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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Original Post - Oct 11, 2008 - 01:42am PT
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FaceLift Climbing TR
Ed Hartouni & Friends
Usually when I go to the FaceLift I'm thinking about following jstan around, since I get to go climbing in the Valley all year 'round. But my out-of-town friends want to get together and climb some granite as well as pick up some trash, how can I say no?
Crimpie wanted to do a long classic, so I hatched a plan to do the Royal Arches approach to Crest Jewel on North Dome... figuring that if I didn't have it in me for the 26 odd pitch day that we could bail after RA and still have done something worthwhile and not yet off the Crimpster's tic list. Friday was the day...
Up early, before the sun, the crux pitch of RA for Valley visitors is p1, the "5.6" chimney. We dispensed with that quickly, coiled the rope and scrambled off to the start of p5. Here is sunrise on El Cap and the Three Brothers
The way I do this fast these days is to simul-climb p5 thru p8 up to the pendulum... here is Crimpie coming up to the top of p8 under the pendulum:
Turns out that pendji was not in her repertoire, but it is now! Emerging from the sunrise...
run p9 and p10 together on one belay. Then belay p11. Simul p12-15... usually takes between 2 and 2.5 hours...
Here is Crimpergirl on p11, I'm somewhere past the slab traverse on p12, she's tiny so look well...
The classic p15 slab at the end, careful to imitate a stink-bug first time across...
lots of air under the feet.
It's a hot day, but still only in the morning. I've drunk all of my water, 2 liters, and the spring is a muddy puddle. Ugh... contemplating cooking all day long on the slabs of North Dome, we decide to descend... But why not take a hike down the North Dome Gully!
Somewhere on the shoulder of Half Dome is Brassnuts doing his solo thing. He had wind, we had none.
And more scrambling to get down... Crimpie getting "full value" on this outing
Getting back to Yellow Pines, Crimpie finds a note from Timmy O'Neal...
"...blah, blah, blah, I want to interview you and Ed H. at the show tonight, please call if you can not make it" we must have picked up on Timmy's vibes, if we had gone on to CJ we would have probably returned to camp sometime around 10pm...
It was a fun day, we went to the Deli, sat around eating lunch and hanging out at the FaceLift tents, wandered back to camp and got ready for our night at the party.
Sunday, and Mighty Hiker had a desire to remove from the heat of the Valley and do something fun, and classic... Tuolumne Meadows is full of that sort of stuff, I thought Great White Book to start, and then we'll do something else.
Puffy clouds moved past as we drove up on Stately Pleasure Dome. We got ready and took off up the approach slabs, across the tricky little traverse and to the base of the book. With a > 70m rope you can do the climb in 3 pitches: p1 and p2 together, p3, then p4 and p5 together. I took the first pitches, with the secret weapons: a #4.5 and #5 old Camelots...
Here is Anders belaying me as I get into the book
Anders higher up with me sitting at the p2 belay
p3 is the exciting one, I think I got the #5 in and that was that...
Here is Anders coming onto the bolted belay
Anders insisted on taking the lead to the top, here he is launching off to the top
which he proudly ran out like a Tuolumne pro! Turning the roof at its intersection with the corner, he has no choice but to run out the slab to the top... a mighty hike indeed!
Anders on the skyline, heading off left to the end of the line. I have a 80m rope, so this is very casual... rope length is not a consideration. With Gary's 70m some simul-climbing is involved.
I love my 80m electric dental floss lead rope from Jim E!
We get on top, sight-see a bit, but watch the thunderheads building. Down the slabs (an other adventure I'm sure Anders will reciprocate when I climb at Squish) and out to the lake for a beer and a look at "the show."
Anders says: "hope they get off their climbs. I'd guess 30 minutes before the storm"
As we sit drinking our beers discretely, a pair of LEOs in a car must drive past 4 or 5 times! We are hiding our little bottles on each of their passes. Finishing up, and no chance to climb more, we get in the car and head back. Wouldn't you know it, the LEOs are waiting around the corner, but they don't give chase (though they start their car when we drive past, don't think they actually recognized us).
Climbing up out of the lake to Olmstead Pt. raindrops are on the windshield. Good call Mighty Hiker!
I drop Anders back at C4, bid my good-byes and head home to lovely Debbie who's so good to me to let me play for the week.
Good times.
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Fluoride
Trad climber
Hollywood, CA
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Oct 11, 2008 - 01:50am PT
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Nice Ed!!
I empathize with you and Crimpie. I tried the RA/CJ linkup early one June when the days were nice and long. Ended up getting toasty and we blew through our water before getting up to North Dome and decided to bail and head down the gully and go back down to the valley floor for a swim.
Great White Book is so fun. Nice pics.
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Lynne Leichtfuss
Social climber
valley center, ca
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Oct 11, 2008 - 01:50am PT
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Super Fun Read...pics are great...Cheers to all, the Face Lift was Fantastico !
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Jaybro
Social climber
wuz real!
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Oct 11, 2008 - 02:10am PT
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No death Crack cool down on the way down?
oh well,
cool stuff, the essence of why we go out there, thanks!
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ron gomez
Trad climber
fallbrook,ca
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Oct 11, 2008 - 02:15am PT
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Hey Ed, good to have met you at the Facelift (remember me?) Great shots really enjoyed em, if you have more shoot em up for our enjoyment!
Peace
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 11, 2008 - 03:19am PT
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no Death Crack cool down, it was going to rain!
Hi Ron, I remember you, great to have met you at Yellow Pines in the morning.
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wildone
climber
GHOST TOWN
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Oct 11, 2008 - 12:12pm PT
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Ed, very nice- I'll get around to posting my facelift tr (Arrowhead spire, arete)soon.
--That is not why I write, my friend. There is something you should know about. Open containers. Entirely legal within National Parks. You can walk around anywhere, sipping a beer in broad daylight, 8AM if you want, and have no fallout but social stigma. If you were hiding the beers because you were about to get in your car, well, that I understand. But, it's pretty easy to drive with a couple beers in you when the speed limit is 35.
I digress.
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Indianclimber
Trad climber
Lost Wages
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Oct 11, 2008 - 12:19pm PT
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Great TR Ed ,thanks,that rope amazes me every time I see it
Ninfa
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Oct 11, 2008 - 05:31pm PT
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Thanks, Ed - glad I wore my sunglasses. That rope is bright! A good day, though.
It may not have rained that much, but there was a bit of thunder, and it was clearly raining out east, toward the pass. Having had three near-death lightning experiences, I didn't really see the need for another.
Next year we simply have to wear FaceLift paraphernalia, to put the busies off the scent.
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Jingy
Social climber
Flatland, Ca
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Oct 11, 2008 - 06:32pm PT
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Wow...
That's some pretty cool stuff Ed. Great photos and a fine read...
Thanks
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Zander
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Oct 11, 2008 - 08:42pm PT
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Nice TR,
Great pics!
Zander
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Jaybro
Social climber
wuz real!
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Oct 11, 2008 - 08:48pm PT
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"that rope amazes me every time I see it"
-you can only imagine what it's like when it actually sears your flesh...
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Oct 12, 2008 - 12:20pm PT
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As usual, stellar report, Ed.
It was a real pleasure to get to work with you at
Facelift. And I'm impressed that you have citrus trees
at your house!
Maybe next year I'll be ready to climb a bit!
Thanks for the great reports!
Steve
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