Toulumne Enchainment

Mathes Crest

On Top of Mathes Crest

Cathedral Peak

Tenaya Peak

I was looking to do something big like the Evolution Traverse or the Palisades Traverse in the High Sierras, but could not find a willing victim, I mean partner that would be willing to spend lots of miles hiking and climbing and suffering at altitude. What to do? How about a big solo mission to bag as many peaks in Toulumne in a single day? The plan I hatched was to climb Tenaya Peak, a 14 pitch 1500' climb rated 5.5, then climb Cathedral Peak, 5 pitchs 5.6-5.7 700', Echos Peaks a series of smaller peaks class 4-5, the entire Mathes Crest 5.7-5.8 a mile long ridge climb, then the Cockscomb and Unicorn Peak both involving class 5 terrain. I was not sure I would be able to pull it off as it would be a true test of my endurance, but it would be easy to bail at any point if I began to bonk.
I woke at 5:30AM and was a little sluggish to get going, by the time I was at the parking area for Tenaya Peak and ready to go it was close to 7:00AM. The approach took about 40 minutes, I was taking my time as I knew I needed to pace myself because this would be a long day. I passed a couple who were going to do the route belaying every pitch. The climb itself ascended beautiful smooth white granite and was sustained in the 5.0-5.5 range for the duration of the climb and took me about an hour. I decided to do all the climbing I could in my approach shoes and ended up keeping my rock climbing shoes in the pack all day. Once on the Summit I was treated to great views of the surrounding areas and after a few monkey calls I set off for some cross country hiking toward Cathedral Peak. It took me longer than I thought to reach Cathedral, about 1 hour 30 minutes to the base. There were a couple parties 2 and 3 pitches up, which always makes me a little nervous when I am free soloing. I quickly caught and passed them, one guy remarked that I forgot my rope, climbing shoes, and helmet, I gave him a fake laugh and kept climbing. I had the summit to myself and ate a little food and finished my water and down I went. Next I set off for the Echo Peaks and treated some water along the way. The climbs up the Echo Peaks were easy I took the easiest path up them, mainly class 4 with a class 5 move every once in a while. I now had to make a decision, go for the Mathes Crest or traverse the Echo Ridge to Unicorn and back to the road eliminating the crest and shortening the day. I decided to go big and started towards the start of the route. As I was hiking over the clouds began to build and get dark. Once at the base the wind picked up and I could see more dark clouds to the East. I decided after much thought to climb the first 3 pitches and see how the wind was on the ridge then move quickly to notch between the South and North Summits where I could bail if I needed to, if the weather worsened. I made double time across the ridge moving twice as fast as I had a couple weeks earlier, I wanted to make it to the notch before the weather hit. The clouds continued to build and it got darker and darker. I climbed up the North tower and tagged the Summit, just as a loud clash of thunder sounded. The decision was made, I was going down, I moved quickly down to the notch did not even stay to sign the summit register as this huge dark cloud was above me and I could see it raining hard to the North and East. Most people rappel off the North Summit and go down from there. I had hoped to climb the entire crest and make it to Unicorn Peak, but I think I made the right decision and did not want to push my luck on an exposed ridge with thunder and rain all around me. Once I down climbed all the way back to terra firma the adrenaline was gone and tiredness began to sit in, I had a long hike out ahead of me. After an hour of hiking I took a 15 minute break to treat some water and rest in the shade. The water made me feel lots better and I powered down the trail in a hurry just to be done and get off my aching feet. I made it back to HWY 120, 10 hours and 50 minutes after leaving the parking lot. Now I just needed to catch a shuttle back to where I was parked, luckily I caught the last one or I would have had to hitchhiked or the unthinkable a long hike back.
This was one of the best days that I have had in the mountains climbing, I did not hit everything on the list but it was an awesome day nonetheless. I think a big reason I was able to climb this enchainment as fast as I did was because I was acclimatized to the altitude and was in great shape from lots of long days in the mountains. Equipment used: (5.10 guide tennies, 3 liters of water, several cliff bars, granola bars, and a bagel, and chalk bag, climbing shoes stayed in the pack along with the rain shell). What's Next? EL CAP!

I will post pictures later this week.

West Ridge of Mt. Conness

On Saturday I climbed the 1500' West Ridge of Mt. Conness solo. The route is rated 5.6 and contains some of the best rock I have ever climbed on a High Sierra route. The approach is long and can be a bit confusing if you don't know the area due to the amount of cross country travel. I actually backtracked at one point thinking I was off route, but I was going the right way, that cost me 30 minutes. Once you reach the Conness Plateau you have to drop down a gully for a good ways to reach the base of the climb. I went down the wrong gully and was eventually cliffed out and had to climb back up, this probably cost me close to an hour and a lot of energy. I eventually found the correct gully and met 3 climbers that were taking a break and were about to descend the gully. I made it to the base of the climb in about 4:30 hours from leaving the trail head, I probably could have done it in close to 3 hours except for my misadventures. I was first to the base and eventually the other 3 climbers showed up and they were going to belay the route, which means I would not see them again. The climbing on the ridge was very enjoyable with nice cracks and fun arete moves. The route finding was easy, just stay on the edge of the arete or the crest of the ridge and you will find great clean rock and fun climbing. By the end of the climb I was beginning to get tired and was moving a little slow, plus at this point I was at 12,000' and the air was getting thinner. I kept moving as thunderheads were beginning to form and I wanted to be on my way down before anything hit. The descent was casual although I spent the last hour death marching out as I began to bonk due to dehydration. I made it back to the van after washing up in the creek for a 9 hour and 50 minute car to car time. This is an amazing climb on great rock, the long approach is definitely worth it. I will post more pics once I have access to a faster Internet connection.

East Buttress of Mt. Whitney

Just down after climbing the East Buttress of Mt. Whitney 11 pitches 5.7, the highest mountain the lower 48. I linked up with Chris who I had met the first week I was in Yosemite and we had climbed together for a few days. He had mentioned that he wanted to do some High Sierra climbs, so I gave him a call to see if he was game. We decide to do the route car to car since no permits we available, however we stopped in Lone Pine and were lucky and got some permits. We hiked in on Monday which involves a very steep hike all the way up to 12000 feet. I felt great having been at altitude for the last week in Toulmne, while Chris struggled a bit, but I moved at a solid pace. We set up camp below Iceberg Lake, which took us close to 4 hours to hike to. The next morning we woke at 4:00 AM and approached our route the East Buttress. I wanted to be first on the route and we had talked to two other groups the day before so we knew it might be a race to base of the climb. We reached the final approach hike and I could see two climber have way up the last approach. I blasted up the approach passing them and making it too the base first, I actually climbed 20 feet up the first pitch to a ledge to establish our position. Chris was struggling with the altitude but made up to where I was, I was already geared up and ready to launch up the first pitch. I started up the pitch while Chris was putting on his shoes and trying to catch his breath. I brought Chris up and he continued up the 2nd and 3rd pitches, we did a bit of simul climbing up the route and moved quickly despite the high altitude. We never saw the other climbers the rest of the route. We made it to the summit in about 4 hours and we were meet by hikers on top who thought we were the greatest since we had just climbed the steep face of Whitney. After some lunch and Summit photos we head down the Mountaineer Route which was our decent rout. Lots of loose rock and scree skiing brought us down to where we had begun the route. A short hike back to our base camp which concluded a 10 hour day. Lots of napping and refueling the rest of the afternoon. We had planned to climb the Fish Hook Arete the next day on Mt. Russell. The next morning came after a long night of being harassed by an alpine mouse. I tried to wake Chris but he was dead to the world, so I went back to sleep, and hour and half later Chris awoke from the dead and was ready to go however we were behind schedule and due to all the afternoon thunderstorms and the fact that we were tired and would not be able to move fast decided to not proceed with the climb. After some breakfast we hike back down to Whitney Portal. If you do any climbs on Whitney bring trekking poles to save your knees from the steep trail, I was glad to have mine. Overall it was a great time up on the mountain in a beautiful alpine setting. The route is a classic way up the mountain, it is not a route that I would repeat as I think there are better routes in the area on better rock, but if you have not climbed Whitney it worth climbing. I have lots of great photos I will try add eventually.

Mathes Crest

On Friday my climbing partner bailed on me for the second day in a row. We had plans to do a big route in Toulumne. I decided to make the best of a bad situation and came up with the idea of soloing the entire Mathes Crest 5.8. I left the van around 8:30AM, a bit later start than I would have liked but I knew I would be able to move fast. Down the trail I went with the IPOD blasting out some of my favorite tunes, I was excited to be moving fast and about the adventure ahead. I left the topo and route description behind, so that I could experience the climb without any bias, just like a First Acent I seemed to find the trail to Mathes without any problems, just when I thought I had lost the trail it would reappear. I had scoped the Crest from the summit of Cathedral earlier in the week so I had an idea of where I was going. The approach to the base took 2 hours and 20 minutes, the last half took more time as it involved some cross country travel and route finding. I took a short rest at the base to drink some water and eat, I did not rest for long as I was being attacked by moskitos. I quickly put on my climbing shoes and started up the wall, I ended up going up a more difficult line to gain the ridge probably 2 pitches of 5.7 and 1 pitch of mid 5th class. I passed a party of 2 that was finishing up the 3rd pitch. Once on the ridge the fun began with great exposure on both sides and incredible 360 degree views. The climbing involed lots of 3rd and 4th with a few 5th class moves. I tried to stay on the ridge itself which meant more difficult climbing but better climbing at the same time. I quickly reached the south summit passing another group on the climb and the last that I would see on the route. Once I down climbed the south summit and was at the base of the North tower, this was decision time, either bail now and avoid the most difficult climbing of the route or commit to rest of the climb which I knew would involve some more difficult climbing. I rested for a bit, and decided to go for it, I started up a wide crack which I later found out was 5.8 OW, I struggled a bit with the wide crack but it soon eased to more moderate climbing and before I knew of was on the North Summit. I signed the summit register and decided to check out the rest of the crest. Most people rap off the North Summit and end the climb there, however there is still another half mile of climbing that contains excellent rock although increasing difficulties. I eventually made it the exposed 5.8 downclimb off the North summit. It took me a while to figure out the most secure way down and finally I was through it, I was relieved to get that behind me. However what I did not know was that there would several moves just as hard along the rest of the ridge. The climbing was unreal and was having so much fun and soon I was at the last tower on the ridge, it involved some tricky down climbing then I was on flat ground. The entire ridge took me around 3 hours to comple and that is including a couple of rest along the way. The last half mile took the longest because it contained the most sustained climbing on the route. For the decent I decided I need some more adventure and would take the most direct line down which would be shooting the gap between the Echo peaks and Unicorn Peak. With a little 3rd and 4th class climbing and some snow glissading I was now in an apine meadow that I followed streams down. Eventually these drainages steepened and I had to do some down climbing on slick rock and some snow. Finally with a little bush wacking I was back on the main trail and on my back to the road. The decent took about 2 hours, which put my car to car time around 7 hours and 45 minutes. This was one of the best climbs I have ever done and certainly the biggest solo I have ever completed. If you have not done the Mathes Crest you should, it is a blast.

Toulumne Climbing

I spent a week climbing in Toulumne to escape the valley heat. On Monday I did a solo climb of Cathedral Peak, which I had done a few ago. Five great pitches of 5.6-5.7 terrain leads to great narrow summit. I enjoyed the summit to myself for an hour before I began to get cold. I hauled up my Nikon Dslr and took some great pics of the area that I will try to add to the page. On Wednesday I did some climbs on Daff Dome with a girl I met from Australia, it was nice to repeat some classics like West Crack, which is always fun. Toulumne was refreshing to get away from the hords of tourons in the valley and heat.

The El Cap Bailout

Our intended climb of "The Shield" on El Cap did not go as I would have liked. On day 2 we decided to bail and go back down after spending a bivy up on the wall. Alex on his first lead took a couple of falls and found out that aid climbing is not as easy as it looks. I had my concerns from start, climbing a big route like this with someone with no El Cap experience has its downfalls, but I wanted to do the route badly enough that I thought we could manage. Alex was excited about climbing the Captain, but his lack of experience in the end made it not possible and possibly dangerous for him. Big wall climbing is a lot work and takes a lot of skill in not only climbing but the logistics of hauling and moving your gear up the wall from belay station to belay station...............for a team to be successful both need to know their jobs and do them automatically without thinking. Alex gained some valuable experience that will help in future climbs, while I still hunger to climb this route, I am now 0 for 2 on the Shield. As for whats next, I am thinking of heading to the high country after some rest days as it is getting warm again and will be hot for the next week in the valley.

El Cap Dreams

Yesterday, Alex and I began our accent of the "The Shield"wall on El Cap. It was a tough day hiking heavy loads of gear, water and food to the base, and even tougher was hauling the loads up the slabs to heart ledges. This was some of the worse hauling one could imagine, our haul bags were extremely heavy, it was a slab, and the anchors were set that the rope run over an edge causing much rope drag. Since both of us weigh 150lbs or less we struggled to haul the bag, and it kicked our butts. Today we are taking a rest day, to get ready for the the blast off on Thursday. Tomorrow we will need to haul the remaining 2 pitches to Mammoth Terraces, and the goal will be to climb 4 pitches up to the Gray Ledges were we will bivy for the night. No pictures today as the camera is 800' up on El Cap, and there will be no updates for about a week as I will be up on the wall. Look for a big update when I get down!

El Cap on the 4th of July

As the hordes desended into Yosemite Valley for the 4th of July weekend, Alex and I had decided to escape the valley floor and climb the East Buttress of El Cap. The East Buttress of El Cap is a 13 pitch route rated at 5.10b and ascends the far right side of El Cap and gains 1500' in elevation. It is known as one of the best long 5.10 routes in the valley and for several quality pitches. We woke up at 4:00am and began hiking up the steep talus field at 5:00. We took our time on the steep approach and we were both a little sluggish, I started up the first pitch around 6:30. The first pitch is a 5.9 chimney and one of the crux pitches of the route, it was physical but not scary as plenty of protection could be found when you needed it, the last move is a wild stem for a hidden jug that is a huge reach and pumpy. The next pitch is the technical crux which contains som 10b face moves off the belay, Alex cruised through this section while I struggled up carrying the pack. I got to lead the 4th pitch which is easy runout face climbing out on the arete, great exposure and possibly my favorite pitch of the climb. The next few ptich were not very classic and very forgetable. I lead pitch 8 which had some exposed moves out on an arete with a huge drop off the other side to some pumpy jamming to the belay. Alex led the pitch 11 which included 5.8 face climbing on slick featured granite, which was very fun. The last pitches were forgetable. The route was not at all what I expected and certainly not my favorite route in the valley. Route finding was difficult at times as the route did not follow a distinct line, the route did have some memorable pitches with steep, exposed climbing with great position, and you can't beat free climbing on El Cap. After a short break on top we made the East Ledges decent and were back at the car by 4:00 for a 10 hour car to car climb. We finished off our 4th of July festivities with pizza and cold beer, another great day on the rock.......and as Alex would say "cheers".

Serenity Crack to Sons of Yesterday

Yesterday Alex and I did the popular classic link of Serenity Crack (3 pitches) and Sons of Yesterday (5 pitches) with a height of close to 1000'. This route is known as one of the best sustained 5.9-5.10 crack climbs in Yosemite. The climbing did not disappoint as it offered pitch after pitch of great crack systems on clean granite. I ended of leading all of the Sons of Yesterday pitches and Alex led pitch 1 and 3 on Serenity Crack. We made good time up the route but were slowed by a party of two that beat us to the start of the route. Overall I would rate it 5 stars, great climbing with a short approach, easy decent, what more could you want.

East Buttress of Middle Cathedral

Today I climbed the East Buttress of Middle Cathedral Rock in Yosemite. This is a 11 pitch 1100' climb rated 5.9 A0 or 5.10c and is one of the 50 classics of North America and offers great views of the valley and El Cap. I had done the route before so I new it was good and we were looking for something that would receive some shade in the afternoon. I partnered up with a Scottish climber named Alex who is here to work with the Yosemite Search and Rescue team as part of his medical school program. We got an alpine start to beat the heat, and started climbing by 6:30AM. We enjoyed pitch after pitch of great featured rock that is characteristic of Middle Cathedral and fun corner systems. We made good time up the route, on the next the last pitch it began to sprinkle on Alex's lead. I followed the pitch as fast as possible and as soon as I reached the belay it was raining hard. The last pitch was mine and included some thin moves off the belay and 165' flared chimney to the top. The chimney was turning into a water fall as I was climbing, I powered through despite the wetness and made it to the top in good time. As soon as I brought Alex up the rain subsided, by the way "it never rains in Yosemite". We reached the summit at 12:00PM and made it down the decent and back to the car by 2:30, followed by a quick swim in the freezing Merced River. Just another day in paradise.