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| Messages 1 - 13 of total 13 in this topic |
M. Volland
Trad climber
Grand Canyon
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jul 1, 2011 - 02:14am PT
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Pygmy Pillar 5.7
FA - Mike White and Ron Cagle, 1970
This climb sits on the far right side of the second tier of Sunnyside Bench. It is a chimney with mostly good quality granite but also some crumbly sections.
To find Pygmy Pillar, begin by hiking up the footpath on the left side of the talus slope directly behind the government stables.
At the top of the talus you will reach this section. Stay to the right and continue hiking up the sandy slope until the Sunnyside Bench Trail is gained. Follow this trail to the left toward Yosemite Falls, passing two sections of easy difficulty before leaving the trail and gaining the base of Pygmy Pillar.
Pygmy Pillar should be approached on the left side. While on the Sunnyside Bench Trail, it is best to make sure that you have passed the pillar are are well on the left (west) side before leaving the trail for the last sandy uphill slog to the base. There is a large boulder that will need to be climbed to reach the notch at the base of the pillar.
Really, the left side and the right side could be climbed without entering the chimney at all. I was rope soloing so I chose the security of the chimney, and was rewarded with a great climb with secure moves over good pro.
Fully expecting to exit the top of the chimney on the left side for a final 5.7 squeeze, I was delighted to find this wonderful tunnel through to the top.
I would recommend a single set to a "4 friend, slings, and two ropes.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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really nice!!!!
findin that gold and bring it back this way is A+
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Wayno
Big Wall climber
Seattle, WA
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That looks like a lot of fun. Very cool looking formation.
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murcy
Gym climber
sanfrancisco
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Thanks for that! Looks like a really fun outing.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Dat sh#t looks cool!
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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What a crazy little route. I wasn't aware of this micro-area.
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mooser
Trad climber
seattle
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Nice TR. I'm starting to pay more attention to rock fall potential, though. That thing looks a little sketch!
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scuffy b
climber
dissected alluvial deposits, late Pleistocene
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That looks so cool!!
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fosburg
climber
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Awesome! Check out Stacks O' Fun, the bolted sport climb on the outside. "You're an ant on it", Dan McDevitt.
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le_bruce
climber
Oakland, CA
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Short, sweet, and to the point. Thanks.
How was your anchor on the bottom - slung block? Could you have solo tr'd the face route from the anchor on top?
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M. Volland
Trad climber
Grand Canyon
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 2, 2011 - 10:25am PT
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I slung a small tree at the base for my solo anchor. You get good pro inside the chimney, but not in the horizontal cracks like I thought on pre-inspection. My heart sank when I got to the top of the first block and found out it was just a seam. Bring some double length runners because you will be pulling some pro in from both sides of the chimney, while ascending directly up the middle. There are many rests and the sections between are short with solid chimney and squeeze moves. Once inside, I never felt sketched about the rock fall potential until it was time to rappel. The top tier is sloped enough to warrant some cleaning of the area around the rappel point. But nothing came down the entire time I was there.
Stack o' Fun .12b (Kevin Fosburg - 1991) tops out on the block just below the true top of the pillar, so I was not able to spot the chains for this climb. I was short on time, otherwise I would have rapped down to the chains and ran a mini-traxion on it. While looking at the route from the notch at the base of the pillar, the bolts appeared to all be in good shape.
Crack a Brewski .11d (Eric Kohl and Kevin Fosburg - 1991) looks like a really good climb.
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PellucidWombat
Mountain climber
Berkeley, CA
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Feb 20, 2012 - 06:38pm PT
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Thanks for sharing! That chimney looks really cool.
BTW, I finally checked out the solo squeeze traverse route at Churchbowl (Parkay Squeeze) that you put up photos of on MP. Fun stuff! :-)
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| Messages 1 - 13 of total 13 in this topic |
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