haynes@decwrl.UUCP (Charles Haynes) (09/04/85)
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!hayneseli@cvl.UUCP (Eli Liang) (09/05/85)
> 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
putnam@gatech.CSNET (William O. Putnam) (09/05/85)
[ "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!putnameli@cvl.UUCP (Eli Liang) (03/13/86)
A friend and I are going to San Francisco in early April on business. So
we decided to take advantage of this opportunity to climb in Yosemite. Since
then, another friend has also decided to fly out there and meet us in
California for this purpose. This being our first time in Yosemite, we were
planning on hitting one of the "tourist" climbs, Lost Arrow Spire, and maybe
doing one or two other popular ones. We have also toyed with going up
the east face of Mt. Whitney. I have a copy of Steve Roper's "Climber's
Guide to Yosemite Valley," but that book is 15 years old and I was wondering
how out of date it might be. After all, climber's have a penchant for
changing routes over time. One thing thats changed is certainly the use of
protections. The guidebook seems to recommend pitons for almost everything.
For instance, in describing the Lost Arrow route, Roper recommends bringing
15 pitons just in climbing the tip!
Anyways, I was hoping to get some info on Yosemite, and climbing there from
some of the climbers that read this news group. I know of at least one route
that has changed since '71. It's been mentioned in this news group that the
Royal Arches no longer has its most well known feature, the Rotten Log. As
that is one of the climbs under consideration for our trip, could someone
tell me what that pitch is rated now? 5.10 lead climbing just isn't our bag.
I've heard/read a lot about Yosemite, not all of it favorable. Is theft of
equipment going to be a worry there? How about crowding on the routes
(especially the tourist/climber routes like I mentioned)? Will it be
necessary to start before dawn in order to avoid waiting on climbs? Are there
only specific areas where one may camp in the valley and if so how close/far
are these from the climbing areas (in general)? The other thing is that
our business in San Francisco will be concluded on a Thursday evening and
we were planning on heading straightwise to Yosemite. Since the car trip
will take up to 4 hours, we might not get there until very late Thursday
evening. Will this be a problem? Does anyone know what Mt. Whitney will
be like in April? Is it going to be very cold? Lastly, is there a better
guide to Yosemite climbs around (more current hopefully)? I was also
hoping to find "topos" for some of the climbs.
-eli
p.s. we'll welcome any suggestions of any "must do" Yosemite climbs which
are <= Grade III, <= 5.7 lead, and <= A3.
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eli Liang ---
University of Maryland Computer Vision Lab, (301) 454-4526
ARPA: eli@cvl, eli@lemuria, eli@asgard, eli@mit-mc, eli@mit-prep
CSNET: eli@cvl UUCP: {seismo,allegra,brl-bmd}!umcp-cs!cvl!eli