Trip reports, current
very latest
2008
2007
2006
2005
by year 1988-2005
by area
early climbs
why have web trip reports?
2004
- P: Disco, Mono 3/17/04 Lin Murphy
- Y: Sons of Yesterday, Parkline Slab 3/20-21/04
Lin
- Y: Parkline Slab, Slab Happy Pinnacle 3/27-28/04
Lin
- Death Valley: Telescope Peak 11,049' 4/5/04
Renata, Skyler, Lance and Jack Kerrebrock
- P: FA of Condor 70 4/28/04 Bruce
- Lover's Leap: Leading class 5/1-2/04
photos
SAC
- Y: Royal Arches, Crest Jewel, Grack Marginal
5/22-23/04
Chris Harvey, SAC
- Y: East Buttress of Middle Cathedral,
South Crack, Low Profile Dome 5/29-30/04
Tim Tuomey, Jared Brown, Jesse Hanson
- Y: Coyote Rocks, Dixie Peach, Sweet Nothings,
On the Lamb 6/5-6/04 Tim
- Y: Quiet Desperation, Table of Contents,
Galactic Hitchhiker (to Oasis), The Cobra, Dixie Peach, Footnote,
Cryin' Time Again, Lunatic Fringe, Nutcracker 6/15-20/04
Lin, Carissa Aoki
  Cobra photos
- Y: Moratorium, New Scavenger, Lembert 6/26-28/04
Lin
- Y: White Flake, Eunuch, Slabstick,
Great White Book, El Condor 7/17-18/04 photo
Lance
- Y: Inverted Staircase, Lucky Streaks, Darth Vader's Revenge 8/21-22/04
Jason Liebgott
- Y: SAC Anchors II class 10/22-23/04
photos
SAC
- Goat Rock: SAC Intro class 10/30/04
photos
SAC
- P: West Side rebolting 11/17/04
Bruce
We completed the rebolting of Machete Direct by sprucing up its
first pitch and belay anchor. Then we did a little work on Lava Falls,
replacing bolt hangers at the anchors, and Bruce replaced the last
lead bolt on the second pitch.
- P: West Side rebolting 12/2/04
Bruce
We rebolted the second pitch of the Balconies Regular Route.
Bruce replaced 7 bolts, and I replaced 4 and added a second bolt
at the anchor. A rather horrifying pitch, with the rusty 1/4" bolts
and their tiny homemade aluminum hangers,
that I was not sure I even wanted to grab for aid. But I was so
pumped from trying to follow pitch one free that I had to grab a
lot of them anyway....
- Y: Cookie, Five and Dime 12/10-12/04
Paul Friberg
2005
- Y: Reed's, Cookie, Pat and Jack 3/5-6/05
Johan Hvenmark
Lunatic Fringe - Johan
- Y: Cookie, Serenity/Sons 3/11-12/05
Jared Brown
Wheat Thin - Jared
- Indian Creek 3/18-28/05 Jared, Johan
(outline with day 1 filled in; more hopefully later, before I forget what
happened...)
Mantle Illness - Polly
Scarface - Marshall, Jared
- Carson Pass - SAC Mountaineering Workshop 4/9-10/05
self arrest, deadman anchor testing, boot-axe belay, crevasse rescue
- P: Sinbad 4/13/05 Brad
- Y: Knob Hill, Church Bowl 4/16/05 SAC folks
photos
- Castle/Goat Rock 4/17/05 SAC intro trip
photos
- Stanford climbing wall - prusiking practice 4/18,20/05
- Shasta - SAC Mountaineering Workshop 4/22-23/05
- Handley Rock - SAC crevasse rescue training 4/24/05
- Tollhouse Rock - SAC Lead Climbing Workshop 5/7-8/05
photos
- P: Long's Folly, Condor Crags 5/14/05 Lance
Condor Crags - Lance
- Lover's Leap - SAC Lead Climbing Workshop 5/21-22/05
photos
- Lassen Peak - Summit + Snowboard 5/29/05 Skyler, John + Will Hicks
photos
- Y: Nose 6/2-6/05 Johan
pitch above King Swing - Johan
- Handley Rock 6/11/05 Karen, Paula, Aura
some fun toproping on a nice day
Handley - Karen
- Y: hiking 6/12/05 solo
One thing I checked out was the left side of Little Wing.
I found the climbs, but they have too many detached/loose blocks,
so it's not a good place for beginners.
- Needles 6/19-21/05 Erika Monahan, Alexander Cooper
6/19: Spooky p1, Stars and Stripes Forever, Pinhead (toprope - Alex),
The Raven (toprope; Clint didn't quite get it free)
6/20: Fancy Free, Igor Unchained
Fancy Free - Erika
6/21: Innersanctum
more details later
- Olympic Mountains: Mt. Washington 7/7/05 Nancy, Renata, Skyler
This was a fun climb - a little more interesting than hiking,
but not too scary, so we didn't have to uncoil the tiny rope I brought.
3rd class near summit - Renata
descent
- Needles 7/23-24/05 Jared, Alexander
7/23: combo linkup: Innersanctum/Brute Force/Wicked - Jared
Brute Force - Jared
Thin Ice - Jared
7/24: Airy Interlude - Jared
new 5.9 route left of North Chimney - Alexander, Jared
more details later
- Tuolumne Meadows 8/6-7/05 - Claire Tomkins
8/6: Crescent Arch; had to retreat in rain after first pitch
Nutcracker - started at 6:30pm, getting dark on the mantle!
8/7: West Crack - swapped leads
West Crack p2 - Clint (photo by Dan Urban)
  West Crack p2 knob arete - Claire
  West Crack p3 - Claire
  Blown Away - Dan Urban
South Crack - swapped leads, a bit of sleet/rain made the
runouts interesting
South Crack p1 - Claire
  ASCA rebolting - Greg Barnes
- White Mountains (New Hampshire): Mt. Washington 8/17/05 family
- Needles 8/27-28/05 Alexander
8/27: Witch Doctor, Love Potion #9 (to top)
Love Potion #9 p2 - Alexander
8/28: Broomsticks, Gobsmacked p2 (tr), Gemstone (tr)
- Tuolumne 9/10-11/05 Wayne Burleson
9/10: Hermaphrodite Flake L side + Eunuch, a quick run up
Stately Pleasure Dome before dark
9/11: Third Pillar, an enjoyable race against the shade,
up this classic.
Third Pillar - first pitch - Wayne
- Needles 9/17-20/05 SAC
9/17: Magician/Strange Brew - Clint/Andrea, Chris/Etienne
Strange Brew start - Andrea
  Strange Brew p6 - Andrea
  Strange Brew p11 - Andrea
  alpenglow on the Wizard
first aid/rescue of injured leader on Igor Unchained -
Alexander/Steph/Marshall/Polly
Innersanctum - Alexander/Steph
9/18: Thin Ice - Marshall/Polly
The Howling - Clint/Andrea, Chris/Etienne
5.9 flake route on NE side of Witch - Alexander/Steph
Gorilla Warfare - Alexander/Polly/Marshall/Steph
Witch North Ridge - Clint/Andrea, Chris/Etienne
9/19: White Punks on Dope - Clint/Etienne, Chris/Steph
9/20: rain :-(
- Y: Positively 4th Street, Church Bowl 10/1-2/05 SAC
15 people participated: Clint, Andrea, Charles-Henri, Björn,
Darko, Sam, Etienne, Steph Abegg, Justin, Lindsay, Barbara, Natalie,
Jennifer, Doug, and Alyssa.
Saturday: we did some crack climbing training on Positively 4th Street
and Nutty Buddy, as well as toproping attempts on Absolutely Sweet Marie,
and half a pitch of My Left Foot. Darko and Etienne climbed 1-2 pitches
above Positively 4th Street, but this is not recommended for the future
as there are a lot of loose rocks up there and some were knocked down
by mistake (fortunately to the side of us, but still scary).
Sunday: we climbed at the Church Bowl, with topropes on Black is Brown,
Uncle Fanny, Church Bowl Lieback, Pole Position, and Revival.
Sam and Justin led Bishop's Terrace, and Darko led Pole Position and
Tammy Fae.
photos
- Y: Middle Cathedral - East Buttress 10/9/05 SAC
finishing p2 - Anne
  top of p5 - Christopher
  finishing p7 - Anne
- Y: Central Pillar of Frenzy,
El Capitan - East Buttress 10/15-16/05 Chris Chan
photos
- Y: Braille Book, Harry Daley, Chouinard Crack
10/22-23/05 SAC
photos
- Y: Bishop's Terrace, Central Pillar of Frenzy, Absolutely Free Center
10/29-30/05 Claire
photos
- Y: Serenity Crack / Ahwahnee Buttress / Sons of Yesterday ,
El Capitan - East Buttress
11/5-6/05 Anne
photos
- Y: Swan Slab, Harry Daley, Bishop's Terrace
11/12-13/05 SAC
photos
- P: Proclamation Pinnacle, Citadel Stream Boulders
11/17-18/05 Brad
- P: Rock Around the Clock - day 1
12/7/05 Bruce
- Y: Serenity Crack / Ahwahnee Buttress /
Sons of Yesterday , Little John Right 12/10-11/05 Claire
photos
- P: Rock Around the Clock - day 2
12/14/05 Bruce
- Y: Serenity Crack / Ahwahnee Buttress /
Sons of Yesterday 12/17/05 Erika
photos
2006
- P: Discovery Wall + Monolith 1/16/06 Chris Chan
photos
- P: Discovery Wall + Monolith 1/28-29/06 SAC
photos
- Y: Manure Pile Buttress + Five Open Books 2/4-5/06 SAC
photos
- P: Rock Around the Clock - day 3
2/7/06 Bruce
- Y: Rixon's Pinnacle + El Cap base 2/11-12/06
Chris Chan
photos
- Y: Meat Grinder p1/Bev's Tower, Catchy, Lunatic Fringe 2/26/06
Debby Wallach
photos
- P: Rock Around the Clock - day 4
2/27/06 Bruce
- Indian Creek, Moses: 4/1-8/06
Debby, SAC
photos
- P: Rock Around the Clock - day 5
4/19/06 Bruce
- J: Slammer start, Whipping Boy 4/23/06
Debby, Marshall
We had planned to climb at the Cookie, but it started raining
before we had even reached Mariposa, so we changed plans and went to
Jailhouse instead. The warmup route was closed due to a very active
eagle's nest on top, so we played on the start of Slammer (short and steep),
and then I aided through the crux of Whipping Boy and we all worked it on
toprope.
- Indian Creek: 4/28-5/4/06
Erika, Seth, Amy, Mark, Erik Neumann
Amy's trip report
  South Sixshooter photos
- Y: DNB/Ho Chi Minh Trail to p8,
Reed's Direct, Committment 5/13-14/06 Claire
photos
- Y: Cookie - Bev's, Wheat Thin, Butterfingers,
Hardd, Outer Limits 5/20 Chris
photos
- Y: Higher Spire - East Corner,
Surprise, Selaginella 6/3-4/06 Claire
Higher Spire photos
Surprise / Selaginella photos
- Y: Quarter Dome / Pegasus recon 6/10-11/06
photos
- Needles 6/17-18/06 Anne-Soisig, Alexander
Igor Unchained, Thin Ice, Fancy Free, The Entity p1-p2
photos by Alexander Cooper
- Needles 6/24-25/06 Brian Cox, also Alexander, Hristo
Airy Interlude, The Howling, Ghostbumps, Lethargy,
Yellow Brick Road / Emerald City var., bolted arete route to left
- Washington Cascades 7/8-16/06 Steph Abegg
Mt. Stuart - complete North Ridge
Steph's trip report
  photos
Prusik Peak - South Face - Burgner-Stanley
Steph's trip report
  photo
South Early Winter Spire - East Buttress
Steph's trip report
North Early Winter Spire - West Face
Steph's trip report  
photos summitpost.org
- Needles 7/22-23/06 Debby, also Alexander, Hristo
photos
Saturday: Airy Interlude, then sprinking and rain from thunderstorms
in the afternoon
Sunday: Innersanctum, Thin Ice
- Needles 7/29-31/06 SAC
29: Innersanctum - Sam, Mike, Nicolas
Witch Doctor p1 - Clint, Fortune
Phosphorescent Flow (tr) - Clint
Thin Ice - Mike, Nicolas
Igor Unchained - Sam, Clint
30: Airy Interlude - Mike, Nicolas, Clint
The Howling - Sam, Nicolas
Atlantis - Mike, Clint
31: Brute Force to Wicked - Mike, Clint  
a few photos
Fancy Free - Mike, Clint
partial trip report
- Tuolumne Meadows 8/19-20/06 Bruce Hildenbrand
Sat: we replaced all 8 bolts on Myopia, which Bruce had
established with
Tom Sisson in 1978. On the topo, it is mislabelled as U.F.R.
in the first 3 editions of the Tuolumne guidebook.
There is a bolted rap station on the top of the route which was
placed by Greg Barnes, where the 3rd edition topo says "fixed nuts".
We then replaced the 2 remaining 1/4" bolts p3 of
The Vision, and the only remining 1/4" bolt on Alchemist's Re-vision p3
(higher bolts on A.R. are 5/16" plus a 3/8" at the sling belay).
The other bolts on The Vision had previously been replaced by Greg.
Note for future rebolters: the bolts on p1 of Ooze and Ahs are still
1/4", as is the first bolt on p3.
Sun: we replaced all 8 bolts on Faux Pas. 7 are shown in the
topo in the 3rd edition guidebook. The 8th was a hangerless bolt
midway up the last pitch. We ran out of bolts and had to bum a few
from a nice climber we met in the parking lot at the store; we placed
2 of these on the route.
The bolts on Tourist Trap are 1/4". The upper bolt on Pippin looks
like it is 1/4".
- Needles 8/26-38/06 SAC
26:
Romantic Warrior (6.1 pitches) - Mike, Jared
photos by Alexander
Romantic Warrior (3 pitches) - Darko, Clint
Magic Dragon - Sam, Nicolas, Justin, Jennifer, Aaron
27:
Airy Interlude - Darko, Justin, Sam
Igor Unchained - Nicolas, Jennifer
Spook Book - Mike, Jared
Imaginary Voyage - Clint, Aaron
Ice Pirates - Mike, Jared
Atlantis - Darko, Nicolas
The Howling (1.5 pitches) - Sam, Jennifer, Justin
replaced bolt belay on Pegleg / Ankles Away - Clint
28:
Witch Doctor - Clint, Nicolas
Fancy Free - Jared, Darko, Jennifer
Spooky (toprope) - Nicolas (2x), Clint, Jared
Y: Cookie 9/9/06 Darko
Outer Limits p1 - C led
Outer Limits p2 - D led
Elevator Shaft - D, C toproped
Waverley Wafer - D led w/ some hangs, C followed desperately
with a somewhat tight rope, then did a clean TR lap with no gear
We had to cut the trip short after Saturday, as I had strained
some tendon/muscle that lifts my right thigh. Darko also had
a twisted ankle from the previous weekend.
Y: Cookie, Hot Line 9/23-24/06 Darko
Enigma p1 - D led
Enema p1 - D led, w/ some hangs
Catchy - C led
Catchy Corner - D led, with a couple of hangs
Hardd p1 - C led, aided final fingerlock section; it was dark when
I finished, so Darko didn't get a chance to follow
Hot Line p1 - C led, belay anchor has 1 3/8" SS ASCA Fixe ring hanger
Hot Line p2 - C led (aided). Fixed old purple Camalot, 2 wired nuts
and biner at pendulum point, fixed Leeper angle 2/3 way across traverse.
Belay anchor: 1 3/8" SS ASCA, 1 dark hex head (Rawlbolt?) w/ SMC hanger,
1 1/4" w/ chain to alminum rap ring. 2 screw links added
somewhat randomly
Hot Line p3 - D led; my favorite hand crack pitch in the Valley.
Belay anchor: 1 3/8" SS ASCA, 1 3/8" button head with Metolius hanger,
1 1/4". Cut piece of rope visible in crack below.
Hot Line p4 - D led.
Belay anchor: old fixed slings around block, plus cams
Hot Line p5 - C led.
Belay anchor: hand sized cams at base of bombay. Bolted belay /
rappel anchor (3/8" bolts with cold shut) 30' below, where 5.11d roof
variation splits off to left.
We then traversed out to the right and rapped off.
Rap anchors:
- (top of Nightmare): rusty hex head bolt (1/4" Taperbolt?)
plus good angle piton; fixed Light D biner. 120'.
- (top of Pink Dream): 3 rusty 1/4" buttonheads, #3 Rock, biner,
3 aluminum rings. 160'
- (in chimney with bay trees): slings around tunnel between blocks;
one good, several bad. 50'
Descent continued with 3rd class 500' descending traverse on ledges to
south. Then trail back north along base.
The stream crossing below the Cookie was dicey. On the way back,
we followed a trail down, which was below Crack of Doom and suggested
a lower stream crossing. Darko forded the Merced, while I scrambled a
little further downstream and found a dry crossing below his ford.
Y: Braille Book 9/30-10/1/06 Claire
On Saturday, we swung leads on Braille Book.
On Sunday, we started up the East Buttress of Middle Cathedral, but
it started sprinking when we were at the end of the first pitch,
so we rapped off.
Y: Astroman 10/6/06 Jason Price
p1+p2 5.10a: Jason led
p3 "boulder problem" 5.11c: J led, 1 fall, nice job. Fixed pin is loose.
p4 "Enduro" 5.11c: J led, clean to the rest, 3-4 hangs on the crux upper
section. 50m lead to Overnight Ledge. I hung twice following.
p5 5.9: C led, short hand crack to stance at bottom of flare
p6 5.10b: C led, wide hand crack in flare to lieback. I spent a fair
amount of time getting a rest and a little pro out left of the lieback
flake before finally doing the lieback (a bit scary for me).
p7 "Harding Slot" 5.11b: C led up into the slot, aiding on most of the
cams (trying to save a little strength). I got beaten up in the slot,
though. In sight of the anchors, I couldn't get past the final
constriction. After more than an hour of trying, I had to concede to
myself that I just wasn't making progress, so I lowered off. In the
process I had gained chin abrasions, nose abrasions, bruised sternum,
raw elbows, and even a bruise on the back of my head. :-) I need to
retrain for squeezes, even though I had led this before.
Jason was
shivering a bit at the belay. He went up and finished the slot, after
a few hangs on the difficult entrance moves. I followed by batmanning
the rope on the outside of the slot.
p8 5.10b: J led, with some occasional hangs, due to cramping arms.
With rope drag and few cams, he stopped below the final 5.9 lieback.
It was getting dark, and started to sprinkle when I reached his belay.
So it was time to bail. Jason left a large stopper here.
The rappel down the Harding Slot was tricky. I kept the rope in the
slot but didn't clip any gear and barely contacted the rock down below.
With a careful launch from some sloping footholds I managed to swing
left and gain a fist crack, then one more sideways move to the staircase
flake and belay bolts. We were back down to the car at midnight.
Saturday and Sunday were much needed rest days!
Castle/Goat Rock 10/14/06 SAC intro trip
photos
Y: Free Blast, Goodrich Pinnacle 11/4-5/06 Anne
Free Blast - p3 traverse - I hung on the pin midway and used it to
lean over and clip the fixed wired nut, then did the moves.
Anne cruised it. On p4 I stayed free for a long ways, but had to aid
through the glassy stemming section by the bush. Anne styled it wearing
her pack which had the rappel rope in it. p5 (5.10d groove) I was free
until the move past the roof. I aided on a couple of small wires and
then did some mandatory friction to reach the bolt. Occasional yards
on other bolts on the pitch. Anne took a hang at around the roof
and used a couple of bolts as well. p6 Anne led - very glassy; a couple
of points of aid; I batmanned to the pin and beyond. p7 Anne led (5.9
corner). I aided the moves into the Half Dollar flaring chimney;
Anne followed in the dark with a headlamp. I led the last 2 pitches
with her headlamp and she followed in the indirect moonlight.
We got to visit Kelly Rich and Tom Davis on Saturday night
Goodrich Pinnacle - Right Side, we found the glassy friction
challenging.
P: High Peaks 11/12/06 SAC
Long's Folly, North and South Fingers, Condor Crags, Burgundy Dome,
Piglet and The Unmentionable
P: Machete Ridge rebolting 11/16/06 Bruce
We upgraded the 3 slab rappel stations on the Old Original route,
replacing the Fixe ring hangers with Fixe large hangers and
galvanized 3/8" chain. These rappels are each about 70', and it is
fairly easy to downclimb to the lowest station. I replaced two 1/4"
bolts in the Rappel Bypass route to the right/southwest. I also
placed one bolt and replaced one bolt on an unlisted rappel bypass
route to the left/NE of the slab rappels.
We continued to the saddle above Machete Direct. Here we removed
the two bolts with Fixe ring hangers atop the final pitch of Machete
Direct. We feel they probably contributed to people attempting to
rappel down that route (west face). The chain anchors for the standard
east face rappel are still in place. This should reduce confusion.
We replaced 2 protection bolts and (the) one anchor bolt on the
Barber's Backside route, which lies directly under the east face
rappel.
The east face gully looked a bit damp/slippery, so we opted to
climb back to the notch below the slab rappels, where we worked on
the left/NE rappel bypass route, and then rappelled down our
west face route (south of Bill's Bad Bolts).
Y: NE Buttress of Higher Cathedral Rock, Gripper 11/18-19/06 Darko
Saturday: NE Buttress of Higher Cathedral Rock 5.9+
photos
Sunday: Arch Rock - Gripper 5.10b
P: Balconies 11/25/06 SAC (Moritz, Justin B., Cory, Emily, Greg, Ada)
Lava Falls p1, Peregrine p1, Conduit to the Cosmos p1, Smiling Simian,
Little Big Dog
photos
P: Balconies 11/26/06 SAC (Ken, Jason K., Justin H., Ian, Maria, Martin,
Charles)
Lava Falls p1, Peregrine p1, Smiling Simian, Bad Ape
photos
P: Machete Ridge rebolting 11/30/06 Bruce
We climbed up to just left of the base of Bill's Bad Bolts, where there
is an old bolt ladder which is not in the guidebook. I led up it,
finding 7 aid bolts to 2 old and tattered slings. After a little
scrubbing, I made some free moves to a sloping boulder and a protection
bolt, which was a 1/4" Zmac rivet (like a 1/4" Star-Dryvin, with lead
sheath). I spied 2 belay bolts 15' above, so after removing some large
loose holds, I made a few scary moves up to the belay, situated at a
boulder which is not quite solidly attached. These belay bolts were
good Star-Dryvin. I spied one bolt on the second pitch, diagonally up
and right about 20'. I climbed carefully over to it - another 1/4"
Zmac. I couldn't see any more bolts, and the climbing looked a bit
harder, so I downclimbed back to the belay. Bruce sent up two nicely
painted quicklink/chainlink combos, which I set up on the belay bolts.
I then rapped down and replaced the highest 2 bolts on the pitch.
The rap was about 50' back to the terrace. In the meantime, Bruce had
cleaned up the belay anchor in the streak/grassy gully below Bill's
Bad Bolts, and had installed a new rap anchor with chains just
below the gully, where the pull for the rap ropes would be easier.
We then rapped down Gary and Phyllis' Headwall, and replaced the
upper 4 bolts. Bruce had previously replaced the hanger on the first
bolt, and Erik Bratton or someone had done a nice job replacing the
second bolt.
P: new routes 12/2/06 Lance
Lance and I climbed a couple of new routes. The first one was a
pinnacle below the Junipero Canyon Trail, below and west of the
Monument. We had noticed it a few years ago. It has two summits,
split by a wide gap. I climbed
a crack which starts in the gap and goes up the steep south formation.
It was mostly blocked with stones, but I placed a 3" cam and did
some 5.8 hand jamming to reach easier ground. After tagging the
4th class south summit, I stepped over to climb a very loose face
and diagonal crack on the north summit. This protected fairly well
with a #1.5 Friend and TCUs. I placed 2 bolts with lap links on top.
Lance followed, using an aid sling to get started, since he doesn't
know how to hand jam.
Next we hurried back to the car and dumped off all the cams. We
hiked in to the Smiles boulder near the base of the Balconies.
On the way, we saw Dennis Erik Strom rapping down from climbing
Where the Birds Hang (with Brad Young). I led up a line of good
solid holds left of No Smiles. I used the same start as No Smiles,
then went left and placed one bolt from a stem stance with a hook
on a good incut knob directly overhead. I used a 3/8" x 3" SS wedge
bolt that I had bought from Bruce's supply, which seemed appropriate
for the nice hard/solid rock. Then Lance belayed
me as I made a few 5.7 moves up the headwall to where it got less
steep. I went to the top, and Lance followed it free. He rapped
down on the Grigri, also belayed by me. I placed a second bolt on
the upper (easy) part of the route, so people would not be in
groundfall range up there.
Y: Church Bowl 12/3/06 SAC (Ken, Daniel Preda, Darko, Colin, Heather,
Clint, Moritz, Ian, Greg, Justin B, Chris M)
Several of these folks went up on Saturday and climbed, including
Ken and Daniel on After Seven/After Six.
On Sunday, we met at the Church Bowl, where Daniel led Uncle Fanny 5.7,
I led Church Bowl Lieback 5.8, Darko led Revival 5.10a, and
I led Black is Brown 5.8. We set up topropes on all these routes.
Bishop's Terrace was climbed by Justin + Chris, Ken + Daniel, and
Darko + Ian. I also placed two bolts with chains on top of Black is
Brown, to make a more direct toprope/rappel anchor and to prevent
further erosion of soil/rocks from the dirt slope on top of the cliff.
It was a bit chilly in the shade belaying at the base, but we all seemed
to have brought enough warm clothes to handle it.
  photos
Y: Royal Arches slab rebolting 12/13-14/06 Melissa
On Wednesday, we had an adventure climbing up Double Trouble 5.10b
to set up fixed ropes for rebolting the 3 slab climbs there.
The lower 30' was wet and slick due to recent rains, so I lowered in
to the second bolt using a pine tree in the corner to the right.
I was a little gripped at the 3rd bolt, so I grabbed the draw
briefly to clip in. The 4th bolt was 3/8", with a longer runout above
and no obvious good holds along the way. I climbed up above the bolt,
but still didn't see much, so I downclimbed and turned the lead over
to Melissa.
She had a little difficulty getting used to the rock (as
I also had), where one uses small and slightly loose flakes to progress
upwards, not to mention her brand new shoes. She was wise enough to
bring the cheater stick with her (while I had forgotten it at the base).
My long cheater stick (tent pole) was rather flimsy, but she did a
nice job of successively hooking and aiding up 3 bolts
on the middle route, and then 4 bolts on the right route. After
backcleaning to eliminate the zigzag rope drag, she tried the top
runout section, but it was too sketchy, so she lowered (barely enough
rope) to the pine tree on the right.
We swapped leads again, and for
expediency, I climbed above the pine tree to a live oak, then swung
over left to the arete on tension. After some fun toproping up the
arete to the high point, I managed to lead the final section to the
anchors. I fixed the middle of the rope to the top, so that both
ends reached the pine tree.
We got out our bolt kits and ascenders, and Melissa took the center
route, while I took the right route. Daylight was waning, but I managed
to replace 2 bolts and Melissa replaced one (it was especially hard
to remove). As darkness fell, I changed the anchor to a single line
and rapped to the base. I stashed some gear and we walked down and
had dinner; we drove out of the park on 140 to sleep.
Thursday. After breakfast at the Church Bowl (hazy sunshine, a bit
chilly), we returned to the base, where Melissa jugged up and fixed
her rope. We continued working on the center and right routes; Melissa
replaced 4 bolts, and I got 5, to make the right route all 3/8".
Melissa had a blister from her drill holder, and I was very close to
getting one from mine.
For future reference, Double Trouble has 8x, not 7x. And it is a
120' rappel to the base, or possibly 80+' to the corner above the pine
tree where 3rd class leads back to the base.
On Friday, Melissa completed the rebolting of the middle route,
in spite of light rain.
It now has 7 new SS bolts (plus the final bolt on the right route).
One of the anchor bolts on top had been previously replaced by J
and Ben. The second anchor bolt is a 5/16" buttonhead with a
Kong-Bonatti hanger, and the third is a 3/8" StarDryvin with SMC SS
hanger (looking fairly good).
P: Balconies Regular Route rebolting 12/20/06 Bruce
Bruce led p1 (on aid), in spite of his bandaged finger (pepper slicing
incident); I jumared in my hiking boots with my pack.
In a prior 3rd day of rebolting on this route, Bruce and Frost Saufly
had replaced 6 more bolts, so there are only 3 original bolts remaining
on it (11th - 1/4", 14th - 3/8" Star Dryvin, and 17th - 1/4" on easy ground).
I changed into my rock shoes and tossed my boots to the ground.
I led p2 with some occasional aid. It was nice to have the gear this
time - I used a #3 Friend, #2 TCU and #2.5 Friend, although I backcleaned
the #2.5 after noticing a bolt not too far above it. I rapped down
to the midway belay and replaced the first bolt above it, and the first
bolt below it. Bruce replaced 4 bolts below the belay and finished
my start on the 3rd bolt above the belay.
There are 3 original bolts remaining on p2 (5th - 1/4", 6th - 3/8" Star
Dryvin, 10th - 3/8" Star Dryvin/rusty).
I led p3, which was accurately rated as 5.9 in Brad's nice new topo.
I used a little aid at times, grabbing the upper 2 fixed pins which
protect the airy crux. After anchoring to the big pine tree
above the final corner, I rapped back down and replaced the first bolt,
while Bruce replaced bolts 2 and 4. Bolt 3 (3/8" Star Dryvin)
was not original and is close to bolt 2. Bruce also put a hanger on the
3/8" bolt (5) which is low in the final corner on the right.
We descended by walking over to the rap station atop Hook and Drill.
It's 155' to the ground. Bruce had brought chains for fixing up this
station, but there was already a nice set of chains in place
(stale beta from Clint).
P: midweek 12/28/06 Sharon Houck
On a nice clear blue sky day, we climbed: Ordeal, Wet Kiss,
Jorgie's Crack, and Terranean Tango. I led these and Sharon followed,
with some occasional hangs due to not climbing enough recently.
To end the day I toproped POD.
2007
- P: Machete N side 1/19/07 Brad
We climbed the first pitch of Cuidado, extended to the belay at
the end of Flies on a Pile. I added a bolt to this belay.
Brad led to the top of the short aid pitch above. Then he replaced 2
bolts and placed a pin on the old 7 bolt route directly below. He
had tried to lead it at the start of the day, but the mossy runout
above the old 3rd bolt was too dangerous.
- J: intro trip 1/20/07 SAC
Jared, Koichi and I drove out to Jailhouse. Dan Urban and Evan
arrived shortly, and Simon also arrived soon, after his alarms failed
and he had to drive separately. Jared finished my partial lead of
the 5.11d warmup route; then we all toproped on it. Dan and Evan
warmed up on the start of Iron Junky. The temp was fairly cool, so
it felt nice to move over to the sunny end of the crag, where most
of us worked on Whipping Boy, while Dan worked his project Supreme Being
with Evan and then Jared worked it to the top anchor. Evan got a
good workout, doing much of the Lineup bolt to bolt. At the end of
the day Jared tried Soap on a Rope, after threading his rope through
the first 6 bolts for a toprope start. He climbed it free to the
high point (past the long move to the letterbox hold), then ran out
of strength after a good day at the crag.
- P: midweek 2/2/07 Sharon
We warmed up at the Tourist Trap, doing Nipple Jam, Thrill Hammer,
and Rat Race. I had not done any of these routes before.
Next was Plague at Discovery Wall, but starting to the right on Trauma.
This eliminated the 5.10a start and yielded a fairly nice 5.8 (R) route.
On to the Monolith, where I led the Indirect Traverse to finish on
Terranean Tango. Sharon was a bit out of gas for the bouldery start,
so she called it a day. I toproped POD (barely), and then rapped to
clean the previous route.
- Goat Rock 2/3/07 SAC  
photos
- Y: Bishop's Terrace, After Seven, Reed's Pinnacle, La Cosita Right
3/10-11/07 Moritz
photos + report
- Y: Royal Arches, Nutcracker
3/17-18/07 Sharon, SAC
  photos
- Moab: Indian Creek, desert towers 3/24-4/1 Jared, Mike, Matt
3/24 Supercrack buttress
3/25 Battle of the Bulge buttress
photos through 3/25 and preview of
coming attractions
3/26 Cat Wall
3/27 Supercrack buttress
3/28,29 rest/weather days in Durango
3/30 North Sixshooter
3/31 Standing Rock
4/1 Washerwoman Arch
- Y: Lost Arrow tip, Swan Slab 4/7-8/07 SAC
- Y: Lead climbing workshop 4/21-22/07 SAC
- Y: Church Bowl, El Cap base 4/28-29/07 SAC
- Y: Lead climbing workshop 5/5-6/07 SAC
- Y: Church Bowl, Harry Daley 5/12-13/07 SAC
- Y: Fairview Regular, Middle Cathedral East Buttress 5/14-15/07 Chris Chan
  Fairview photos
- Y: Daff Dome - West Crack, Higher Cathedral Rock Northeast Buttress
5/21-22/07 Chris Chan
- Y: Royal Arches to North Dome South Face
6/2/07 Björn Flatt, SAC
- Y: Salathe' Wall 6/15-21/07 Chris Chan
  photos
- Y: Arches Terrace rebolting 7/12-14/07
Roger Brown
  photos
- Y: South Crack, West Crack 7/16/07 Eu-Jin
- Y: Arches Terrace rebolting 7/22-24/07
Roger Brown, Ryan Mattock
- Y: South Crack, Fairview Regular, Great White Book, Aqua Knobby
7/28-29/07 Rasmus Bokrantz
- Y: Pennyroyal Arches - Deja View 5.8 (new route)
8/1/07 Bruce Hildenbrand
- Bugaboos 8/5-10/07 Steph Abegg
South Howser Tower - Beckey-Chouinard
Snowpatch Spire - SE Corner
Steph's photo trip report
- Y: Glacier Point Apron rebolting 8/17/07
Roger
  photos
We climbed Monday Morning Slab Right Side, Point Beyond, and
Angel's Approach to Lucifer's Ledge and one pitch beyond. Fixed 7 ropes
for Roger to rebolt all the nearby routes.
Needles: 8/26-28/07 Claire, Koichi, Lin
Sunday: Airy Interlude, Spooky
Monday: lightning struck the Warlock when we were at the base of
The Howling, about to give up after the thunderheads had arrived.
We all got some ground shocks - a bit scary. We then spent most
of the day hiding from the rain in boulder caves. A little bouldering
late in the day, and also some watching the forest fires to the
north in Sequoia National Park.
Tuesday: Inner Sanctum, The Howling
Tuolumne: 9/6-8/07 Paul Friberg
Thursday: Shipoopi p1, a newer route, and a nap!
Friday: South Crack, Fairview Regular Route
Saturday: Blues Riff
Mt. Slesse - NE Buttress 9/14/07 Steph
Steph's photo trip report
Y: El Capitan - East Buttress 10/6/07 Ian, Lukasz, Daniel, Koichi, Colin
Lower Falls - Ten Years After, Lower Cathedral sport routes 10/7/07
Brian Cox
Lower Falls: warmup route, then Ten Years After - Brian led both.
Lower Cathedral: 76 Degrees in the Shade, End of the Line,
Unnamed but Beautiful, Mac Daddy.
Brian led the first 3 and we TRed the last due to fading light;
I had one fall on it.
P: Intro Class 10/13/07 SAC
  photos
Y: Schultz's Ridge Base, Royal Arches Base 10/14/07 Brian
Schultz's Ridge Base bolted routes: 4 of the 5 routes on the L side;
we skipped Second Thoughts
Royal Arches base: Arete Butler, Y Crack
Brian led all these
Indian Creek 10/20-28/07 Erika, SAC, friends
Y: El Capitan East Buttress, Serenity/Ahwanhee/Sons p1 11/3-4/07 Jennifer Tse
  photos
Y: SAC Anchors II class 11/10-11/07 SAC
Saturday - Little John Right 5.8, with Diana + Mico
Sunday - anchor practice in light drizzle + later sun
P: Disco + Mono 11/18/07 Clement Jonquet, Dan Truong
  photos
Ordeal (Clint led), Wet Kiss (Clement led), Big Pucker (tr),
Stupendous Man (Clement led), Power Point (Clint, Clement tr), POD (Clint led)
It was Clement's first visit to the Pinnacles, so we had to do POD;
fortunately I was able to lead up it, since I hadn't done anything all that
hard all day....
P: Disco + Mono 11/25/07 Clement
Swallow Crack (Clement led), Broken Arrow (Clint led),
Between a Rock and a Hard Place (Clint led)
Terranean Tango (Clement led), Foreplay (Clint led with a hang),
Hawaiian Noises (both tr, Clement twice), black streak right of POD (Clint tr),
attempted tr left of POD (Clint many hangs)
Y: Cookie, S: Gold Wall 12/1-2/07 Noriko Setikawa
I led Outer Limits p1; Noriko followed nicely.
I led p1 of Hardd; it felt nice to get it clean this time.
Noriko nearly got it as well, but had one hang near the top - not bad
for being out of shape.
Just before dark, I went up the lower part of Royal Arches and added
a rap station on the blank slab above the ledge atop the first pitch
chimney. It is 85' below the chained station which is next to the dead snag.
This makes it possible to rap this final wall with a single rope, which
may be preferable to downclimbing over right, when the stream is running
in the spring. It is a semi-hanging station. Probably the best way to
handle it is to send one person down on a single strand to the big ledge,
then the second person can rap to the new station and then one more rap
to the big ledge. That would avoid having 2 people at the hanging station.
It was cloudier than we had hoped, but we got a little bit of sun at times.
On Sunday it was quite cloudy and cold, so we drove out to Jamestown
and climbed at Gold Wall.
I led a 5.10d in the middle and a 5.10 on the right side; Noriko led a 5.9
to finish off the day. Nice to be in the sun!
P: Disco + Mono 12/8/07 Leo, Rene, Mano
The weather was mostly cloudy and fairly cold, but we did get a little sun
at times. Ran into Jared and Dan at the Monolith.
Wet Kiss (C led, L, R, M TRed)
Portent (C led, M followed; L led, R followed)
Monolith Direct (L led after C clipped first 2 bolts, M, R, C TRed)
Terranean Tango (C led, R, L, M TRed)
POD (C TRed 2x, R, L, M TRed to crux)
Hawaiian Noises (L, R, C TRed)
2008
- P: Monolith 1/13/08 SAC informal trip - Ben, Andrew, Anna
  photos
I forgot one of the ropes, so things were a little slow, but it
was nice and uncrowded as we did the Monolith Direct Route, Terranean Tango,
Hawaiian Noises, and variations.
- P: Discovery, Monolith 1/19/08 SAC folks - Eva, Rasmus, Justin, Wei,
Linnea, Jeff, Ian, Brian, Wong, Bjorn, Wendy, and Sam
- Y: Cookie, Arch 2/9-10/08 Eva, Justin B, Cory
  photos
Cookie: Eva led Bev's Tower, I led Wheat Thin. Eva led Outer Limits
and toproped Crack-a-go-go. Cory and Justin did Outer Limits, Catchy and
Catchy Corner. Saw many folks there - Ron Skelton, Werner Braun, Brad Young,
Dan Urban and Nico.
Arch Rock: I led New Dimensions p1, Eva led Gripper p1 and p3; I led p2.
Justin and Cory did Gripper and Midterm. Eva toproped Midterm with some
batmanning through the wide transition. I batmanned there and also in
most of the chimney. Justin and Cory worked on Short Circuit just before
dark.
- Y: base of El Cap, Pat+Jack, Serenity/Sons 2/16-18/08 Ben, Sam, Becca
- Saturday - base of El Cap:
  photos
  Sam's photos
I led Sacherer Crack (w/ chimney finish - was glad I had
kneepads this time); Ben followed. Sam led it and Becca followed, with some
takes along the way and a little rope ascension at the very end.
Sam led La Cosita Right; Becca followed. Ben led it and I followed.
The height of the snow cone at the base meant we only had to do about 2
moves in the finger crack before reaching the hand jam!
I led Moby Dick Center; Ben followed. Finally I finished this one,
after downclimbing from the wide part years ago. The lower crux was
almost eliminated by the 8' snowpack at the base. In the wide section,
I used handstacks and pushed a #4 C4 up ahead of me on a sling.
Sam led Pine Line and Becca followed.
- Sunday - Pat + Jack Pinnacle:
  photos
Knob Job - I led and Ben followed. Later Sam led it and Sharon followed.
Nurdle - Sam led; Becca followed.
Sherrie's Crack - I led; Ben followed with one fall. Sam toproped it
clean. It's tough.
Knuckleheads - Ben led; Becca followed.
Makayla's Climb on far right, L of crack - Ben led, Becca followed; Sam
led, I followed.
Suds (crack on far right) - Ben led, Becca followed; Clint led; Ben followed.
bolted climb further L of crack - Becca led up a ways; Sam finished.
Boneheads (slab to buttress above Babble On) - Ben led, Clint followed; Sam led;
Becca followed.
We saw many familiar folks there - Alex, Sharon, Justin B, Wendy, Jenn,
Phyllis, Marc Jensen and his wife!
- Monday - Serenity Crack area. The day started with light overcast
but the sun came out! Nice views down to snow on the valley floor.
Ben and I did Serenity Crack/Ahwahnee Buttress/Sons of Yesterday.
I led the odd pitches and Ben the evens. This included his first 2 leads
of Valley 5.10s! The first pitch was pretty wet at the start and I was
rather gripped. I don't recommend it when wet unless you know exactly
how to place the first cam (green camalot level with stain from old bolt).
Sam and Becca did Super Slide.
  Sam's photos
Peruvian Flake - Sam led this right to the crux, but hesitated at the
transition move (as many people have over the years) and ended up taking
a fall. He downaided to clean his gear. Ben and I came by, and I led it.
Ben followed, and Sam also toproped it. Becca climbed to the start of
the finger crack but her hands were too tired to crack through that section.
- Y: Reed's Pinnacle, Super Slide, Serenity/Sons 3/1-3/08 Noriko
Saturday: Reed's Direct, then tunneled through and summitted on
Reed's Regular. Lunatic Fringe.
Sunday: Super Slide. Ran into Hal and Elmar on it. Also saw Justin
and Cory doing Serenity/Sons.
Monday: Serenity/Sons.
- Y: El Cap base, Reed's Pinnacle - Dream Easy 3/8-9/08 Noriko
Saturday - El Cap base: Little John Right, Salathe' p1
Sunday - Reed's Pinnacle: Dream Easy (5th ascent!)
  photos
- Y: Free Blast, Magical Mystery Tour (attempt) 3/17-18/08 Jared
Monday - Free Blast. We delayed starting the route when some big
chunks of ice came down from the top of El Cap, but not much came down
for awhile, so we started up. Near sunset, some more big chunks came down,
hitting near us on the last 2 pitches to Mammoth.
Jared led all the hard pitches, including onsighting
the 5.11b traverse on p3, and he freed all the way to the 5.11 slab crux
on p5 (where we had very strong winds, which made it hard!). Plus the
Half Dollar was a bit wet, which made it quite tough. I did a fair amount
of yarding on gear, batmanning the rope, and aiding - my footwork is not
very good at the moment! There were fixed lines
from the left side of Mammoth to the ground, which we rappelled in the dark
and moonlight with a belay.
Tuesday - Reed's Pinnacle: we climbed the first 2 pitches of Reed's
Pinnacle Regular Route, and Jared managed to retrieve his chalk ball which
he had lost some months ago behind a flake. Jared led Bong's Away Left,
and I led 1.4 pitches of Magical Mystery Tour. The 5.10a traverse looks
like it is protected with an old fixed piton high up in the crack, and we
did not have a hammer to test it properly, or other gear to back it up.
So we traversed back left and finished the day by toproping p2 of Reed's
Direct - always a great workout.
- Y: Reed's Pinnacle - Flatus/RORP, Cookie 3/22-23/08 Noriko
Saturday - Reed's Pinnacle - first 2 pitches of Flatus, variation
finish to left, then 4 pitches of the RORP - we had fun exploring this,
finding several wide cracks along the way...
Sunday - Cookie - Outer Limits, Cookie Center p1 (5.9), variation to
right (5.9/5.10a), Meat Grinder p1 5.9, Bev's Tower, Aftershock (toprope)
- Y: Sunshine Cliff - right side routes 3/29/08 Noriko
We had sun in the morning and the approach from 120 took 40 minutes
at an easy pace, down a sandy/slabby slope with several fixed ropes under
the power lines. I led Sweet Miracle 5.7 sloping knobs with a long reach
right at the first bolt. Noriko led Slob Knob p1, which was a nice 5.4
finger crack with knobs to a diagonal 5.5 crack/lieback which had a lot of
dirt but was clean enough to place gear in. I removed some more of the dirt
while following. I led Hobknob p1 which had 3 bolts not shown on the
topo we had. It was mostly 5.6, but with a 5.8 long reach move right at the
top, or maybe a 5.10 move with optional small stopper pro directly above
the 3rd bolt. I led p2, which was 5.6 knobs with 5 bolts, not shown in our
topo. At this point we walked off right on the 3rd class ledge. We could
have descended the approach gully, but Noriko had tight shoes, so instead
we downclimbed 3rd and brief 4th class to the chains on top of Sweet Miracle
and rapped to the base. We had originally hoped to climb out on Sweet Sunshine
or one of Eric's other routes on the left side, but the sun had gone away
and the dark clouds were threatening a bit, so we hiked out instead, after
scoping the approach to the left side. It rained that night, and was
pretty cloudy/cool on Sunday, so we drove home, after briefly trying to
find the climbs at Two Mile Bar (no luck without the guidebook).
- Y: Reed's, Parkline - mostly obscure routes 4/5-6/08 Wei Wu
Sat - Reed's: Ejesta, RORP to The Gray Bullet
Sun - Parkline: Hayley Anna, Vanderbilt-Gledhill (FA of finger crack
left of Hayley Anna)
  photo trip report
- Y: Edge of Absurdity, Mr. Natural, Chouinard Crack 4/26-27/08 Jared
Sat - Edge of Absurdity.
  photos
We found Eric and Kevin on p1 and climbed alongside them.
On Saturday night we ran into Cory + Laura + friends at
the pizza deck, and then Polly, Marshall, Alexander, Jeff, and friends.
Some of them had just done Mr. Natural.
Sun - Apron. Jared led Mr. Natural nicely.
  photos
I followed (great to do this
climb again after about 15 years of not doing it due to rockfall fears)
and we replaced one of the anchor bolts, so it has two 3/8" bolts now.
We toproped Dr. Feel Good cleanly, which was also fun and an old favorite
of mine. Jared then led both pitches of Chouinard Crack, and we toproped the
upper pitch of Harry Daley.
- Y: Lead Climbing class 5/3-4/08 SAC
we climbed at Reed's, the Apron, and Braille Book
- Y: NE Buttress of Higher Cathedral Rock, Reed's 5/10-11/08 Tim Reddy
Saturday: we were the 2nd party of 4 parties on the NE Buttress of
Higher Cathedral Rock.
Sunday: Tim warmed up by climbing the 5.8 first pitch of Reed's Regular.
Then we had a jumar session with Erika, practicing following a pendulum
(as Erika was going for the Nose in a day on Monday).
Tim led Stone Groove with one fall; I followed with difficulty
and he took a lap on toprope.
I led Lunatic Fringe and Tim had a couple of hangs at the lower crux,
where his hands do not fit well.
- Y: new routes 5/17-18/08 Bob Steed
at a remote cliff with nice rock
Sat: completed p3-5 of Bob's route
p2 had 4x. Bob led all of p3 - 5.10a with several 5.9 sections.
He placed 2 pins and 4x for pro, 1 belay bolt
when rope drag stopped progress. I followed, then rapped down and
replaced the second pin with a bolt, added a bolt at the steepest part where
Bob had some sketchy nuts, and added a second belay bolt.
I led p4 which started with a 5.9 reachy overhang, then up mostly friendly
slab with 1x for pro at the left end of a bulge. Belay above dike on cams.
Bob led p5 which was easy. We walked off to the R, which did not work
so well.
Sun: Did a new 3 pitch route on upper right side of wall, many nice knobs.
It was about 5.7. Rapped down to left from trees (many ants at first tree).
Bob then led a left-diagonalling crack/flake (full 60m), and we rapped from
a nut and pin.
- Y: rebolting Space Babble 5/26-27/08 Kevin Willoh
  photo trip report
On Monday we climbed 3.5 pitches on the Kor-Beck, and fixed 3 ropes as
it started to rain. On Tuesday we jumared back up, and replaced 7 bolts
on Space Babble, getting soaked in the process.
- Y: rebolting Space Babble 5/30-6/1/08 solo
Completed the rebolting of Space Babble, replacing 10 more bolts.
I also checked and tested the fixed pitons - most of them were in place
and good except on p1 (where Aliens/TCUs work for the most part).
I placed one new fixed piton on p1, just before the move over the roof
which starts the 5.11. It appears that the former pointed flake there has
broken off, so the move seems fairly tough.
- SoYos - Chiquito Dome: rebolting Elegant Inclinations 6/7-8/08 Joel
  photo trip report
Joel and I replaced all the bolts on this route.
On Sunday after finishing the work, we toproped the route, except for
the final pitch.
- Y: rebolting Middle Cathedral North Face apron 6/14-15/08
Roger Brown, Kelly Rich, Bruce, Jesse McGahey, Megan McGahey, Roger Putnam,
Eric Bissell
  photo trip report
Jesse, Megan, and Roger P. climbed the first 4 pitches of Quicksilver,
placed a good belay bolt there, and fixed Roger B's 600' rope to the high point
Kelly and Bruce climbed the (hard) first pitch of Exodus. The belay needed
to be upgraded to attempt the opening runout on p2, so Roger Brown jugged up
and replaced the belay bolts.
Eric and I did the first 2 pitches of Mother Earth, with Eric leading
both pitches - the second one is 5.10 with rusty 1/4" bolts accessorized by
several ancient tat slings and a couple of bail biners.
When Eric arrived at the belay stance there were no usable bolts!
One bolt had half its hanger missing, and the other was just an empty hole!
So he placed some marginal gear above and belayed me up with a hip belay on
a very narrow stance. I batmanned briefly past a couple of sections, which
worked out OK, and we pulled the bolt fragment, then enlarged/deepened the
holes and placed 2 good belay bolts with Fixe/ASCA double ring hangers.
It was getting late, so we left 2 ropes fixed.
Sunday:
Kelly and Bruce tried the second pitch of Exodus which was quite tough -
5.10c moves 10' above an RP and 15' above the belay bolts. Bruce belayed
by hanging on the rope 15' below the belay bolts. The topo shows 5.9 for
the move but is a bit off! After a couple of tries, Kelly and Bruce headed
over to Mecca for some shady and better protected fun!
Roger and I jugged up to the high point on Quicksilver, and I led the
5.7 pitch to the top of the route. After several off-route attempts, one point
of protection and pulling an off-route bolt, I found an old 2-bolt anchor at
the pointed flake and replaced the 2 bolts there while Roger fixed up the
p4 anchor. We rapped off, and on the way down I tensioned left to fix a rope
to the top of Ticket to Nowhere.