Yosemite:  Mother of the Future, Dust in the Wind   12/2-3/89

The crowds were gone and the weather was great -- t-shirts on the rock, 30-40
at night (at the Hilton, high 20s on the Valley floor).  On Saturday Joel and
I did a new route, Mother of the Future 5.9 A2, which is a direct finish for
Maxine's Wall.  It starts at the end of the 3rd pitch (actually I combine the
2nd and 3rd pitches).  I aided the first pitch due to dirt, but we cleaned it
later on rappel and it should go at hard 5.10.  Joel led the second pitch (5.9)
which Nancy and I had cleaned out about a year ago.  After some cleansing rains
we'll be back for the FFA, but the rock is grainy/crumbly so it's not
recommended.  It does provide an alternative rappel route after doing Serenity
Crack and/or Sons of Yesterday, though (starting from the large pine tree on
top).
On Sunday we climbed above Thread of Life (just L of Salathe Wall) -- there are
now several options here.  We climbed to the Thread belay via the 5.7 corner,
then the second pitch has a 5.10a move where you lieback an arete.  I combined
the third pitch also (a long 5.7 hand crack in a corner with a steep 5.9 start)
.  Then Joel cleaned off a good ledge and sunk a 2 bolt belay while I finished
cleaning an alternate 3rd pitch on rappel.  I trundled a huge block which
exploded into the trees (there was only one other party climbing at the base
of El Cap, and we warned them carefully).  Then Joel led it to produce Dust in
the Wind 5.10a.  It's nicely exposed above the large roof below, and it starts
with a semi-blind traverse around an arete to liebacks and many stems above.
We sunk another bolt belay and I bouldered out the 5.8 face to the other belay.