Yosemite - DNB / Ho Chi Minh Trail to p8 & rebolting, Reed's Direct, Committment - 5/13-14/06 - Claire Saturday: Due to our very wet spring weather, Claire hadn't climbed outside in California since last November, so I thought it might be fun to do some face climbing. Given the warm forecast, the somewhat shady DNB was an attractive choice. Plus I had it fairly dialed from having done it so many times, so it as be a good chance to transition from all the crack climbing at Indian Creek. Partway into the planning I realized it would be cool to haul up a small bolt kit to do some bolt replacement on the Ho if we had the time. I retired my old 9.4mm x 55m yellow lead rope after it got a core shot at Indian Creek, and finally got to use my new 9.4mm x 60m blue rope which had been sitting in the garage. We thought we might sleep in a bit, but Claire woke up at 6:30 feeling good, so we headed in and had breakfast at the overlook, talking with Hal and Joan as they were just finishing up and heading for the Braille Book. p1 5.8 - I led the right hand "McMillan" start variation to avoid the tough slick original chimney. (named after Tom McMillan who first told me about it). p2 5.7 - Claire led the corner / multicrack system to the top of the pillar. p3 5.10b - I led the mantle pitch. It took me a couple of tries to get my act together to do the first runout mantle. The crux mantle was no problem, since it is well protected, and I have it so dialed. As before, I ignored the added bolt above the mantle. Claire was not able to press up or jump up onto the mantle hold "my way", but she found a way to face climb slightly left and grab a micro flake above the hold, then put her right foot onto it and step up. Actually she had a hang in the middle of this while working it out, but has it fully figured out for next time. p4 5.9 - I led this pitch with its sometimes gripping finger traverses. p5 5.10a - One of my favorite pitch in Yosemite, with its improbable face climbing on great incut holds next to a crack, a few thin moves to the rest on the horn below the roof, then the wild undercling left and downwards to the belay. Claire had some trouble using her face climbing shoes in the smeary crack moves at the thin crux, and did most of the undercling down left, but took a small fall before she got established at the final undercling flakes. Fortunately there was a fixed pin on the start of the next pitch with a long sling, which I was able to clip to better protect this traverse. So no wild/bruising swing like Chris Harvey took the last time on this pitch. p6+p7 5.9 - Claire was considering leading this, but I didn't recommend it, as it has some very long runouts on insecure ground. Not the best place to lead after a long layoff! The fixed pin with long sling made the start much nicer than in the past, instead of facing a factor 2 fall from the slick 5.9 face climbing. Above this were the runouts; moderate climbing but sloping holds, so they kept my attention. As I explained while on a 30' runout, "I'd place a bolt here if it was my first ascent!" About 140' up, where the DNB goes left and the Ho goes up and right, there was a somewhat new rappel station with a fixed Lost Arrow and a wired nut. I clipped it and kept going up the Ho, where I soon ran tight on my 49m haul line (as expected). So I pulled up 25' of slack and clipped the haul line to it, then led the last short 5.7 section to the belay ledge atop p7 of the Ho. I hauled the pack, and Claire followed smoothly. p8 5.10c - I led this 80' pitch, but first I placed a new belay bolt above the left end of the belay ledge (3/8" x 2.25" stainless bolt with lap links). People have been using the knifeblade piton and 1/4" bolt above the right end of the ledge as a belay/rappel anchor, as evidenced by the slings and fixed biner there. I then led the pitch, but I opted to use aid to read the second fixed Lost Arrow piton at the crux. There was originally a higher flake to stand on here, but it fell off some time ago, so it is very hard to clip the second pin, maybe harder than 5.10c. I didn't attempt to toprope the moves free; I just continued up from the jug to the lieback past the bad bolt. Then the familiar "knee mantle" and easy moves to belay at the fixed angle piton. Claire came up and freed the crux nicely, using a flake out left of the first piton. I'll try it that way next time! I lowered Claire back to the belay ledge, and then I used my "tuning fork" to remove the bad 1/4" bolt and I replaced it with a 3/8" stainless. Then I rapped to the belay ledge. It was getting dark at this point, so Claire took advantage of the remaining light to make the diagonal rappel back to the p5 ledge on the single 60m rope. We judged from the remaining rope that I would not be able to reach it with our 2 ropes. So I first added a second belay/rappel bolt at the p7 ledge, then rapped to the piton/nut station at the DNB/Ho split. Here I equalized the slings and added 2 rap rings. Then I could easily reach Claire at the p5 ledge. 2 more raps and we were on the ground. On the walk back to the car, we ran into very swampy ground, and Claire soaked one of her shoes. The extended rebolting session had erased our chances of meeting other folks for dinner at the Church Bowl, though, since it was already 11pm. So we just drove to El Cap Meadow and had a quicker version of dinner - still very nice. There were some headlamps of people at Camp 4 on the Nose even at midnight - don't those people ever sleep? :-) Sunday: We had a more leisurely wakeup, catching up on some sleep. Reed's Pinnacle Direct We were pleased to find no line of people waiting to do this classic! There were a couple of parties on the Regular Route, and Bongs Away Left. p1 5.9 - Claire led this enjoyable smooth crack very nicely. p2 5.9 - I led the enduro crack, known as the "hardest 5.9 in the Valley". Fortunately I was in good shape from the Indian Creek trips, so I wasn't quite so desperate on it as I usually am. Claire followed free and looked pretty solid - not bad for such a long layoff from outside crack climbing! She rapped single line from the chains and I pulled up our second rope and then rapped as well. The climb was in the sun, but the belays were in the shade so it was pretty nice. The number of threaded slings midpitch has increased. I clipped them, but they do get slightly in the way of a couple of jams. Perhaps they will be cleaned up before long. We had lunch in the shade at the base, not touching the ant tree. I saw a nice olive green lizard with orange head and tip of tail. We saw another while walking back below Lunatic Fringe. Committment Back on the agenda from last November, when this was in the shade and thus too cold at the time. Now the shade was a plus! Although with all the mist drifting around from Yosemite Falls, we weren't so sure. But at the parking lot we met 2 folks who had just done it and said it was not wet. At the base, the waterfall noise was loud as expected, so we confirmed our belay signal - pull in all the rope and 3 tugs means the follower is on belay. p1 5.8 - I led the nice hand crack start. p2 5.8 - Claire led this, with a short runout face to climbing up the corner with abundant footholds. p3 5.9 - I led the short crux roof traverse and the nice corner above to a tree belay. We walked off in our rock shoes, as I had forgotten my sneakers at the car. We used the same descent that Jennifer found in January - traversing high across the streams and then back low under the cliff. A nice weekend of classics! May in the Valley is not to be missed.