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nate
Trad climber
virginia
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Topic Author's Original Post - May 10, 2005 - 10:25am PT
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anyone got a topo for this route or comments on it. I am pretty solid on 11 in the valley. Onsight or a couple hangs-- what would the time estimate be.
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Erik Sloan
climber
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May 10, 2005 - 04:49pm PT
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Much easier outing than the Steck-Salathe....but still plan on all day. Most of the climbing is low 5.10 or easier and there are many fixed angles in the harder parts. Three star route.
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Jay
Trad climber
Fort Mill, SC
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May 10, 2005 - 05:18pm PT
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the crux is the approach and descent.
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Jaybro
Social climber
The West
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May 10, 2005 - 08:16pm PT
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"Much easier outing than the Steck-Salathe"
-except for the three pitches that are two number grades harder than the crux, 5.9 pitches of Steck Salathe.
It does go faster though, ~6 hrs camp tp camp vs ~8.
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bobmarley
Trad climber
auburn, california
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Aug 18, 2005 - 06:17pm PT
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so would anyone mind providing some beta on the approach to the base of chouinard-herbert? i've done steck-salathe twice so i know that approach. you go up and left from the base of steck to get to C-H right? you still go up the 4th class ramp right? thanks in advance.
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James
Gym climber
City by the Bay
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Aug 18, 2005 - 06:25pm PT
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The route starts to the left of the flying buttress. I think there is some easy 5th class up to a ledge where the "actual" climbing starts. There are three hard pitches. The first 11c pitch is a short boulder problem. It's good. The pitch entering the Afro Cuban flakes is really cool. It's probably the best. The Afro Cuban pitch is a little funky but good. Much faster than the Steck. You have to do some scrambling to find the base. Have fun.
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Largo
Sport climber
Venice, Ca
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Aug 18, 2005 - 07:02pm PT
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The Chouniard Herbert has about 60 feet of hard climbing. Ten feet on the 1st hard pitch (11.C slanting lyback), ten feet on the stemming corner below the Afro/Cuban Flake bit (11.A stemming), and the Afro/Cuban pitch. On the later, you climb below the Afro flake on some good flakes and edges till a thin seam leads over a small roof. There's good air here and not the greatest pro (wires) and you gotta go for it off thin locks. Solid .11, then onto easier stuff right off. I don't imagine many folks fire this pitch, but maybe I'm wrong. The small roof and thin locks off a wired is intimidating. A couple three aid moves or hangs on this pitch and it's 5.10.
But all the other climbing is direct and super fast, almost running. A fit climber can lead most of the non .11 pitches in 10 minutes or less. I made the 1st free ascent of the face (not counting the approach and descent) with the late great English climber, Pete Livesy, in about 4 hours.
JL
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Aug 18, 2005 - 08:08pm PT
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God only knows if there is a 4th class approach to the base of this thing. I thought I had a good line on it but wound up climbing 5th class and then having to rappel to the base.
Anybody got real beta on getting from the Steck-Salathe approach ramp to the real start of the climb?
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Jay
Trad climber
Fort Mill, SC
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Aug 19, 2005 - 12:33am PT
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hmm, been a while since I was up there and got lost probably the same manner as Karl. Ended up down scrambling about 150' with a rap line. This is the mental note I made for next time I went up there... the most direct approach would require some easy 5th class slabs, go staight for the right side of the Chessman pillar from where you can first see it, which should be about 50'-100' above the three big trees at the top of the 2nd ramp.
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James
Gym climber
City by the Bay
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Aug 19, 2005 - 12:33am PT
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I think the route has also been freed going the upper way along the Afro Cuban Flakes instead of traversing low. It's probably around 5.12. I think Ollie did it-the french canadian. Is this correct?
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nate
Trad climber
virginia
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 19, 2005 - 11:29am PT
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great beta -- where were you guys *before* i left for the valley. Well -- there is always next time. Long way from ole virginny though.
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bobmarley
Trad climber
auburn, california
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Aug 19, 2005 - 11:43am PT
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wow thanks for the beta! 10 min per pitch on the non-5.11 sections huh largo? yeah, i'll have to get back with you on how it actually went! seems like part of the crux is the approach. here's a link to a pretty descent pic of sentinel. looks like you simply angle up and left from the base of steck-salathe. hopefully it will be intuitive on how to get there. thanks again!
Sentinel Pic
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Largo
Sport climber
Venice, Ca
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Aug 19, 2005 - 12:00pm PT
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I've done the Chouinard Herbert various times and I still don't know how I actually got to the base of Chessman Pinnacle. First time I tried to free it (with Ron Kauk) we fiddled around on the approach for an hour or so (the upper 11.A corner was pouring water and we couldn't free that bit).
So far as freeing the actual Afro Cuban Flakes, it's sort of ridiculous because while you're pimping around on grainy flutes, about 5 feet below are dead obvious and much easier holds. The crux is turning the thin crack roof at the end.
The Afro Cuban pitch is technically as hard as Astroman but the route is far less strenuous.
JL
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Rhodo-Router
Trad climber
Otto, NC
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Aug 19, 2005 - 12:04pm PT
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Wasn't Caryl Chessman a serial killer in the 1950's? What's up with naming the pillar after him?
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Aug 19, 2005 - 12:22pm PT
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When I was up there (with a girlfriend hauling) some guys came and freed it. They said the Afro-Cuban flake pitch went two ways. One at 5.12 and the other at 5.11
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Mei
Trad climber
Bay Area
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Aug 19, 2005 - 12:53pm PT
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Is it scorching hot on this route this time of the year? Supertopo says Steck Salathe gets a limited amount of sun even though the face gets sun exposure morning to afternoon. Does C/H get lots of shade too? Thanks.
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Aug 19, 2005 - 01:10pm PT
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Sentinel is shady until late afternoon. If you are doing Steck Salathe, you're in chimneys in the late afternoon, on CH, you're in the sun, but it's pretty late
Peace
Karl
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bobmarley
Trad climber
auburn, california
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Aug 19, 2005 - 01:42pm PT
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anybody want to comment on the C-H rack? specifically, would it be worth bringing a BD #4? i'm thinking not. i see that wide 5.7 1st pitch, but if it's similar to steck-salathe, there are plenty of other options. i was thinking 10 cams, 7 stoppers. starting at blue metolius, yellow alien, BD #.5, BD #.75 (2), BD #1 (2), BD #2 (2), BD #3.
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John Vawter
Social climber
San Diego
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Aug 19, 2005 - 01:59pm PT
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I think it was Roper who named the pinnacle after Chessman (a convicted sex offender) because Roper, and many others, believed in Chessman's innocence, and that the death penalty was immoral. It would be interesting to know if there is any physical evidence left that could be subjected to DNA testing. It might answer the obvious question. But as he has been dead for 45 years, and there are thousands in prison now waiting in line for testing, I don't think it'll happen.
From Wikipedia:
"Caryl Chessman (27 May 1921 – May 2, 1960) was a convicted American sex offender. Chessman was given the death penalty in 1948 and executed in 1960, but he claimed his innocence, and argued this convincingly, until the end. His case attracted world-wide attention and as a result he became a cause célèbre of the movement to ban capital punishment. Chessman appealed his conviction on the grounds that the original trial was improperly conducted and that subsequent appeals were seriously hampered by incomplete and incorrect transcripts of the original trial proceedings. The appeals were successful and the Supreme Court ordered the State of California to either conduct of full review of the transcripts or release Chessman. The review concluded that the transcript were substantially accurate and Chessman went to the gas chamber in 1960.
"While on death row Chessman wrote four books: three autobiographical books focusing on his life, trial, the penal system, and death row, and also a novel. In the first book, Cell 2455, Chessman clearly implies having killed a man, though he was never prosecuted or convicted for this."
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robmo
Gym climber
San Francisco
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Aug 19, 2005 - 02:40pm PT
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Rack: You just might want to lug that #4 with you for the 5.8 o/w off the belay before the small double roofs. It's a relatively short section, but wide and awkward.
Approach: Up the 4th class ramp towards S-S. You double back to the left not long after finishing the ramp proper. It's a little funky figuring out the way to go here, but look for the section that looks like you're eventually going to have to tunnel behind a manzanita. Don't go up the 5th class dihedral.
The other funky part is getting from the last slabs to the base of the climb. Don't go too far up and left and try to cut back. Try to make a relatively direct path. We ended up having to do maybe 10 ft of 5th class to gain easier terrain.
If it's your first time up there, plan on wasting some time figuring all this out.
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