We have a
group that takes novices once or twice a season. Last time we took a mob
over to the Glacier Point apron and played around on the Cow for a while.

The only other advice I would give you is to get a guide book if you don't
already have one. I like "Yosemite Climbs" by George Meyers, it's fairly
standard. I have Steve Roper's "Climber's Guide to Yosemite Valley" but
it's getting a little dated, and doesn't include many of the recent climbs.

On another subject, I've actually seen people climbing a 5.12, Crimson
Cringe [5.12a] is a vertical, thin, hand crack. No place for your feet,
but not overhanging. Looked very tough. There is a 5.13 friction/face
climb on the Glacier Point Apron, called Scimitar. It's a top rope
problem, and I've never seen anyone do it. I can't even get off the ground
on it.

Sorry about this long rambling note, I like to talk about climbing, almost
as much [maybe more] than climbing itself. My friends and I hope to get to
the Oasis sometime this summer, via either Goodrich Pinnacle or Point
Beyond -> Lucifers -> Oasis. We might also try Coonyard to Oasis if we're
feeling frisky. Next year, Steck-Salathe Route, Sentinel Rock!

	Post more about Rock Climbing,
	I like to read stories too!
	
	-- Charles
	{ihnp4,allegra,decvax}!decwrl!haynes

> On another subject, I've actually seen people climbing a 5.12, Crimson
> Cringe [5.12a] is a vertical, thin, hand crack. No place for your feet,
> but not overhanging. Looked very tough. There is a 5.13 friction/face
> climb on the Glacier Point Apron, called Scimitar. It's a top rope
> problem, and I've never seen anyone do it. I can't even get off the ground
> on it.
> 	-- Charles
> 	{ihnp4,allegra,decvax}!decwrl!haynes

Silver Spot [5.12] is a route at Carderock, a climbing practice area here,
near D.C.  As far as I can tell (never having seen anyone climb it, much less
attempt it) one is suppose to friction up it.  There is a 3 meter patch of
very bare smooth rock halfway up, which I imagine is the crux.  I guess this
is what gave the climb its name.  I don't see how anyone can fight gravity on
Silver Spot and I've given up hoping to see someone try it...  Who knows,
maybe someday, I'll try it.... but then again, maybe not....

-eli
-- 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eli Liang  ---
        University of Maryland Computer Vision Lab, (301) 454-4526
        ARPA: liang@cvl, liang@lemuria, eli@mit-mc, eli@mit-prep
        CSNET: liang@cvl  UUCP: {seismo,allegra,brl-bmd}!umcp-cs!cvl!liang

[ "It's jest pure stupid'ty! I'm go'n git my thirty-ought-six an' shoot that
[ rope down." - Anonymous local observing climbers

Well, I really appreciate the suggestions from Eugene, Eli, and George. I'll
be leaving Saturday (9/8) from Atlanta for Yosemite (Yahoo!) Valley. I'm not
looking forward to the 48 hour drive.

I have read "Fifty Classic Climbs" and would like to do some of those routes,
but I am told that there if often a line of climbers waiting to get on them.
I really don't like waiting or sharing a route - aestheitcs aside, the rockfall
potential worries me. We will probably do Royal Arches and camp on the rim
before doing the South Face of North Dome (5.7). I already knew about the
demise of the rotten log, though I heard it was pushed off (vicious rumor, I 
suppose). 

Other likely candidates are Washington Column, South Face (V, 5.9, A2), Middle 
Cathedral Rock, North Buttress (IV, 5.7, A2 clean); Sentinel Rock, Chouinard-
Herbert Route (V, 5.8, A2); Half Dome, Northwest Buttress (IV, 5.7, A3); and
Washington Column, Lunch Ledge/Direct (IV, 5.7).

We do expect to do some shorter routes to warm up, but the point of the trip
is to do things we can't do at home, i.e. long (possibly multi-day) climbs.
We have more 1 and 2 pitch quality routes around here than we have time to do
as it is.

I should have mentioned earlier that I have the Meyer and Roper guidebooks
and that I have been to the Valley once before. Unfortunately, I didn't get
to climb much on that trip. Also, I have a pretty good amount of lead 
experience on multi-pitch climbs here in the Southeast. 

Believe it or not, we have lots of 3 to 7 pitch climbs and a couple of 
longer routes such as Whitesides Mountain (IV, 5.9 A1 or 5.10+ free) in 
North Carolina. There is an abundance of routes in the 5.9 to 5.11 range, 
and a fair number of 5.12 face and crack routes. [ Hmm... how about a series
of articles describing major Southeastern climbing areas? ] I am looking to 
do easier routes in the valley since the rock is different & the climbs 
are longer. Also, I have a less experienced climbing partner.

Again, I really appreciate all the help & suggestions. I'll post a trip report
when I get back (~9/20). BTW, is anyone out there planning to come down (over?)
to Atlanta for the Southeastern Bouldering Championships competition on
September 21 (Sat)? We are going to try to be back from Yosemite in time to
be there.

Good Climbing,
              Bill

-- 
Bill Putnam
School of Information & Computer Science, Georgia Tech, Atlanta GA 30332
CSNet:	Putnam @ GATech		ARPA:	Putnam.GATech @ CSNet-Relay
uucp:	...!{akgua,allegra,rlgvax,sb1,unmvax,ulysses,ut-sally}!gatech!putnam

[I like the Surf Punks.]
> 
> The problem is that in Yosemite, there's really nothing new under the sun.
> 
> -eli
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Eli Liang  ---
>         University of Maryland Computer Vision Lab, (301) 454-4526

That's right!  No sense in going to Yosemite Valley.  Stay at the Gunks,
Cannon Mt., Senaca.  Stay home.  Too many climbers here right now.

That's three of you guys quoting from Roper and Steck.  I think, I'll
tell Al about this electronic discussion the next time I see him.  I think
he'll really get a kick!  He'll say something like: "God, you'll have to
carry a portable computer when you go climb."  [This has been done
actually: I've skied with an LSI-11 on my back, Mike Hoover has carried
a lap top word processor [can't remember the name], Nick Estcourt programmed
expedition simulations in England before getting killed on K2, and
Chris Bonnington continues to use Nick's programs].

Again: stay away from Yosemite:  it's hot, overcrowded, all the holds
are covered with chalk, all the cracks are bottomed out pin scars,
all the young kids climb 5.14, there are tourists all over the place,
the Rangers get down on you for not registering, take up surfing.

--eugene miya
  NASA Ames Research Center
  {hplabs,ihnp4,dual,hao,decwrl,allegra}!ames!aurora!eugene
  emiya@ames-vmsb

> [I like the Surf Punks.]
> > 
> > The problem is that in Yosemite, there's really nothing new under the sun.
> > 
> > -eli
> > 
> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> > Eli Liang  ---
> >         University of Maryland Computer Vision Lab, (301) 454-4526
> 
> That's right!  No sense in going to Yosemite Valley.  Stay at the Gunks,
> Cannon Mt., Senaca.  Stay home.  Too many climbers here right now.
> 
> That's three of you guys quoting from Roper and Steck.  I think, I'll
> tell Al about this electronic discussion the next time I see him.  I think
> he'll really get a kick!  He'll say something like: "God, you'll have to
> carry a portable computer when you go climb."  [This has been done
> actually: I've skied with an LSI-11 on my back, Mike Hoover has carried
> a lap top word processor [can't remember the name], Nick Estcourt programmed
> expedition simulations in England before getting killed on K2, and
> Chris Bonnington continues to use Nick's programs].
> 
> Again: stay away from Yosemite:  it's hot, overcrowded, all the holds
> are covered with chalk, all the cracks are bottomed out pin scars,
> all the young kids climb 5.14, there are tourists all over the place,
> the Rangers get down on you for not registering, take up surfing.
> 
> --eugene miya
>   NASA Ames Research Center
>   {hplabs,ihnp4,dual,hao,decwrl,allegra}!ames!aurora!eugene
>   emiya@ames-vmsb

No, no, no!  I didn't mean it that way at all!  I mean, if your looking
for 'new' routes that aren't contrived 5.13+'s, you're going to have to look
very hard for them in Yosemite.  I'm certainly not a 5.13 climber (nowhere
close!) and I think that Yosemite is one of the best climbing spots in the
US, so please don't take umbrage...  I also didn't realize I was quoting
Roper and Steck, although I very well may have been.  After all, like I
read it too like most aspiring climbers.  Perhaps a silly line like that
sticks in ones mind...

-eli
-- 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eli Liang  ---
        University of Maryland Computer Vision Lab, (301) 454-4526
        ARPA: liang@cvl, liang@lemuria, eli@mit-mc, eli@mit-prep
        CSNET: liang@cvl  UUCP: {seismo,allegra,brl-bmd}!umcp-cs!cvl!liang