Courtright Reservoir   6/17-18/89

Saturday:  Brian Cox and I did The Paraclete on Power Dome,
which was fairly nice; well protected and one 5.10 move
plus a sustained 5.9 section.  The weird protection
beta is wrong.  You could use Tricams in the typically cylindrical solution
holes (.4"-3" diameter), but you could also use hexes.  We didn't bother with
placing the Tricams because it was usually so easy when the holes were present.
The rack for The Paraclete is:  Rocks 5-7, Friend 2.5, TCU .5, quickdraws.
It also needs a second belay/rappel bolt at the top of pitch 5; we got down in
3 raps; I downclimbed the top pitch to save a sling.
  We tried a second route further to the right, but the start was runout
and it was hot in the sun.  So we hiked up to Tiger Wall and toproped many
very nice 5.11 cracks there.

Sunday:  We started on Trapper Dome, since it got morning shade.
   Brian led Orgasm Addict, a fun vertical 5.9 face on deep flakes/knobs,
but the crux was on thin slabby sloping holds.
   I led Nosferatu, a classic steep wall with 1" deep flakes to a dihedral
with a finger crack.
   We then hiked out to Voyager Dome, where we tried to climb a variation
to V'ger.  We got 2 good pitches, then it became very steep friction
where neither of us could reach the next bolt.  Years later I found out
that David Rubine and Randy Vogel bolted this route on rappel without
toproping it first, and then to their surprise were not able to free
climb it....

     My conclusion is that the place may be worth one trip in May or October,
if you like 5.9 slabs, but it's not as good as Tuolumne Meadows.
It's about a 4.5 hour drive -- more than Tuolumne (TM), less than Needles.
Basically, I'd say it's not as good as TM; most of the people we saw
there were Fresno locals.  The domes are not very steep like TM, and the holes
are not present on the steep faces.  Trapper Dome is steep, but it's short --
both Nosferatu and Orgasm Addict are < 80'.
Most of the routes at Courtright are in the sun all day,
so you get roasted; in TM you can always choose shade or sun depending on the
air temperature.  It's hard to believe that most of the FAs were done in July
and August.

Clint