Tuolumne - Coyote Rocks, Dixie Peach, Sweet Nothings, On the Lamb 6/5-6/04 Tim Saturday - Coyote Rocks. We finally visited this place, which we had both often noticed while driving out from the Meadows. The approach was mostly easy uphill walking, but the final 100' was brush, and then scrambling up large juggy blocks towards the south arete. Pleasant View Arete 5.7 R ***. This is rated 5.9 in the book, but there is no 5.9 or even 5.8 on it. It is the blunt arete on the SW side, which is not quite visible in the guidebook photo. It's quite runout, although mostly on big jugs ("ears"), rarely harder than 5.5. The start was 5.7, starting just left of the arete and moving onto the arete. I went about 40' with no pro to a small roof where I placed a cam. A ways above this was the main crux, a short vertical bulge with fragile appearing black flakes for holds. Here I paused for awhile to carefully place solid pro, and avoid trusting any one hold. The pitch tops out at about 190', with cold shuts just left of the crest (atop "Acme Crack"). Tim trailed the 50m x 9mm rope, and we rapped down Acme Crack (160' rappel). We didn't bother trying Acme Crack, because it was mostly easy jugs with a few steep crack sections (not very continously difficult). I cached my pack in the notch between the southernmost short tower and the next huge block (visible in the guidebook photo). This huge block has some potential climbs, with some steep crack starts and then the flakey jugs, but they would not be very continuous. I walked through the notch and then closely along the rock to reach the "amphitheatre" where Battlescar Galactipus and Buckets of Blood are located. B.G. looks rather short, so we didn't bother with it. "Not Buckets of Blood" 5.9 It's not clear exactly where BofB is located, but apparently it is on the buttress right of the amphitheatre (according to the written description). Tim wanted to lead up the main crack system right of center in the amphitheatre, so he led a 5.8 pitch there, roughtly following the line on the photo in the guidebook. This was a left-trending and slightly dirty crack system, stopping below a prominent roof. I led a short, steep 5.9 pitch through the roof, cleaning vegetation from the initial shallow crack, and then moving up on hand jams and jugs on slightly spooky detached flakes in the crack, and belaying up on the summit ridge, 10' directly above rappel slings on the north face. After Tim came up, we scrambled up to tag the summit before rapping down the north face. Cattlestar Fatticus 5.10b We walked directly over to the SSE face of the upper formation, below the prominent RFC in the center of the face. Tim led up a featured moderate face to reach a left-trending crack. As the crack neared the RFC, it got thinner and a short 5.10a section was found. Higher up on the pitch, Tim followed nice jugs out on the airy left arete of the RFC. He made a belay about 190' up, at a sloping ledge. I led the next pitch, where things went vertical and it was a long reach between pocket jugs to reach some slightly loose flakes at the crux. This was supposedly 5.10b, but with a long reach it was more like 5.9 (as long as the flakes didn't peel off). Higher up, the climbing was fairly moderate up a lower angled face to a belay on top, where I tied off a huge flake for the belay anchor. After Tim came up, we soloed down the 20' 3rd/4th class north side, and walked down the sandy SW slope to the lower formation, and around its E side back to our packs. For the descent, we headed slightly SE, trying to steer clear of heavy brush. Then finally back SW to gain the open slopes S of the formation. We began to notice that we had picked up a few deep thorns in our fingers from the spiky flowers of some of the brush. After some water and food, we decided to test our remaining energy by heading to Pothole Dome. Potluck "5.11a" toprope This is a nice overhanging roof crack on the west face of Pothole Dome. We parked at the top of the hill and followed the old road and trail directly to it. I approached over to the left (north) with the rope and set up long slings on two bolts for the toprope. Then I descended in a short chimney to the south, which was very quick. I put on my tape gloves and took the first try. After a few steep handjams, I grabbed a slick jug and hooked my left foot, then knee and lower leg into the crack below the jug. This made a decent rest, although sweaty legs like mine are probably what makes that jug so slick! After testing out a good finger lock and various difficult jams for the move to the lip, I didn't find anything very feasible and started desperately groping around. I finally found the horizontal flake *left* of the crack which made a good hold for the left fingers. Using it and a right fingerlock, I awkwardly managed to extract my left leg from the crack, hooked my foot there instead, and extended up with my right hand to "karate chop" for the flaring hand jam I had spotted at the lip. I didn't have the jam quite solidly at first, so I reset it with better results. Then I pulled up on that jam, heel hooked out right of the lip, and got my left hand in the crack above the lip. A quick press onto my foot and I was onto the easy slab. Tim gave it a shot, but he didn't have tape, and his finger was already a bit raw from our earlier climbing, so he didn't get to the leg hook. Sunday. Dixie Peach 5.9 This was our warmup. A fun little route, well protected. I had to calm myself down as it transitioned from crack and face climbing to friction when the crack peters out. The 5.9 slab at the end seemed a little thin, so I had to relax there as well and trust my feet. Tim followed easily. Sweet Nothings 5.10c Now for the main event. I had led this years ago, but it looked pretty tough. Fortunately, Tim wanted to lead it, so I was able to relax and belay instead of finding out if I could handle it on lead. The bolts are the original 1/4", but probably they are still fairly strong, as they do not see very much water. After Tim clipped the first bolt, he slipped a couple of times before reaching the key flake below the second bolt. Here he tried to climb out *left* of the bolt, which was lower angled at first, but then blanked out. He took a couple of falls/hangs trying it out left and right. Eventually he pulled on the bolt to help get his feet high on the right, and reached the sloping black knob above. Soon he was standing on the knob and reached the 3rd bolt as the difficulties eased slightly (good thing, the runout was getting long). Tim had gotten his slab moves back, which was timely, as the climbing was slightly runout past a few bolts. Finally there was a long runout above the last bolt on a fairly blank slab to reach a thin crack. Fortunately he had his confidence for this long runout. After reaching the crack and climbing up it a ways, Tim opted to traverse right to the belay slings above the start of the route (the original belay anchor is *left* of the crack, and not clearly visible from the crack). I managed to follow free, although just barely, with the transition from crimping to foot friction being tough. We rapped off, and I rapped way left to pick up a booty biner from Get Slick. Back at the base, Matt Lappe was leading the first pitch of South Crack, and Polly Fordyce was belaying and psyched to lead the 5.8 section above. On the Lamb 5.9+ We headed over to do this famous traversing crack, which neither of us had done before. Originally we were thinking of approaching it via Hip Boots, but the hour was a little late, and Tim's work starts very early on Monday morning, so we soloed up the 4th class slabs to reach the left end of the traverse. Tim set out on the first lead, which was 5.7, and he walked along with his feet on the dike for one airy section near the end of the pitch. He set up a belay near the arete, with a nice view of the upcoming traverse. He announced at this point that he was feeling a bit shaky and wanted to end the lead. I followed and led the next pitch, which was very moderate juggy traversing with many knob footholds, 5.7. I made a belay at a crack and Tim followed. Tim announced that he had forgotten that he hates traverses! He explained that he had been "baptised" on Sidewinder (he took a long leader fall on this delicate traversing dike pitch at Joshua Tree). But fortunately he was able to follow OK. He set up a belay at a set of new bolts below the crack, just before the crack. It had become fairly windy, and my eyes were "tearing up" to some extent. I continued leading, reaching a blunt ridge where I looked around the corner and saw the crux section - the traverse crack was quite thin and the rock below for your feet looked fairly blank for quite a ways. I took some time to place good pro and got psyched before doing the initial finger traverse moves around the corner. Fortunately the fingerholds quickly became a little deeper and more positive, and I could see small footholds up ahead. I hung on a couple of times to quickly fire in Aliens, and then a small Camalot at one of the footholds. Here I was dismayed when a green Camalot somehow came unclipped from the rack and plunged downwards, while I was unclipping another small cam to fire in for pro. But we watched the cam land on a slab below and remembered its position for later retreival. The climbing slowly got easier (more footholds), and soon I was past the 5.9+ crux section, where I made a move around an outside corner to moderate climbing, and stopped at a thin crack to place several wires and TCUs for the belay. Tim followed nicely and I got some good photos of him on the crux. I clipped him into the anchor and led the final easy section to belay at a pine tree on an easy ramp. We unroped and went up to the ridge, and then down and right on various ramps and knobs back to easy ground. Here Tim was very nice, and went back to the base to retrieve our packs and the dropped Camalot, while I took the rope and gear directly to the car. When he joined me at the car, the cam was fairly functional, and he was happy to keep using it (although I offered to buy him a replacment). We headed for home, eventually both doing some "surgery" at home to remove those spines (from the brush at Coyote Rocks) from our fingers!