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john hansen
climber
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Topic Author's Original Post - Dec 31, 2010 - 07:04pm PT
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Who did the third ascent of the Wall of Early Morning Light after Robbins and Lauria chopped the first few pitches?
Wondering how many bolts they had to replace?
And while we are at it, how many bolts have been added to this route over the years?
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jack herer
climber
Veneta, Oregon
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Dec 31, 2010 - 08:13pm PT
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Cool thread idea, I have no clue though. Wonder how many ascents total? Probably not that many for one of the most talked about El Cap routes.
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Dec 31, 2010 - 08:22pm PT
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I agree. Great thread idea. I do not remember. It was a bunch of years later. A valuable story that should be told! Bridwell knows, for one. Schmitz also. The line was so heavily stigmatized after the first and second ascents that it vanished from most climbers' minds.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Dec 31, 2010 - 08:31pm PT
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Wasn't Hockey Night in Canada (1980?) a new start to the route, for the first six or eight pitches? But maybe in the interim someone figured out an alternative. Perry?
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jack herer
climber
Veneta, Oregon
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Dec 31, 2010 - 08:41pm PT
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Yes the Reid guide shows Hockey Night (5/1980) as variation that starts midway up the first pitch then joins back up midway through the fourth pitch. I've always thought it was funny how the Reid guide shows WOEML vs New Dawn. New Dawn gets the complete topo as if it where the original route, then WOEML is shown almost like a variation. Minor but still something to note as thoughts about the route maybe?
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ec
climber
ca
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Dec 31, 2010 - 08:43pm PT
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Didn't Porter do the alternative?
'was told by someone in Camp 4 that Sampson, Leversee and I did the 19th (with Mescalito start) in about '80-81...
 ec
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Dec 31, 2010 - 08:45pm PT
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So the original line hasn't been rebolted?
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BASE104
climber
An Oil Field
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Dec 31, 2010 - 08:56pm PT
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I am pretty sure that Steve Gerberding, or somebody, finally put the bolts back in on the original WOEML.
I did the 3rd of Hockey Night, which is just a short variation to that start. So, since Robbins and Lauria, there had only been two other teams who had gone up to where it joins Mescalito.
Now that is no achievement of note, but what is cool is that there is this evil leaning wide crack up there that is totally full of batsh#t. Now it calls for a 7 inch piece or something.
I had to grovel my whole body inside that thing to get a 4 inch piece in. Underneath a pile of bat dung on a chockstone I see a little webbing poking out. I pull on the webbing and there is a sling with two biners and a 2 inch bong. The biner was a big one and had RR stamped on it in about a half dozen places.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Dec 31, 2010 - 09:32pm PT
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LOL
I wonder how much bat shlt Royal had to excavate to get that deep.
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BASE104
climber
An Oil Field
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Dec 31, 2010 - 09:37pm PT
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Most disgusting pitch I have ever done. The sling was underneath at least a foot of the stuff. Anyone who has done the route knows the spot.
I told Lauria about it a few years ago, and he couldn't believe that either of them had left any gear laying around. That place was like a quicksand of batsh#t, though.
Those weird Harding mushroom rivets were bomber if you could get a wire over them. A lot of them were planted really deep.
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BASE104
climber
An Oil Field
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Dec 31, 2010 - 09:45pm PT
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Here is the pitch. The part where you need a respirator is near the top.
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Chief
climber
The NW edge of The Hudson Bay
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Good question.
I think Sutton and Burton "escaped" across the rivet ladders and up the Dawn during an early attempt on Mescalito.
Hockey Night (May 1980?) had aspirations to continue independently up what later became Space and Tempest. We threw in the towel at the end of a feature called The Blackhawk because we weren't impressed with the hollow and loose nature of the rock. We left an old water bottle rattling around at our high point, backtracked about 60 feet and "escaped" up Mescalito into the Old Dawn Wall as all three of us had already done Mescalito. We were hammered by three days of snow from our bivi in the Blank Dihedrals to the base of the last pitch. Woke up last morning to the big earthquake, what an experience!
I never thought of HNIC as a new El Cap route, but as more of a WOEML rebuild. A number of people climbed the Hockey Dawn or Hockalito before the original start (which wasn't more than twenty or so feet away) was put back together by Gerberding I think.
We were impressed by Harding and Caldwell's commitment to their route and the absence of real belay anchors along the way. They hauled and hung all their stuff off of single 1/4" bolts backed up by a few rivets. Horrendous.
We thought Robbins was way off side.
Good on Gerberding for putting the original start back together.
RIP Batso
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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What was intended to be Royal’s clearest tour de force of leadership ever (erasing the WEOML) turned out to be the single-most despicable action of his career and the most confused and shortsighted as well. And to underscore what a poor move it was, he only erased a third or less of the line thus exhibiting his embarrassing quandries to all from a world-class stage.
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Chief
climber
The NW edge of The Hudson Bay
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Couldn't have said that better Peter.
Reminds me of Chappy's line. "In Yosemite, Robbins is Royal no more".
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DanaB
climber
Philadelphia
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Despicable? One meaning of that word is " . . . so obnoxious and odius that it arouses serious moral indignation."
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Cracko
Trad climber
Quartz Hill, California
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So, is WOEML a viable climb today. I've heard much about other incidents of vandalism on this route. How does it compare to Mescalitio ???
Cracko
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john hansen
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 1, 2011 - 01:50pm PT
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I wonder how those Bat Hook holes have held up?
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Mark Hudon
Trad climber
Hood River, OR
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Well said, Peter, I thought much the same thing even back when I was a noob.
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Erik Sloan
climber
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Until 2002, WEML was a viable climb. It got climbed once a year or every other year.
In the late 80s/early 90s Steve Gerberding redrilled the original section that Robbins chopped. He told me he used 1/4" buttonheads, drilling right next to the chopped bolts(i've only done New Dawn so haven't seen em).
In 96ish Chris McNamara and Brian Paulson replaced most of the anchor bolts, as long as you link according to the Supertopo.
In 2002 Jim Beyer put up Martyr's Brigade, which crosses or touches WEML, ND, Mescalito,Space. Jim reported in Alpinist that he, "I drilled a lot of bolts, but chopped about an equal number on surrounding routes."
In 2004 Hans Florine and Brian McCray tried for the first one day ascent of WEML and were slowed considerably by several chopped bolts. Hans reported that they free-soloed the first pitch, drilled a couple rivets over the climb, and avoided other blank spots with penjiing onto nearby routes.
Later in 2004, Brian McCray and Ammon McNeely paired up for the first one day ascent. I don't believe they drilled any bolts but resorted to the same circuitous climbing tactics to avoid broken bolts.
I don't believe anyone has climbed the route since 2004. I don't believe the bolts on the first pitch have been replaced.
Ahhh, the rich history of Yosemite's bigwall climbs--so much passion.
cheers
e
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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I think it now seems climbing the original Wall of the Early Morning Light exactly as Warren and Dean executed it (or just with modern gear), would be a creative and interesting project. Maybe an adventure even! The party could have a running account they would eventually bring back to us readers on what they found---all the crisscrossing subsequent routes and artefacts of that area, what they experienced on the original line and how it was established, the decisions that had been made etc. Kind of like Conrad going out to try Everest in the style of Mallory and Irvine while also finding their bodies and what that was like--- a very creative and intriguing adventure, for sure!
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TomCochrane
Trad climber
Santa Cruz Mountains and Monterey Bay
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i think Royal should be granted a reprieve by the climbing community for his role regarding this climb
i think it will say a lot about the maturity of the climbing community to do so
Royal had a long struggle with the philosophical quandary of climbing as an art form vs over-engineering
there is an old saying that you shouldn't criticize someone until you have walked a mile in their footsteps
it says a lot about Royal that he was able to set aside his ego and original intense feelings and deferred to Warren's mastery
Warren made a statement by the way he established this climb and Royal seconded that statement by his change of attitude in the course of repeating the climb. Together they made a statement that has helped shape the future of the sport.
there are still lessons to learn from them, going beyond how someone can get up a big rock
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'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Ontario, Canada, eh?
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I don't believe Royal was reviled for his actions on WOEML. Partway up he realized that Harding in fact had done some brilliant climbing, and accordingly he decided the route did have merit, and did not attempt to erase the rest of it. He should have, however, replaced the bolts he chopped.
Jim Beyer, on the other hand, is a total wanker and had no business doing what he did.
I repeat my offer to be part of the team re-replacing the bolts that Beyer chopped. We could make a huge big wall camping trip out of it. Beer will probably be involved.
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Mark Hudon
Trad climber
Hood River, OR
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If I had the time, I'd take you up on that one, Pete.
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TomCochrane
Trad climber
Santa Cruz Mountains and Monterey Bay
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sounds interesting!
can someone remind me where John Harlin's original route went and how far he got with it?
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john hansen
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 3, 2011 - 12:55am PT
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One time bump..hoping to learn a little more history.
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Jack McBroom
Trad climber
Hemet, Ca.
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The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th pitches were rebolted in June 1992 (the first pitch is just up a free climbing slab). I heard about it a few weeks later and my partner Rick Skidmore (Hippie Rick, with long hair, glasses and a chevy van from West Virginia) and I jumped on it to make the 4th ascent of the "original line" which we did the first week of July 1992. We laughed a lot about this because, come on now, it was only a difference of those 3 pitches.
On the subject of Royal's chopping them, it seems to be a very minority opinion today, but I think he was right. It is very hard to judge the past but at some point, somebody has to draw a line in the sand. Royal, in his ethical righeousness, said "enough!" and he did it. We think today it was arrogance, etc., but he has written a lot about it and he certainly does not come across like that. He apparently was very, very conflicted about it. But he wanted to make a point. 3 pitches did that quite well.
What we forget is that it worked! Afterward everyone worked hard to not cross that line and for the next 30 years each new route was evaluated partly by how many "holes" were drilled.
I think it is terrible that he was regretful and I think it is terrible that everyone was so hard on him for it. It's typical of us though.
We bitch and bitch about something like Cesare Maistre's bolts on Cerro Torre then bitch and bitch when someone chops them.
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mucci
Trad climber
The pitch of Bagalaar above you
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Royal did not make an lasting impression on Warren by chopping his route.
That is why he walked over to the porcelin wall, with 2 young guns, Steve and Dave, and proceeded to mock Royals handiwork.
Drill, jug, and chop.
That is by far and away the most controversial ascent in yosemite's history.
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Jack McBroom
Trad climber
Hemet, Ca.
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Ha ha. Yes that's true. I'm sure Robbins never dreamed he would make any "impression" on Harding himself. Kind of had the opposite effect apparently.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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For what my opinion is worth, I second Jack's thoughts about Royal.
It was obvious then, and obvious now that the rock is a limited resource and without self imposed ethical rules we run the risk of bringing the rock down to our level and not reaching our potential or growing more as a person. Minimizing hole counts is one way of trying to adhere to the spirit of adventure, but just getting up El Cap is also one way of adhering to that spirit.
Holding both the position of Harding and Royal in a philosophical tension keeps the lessons of those that have gone before us more crisply in mind when we are tasked with the same ethical dilemma today.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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2nd Mucci's statement about controversial climb as well.
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mucci
Trad climber
The pitch of Bagalaar above you
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Munge-
I think you hit the nail on the head with your last statement.
ETHICS were the issue then. Yet the scope of the practice was indiscernable.
Today we value style over ethics, the later residing much deeper in ones soul.
Never again have we resorted to such GRAND examples of destruction in the climbing community.
They both made thier impression upon us.
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T2
climber
Cardiff by the sea
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Rick Lovelace and I did an ascent of the original start shortly after Gerby re established it in the early 90s. It may have been the next ascent after his.
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BASE104
climber
An Oil Field
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Well, from Hockey Night, you are right next to the original WOEML start. I mean you can look at it. I don't think there was a rivet ladder until you join Mescalito. The stuff below, that was chopped, was pretty natural. If they weren't using copperheads, it would have been pretty hard, I think. Hockey night used a lot of heads, but they were really bomber. Looked like WOEML was about the same on the first couple of pitches above the slab start.
Beyer going up and chopping a lot of stuff on routes. What an ass. They should just be replaced.
If anyone has read his little piece about the measure of a man in that Alpinist issue with the article on the Titan, it explains a lot.
edit: On the part of WOEMl that I did from the Hockey Night start, there were no bathook holes. Harding had these weird mushroom rivets. I think he had left bathooking behind at that point, or something.
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wildone
climber
Troy, MT
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Oct 24, 2011 - 07:00am PT
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On which route was it that Beyers version of "chopping" the bolts was to just wail on the hangers and bolt with a hammer and leave the smashed-flat mess? (insert mental image of an emotional two-year-old having a temper tantrum)
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ec
climber
ca
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Oct 24, 2011 - 09:01am PT
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Regardless of outcome I think its obvious that Robbins' actions DID deeply affect Harding and he carried the scars of the whole thing to the end of his days.
DMT
WOEML & WoS and their FAists generated similar reactions from the 'court of my opinion' didn't they?
ec
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Bldrjac
Ice climber
Boulder
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Oct 24, 2011 - 10:04am PT
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Charlie Porter and I went up there with the intention of reestablishing the bolts that Robbins and Lauria chopped and then finishing with the third ascent of that route.... We ended up climbing the Right Side of El Cap Tower and completed bolting the traverse until we connected with WOEML.
We got burned off with the July heat and so came back down. Afterwards, I think in the Fall,
Charlie went up there by himself, repeated the pitches we climbed and then finished on WOEML,
So, Charlie did the third ascent solo.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Oct 24, 2011 - 10:17am PT
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Who did the third to last ascent?
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BASE104
climber
An Oil Field
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Oct 24, 2011 - 10:24am PT
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Wasn't you?
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can't say
Social climber
Pasadena CA
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Oct 24, 2011 - 12:17pm PT
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There was a 6ft tall, paper thin flake, barely attached to the wall, that you had to try to avoid touching (rope running over it). Probably not there anymore
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TomCochrane
Trad climber
Santa Cruz Mountains and Monterey Bay
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Oct 24, 2011 - 01:49pm PT
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most people don't seem to realize that Mark Powell and Harding weren't the first to make a serious attempt on the wall
the first time i walked up to the base of El Cap in about 1960 there was an old rope hanging down far clear of the rock from up on the WOEML area
someone at the time told me that it was left by John Harlin retreating from attempting the first ascent prior to Harding's efforts
does anyone know more about this?
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