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SeanH
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jul 21, 2011 - 07:19pm PT
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Since I'm not finding much in ye olde guide books about the second half of the crest, can anyone that's done it comment on the difficulties?
I've seen "hard to protect", sometimes "5.8/5.9 downclimbing required", etc. Also seen "it's easy, do it!".
Apparently at the end of a crest is a last tower that frequently people bail before. Is bailing at this tower doing the full crest? What's the tower go at? Any beta appreciated, trying to decide if we should do this or bail at the North tower. Would really like to do the whole thing but don't want to get in over my head.
Yes, yes, gonna die, got it.
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caughtinside
Social climber
Davis, CA
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Jul 21, 2011 - 07:26pm PT
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The second half is a little bit harder than the first half. The downclimb is totally protectable. Just remember, you have to place a piece right before the downclimb to protect the leader, and then again near the end to protect the follower. I'd describe the move as one move of .7 or .8. You also get the wave feature in the second half which is super good. It'd be a shame to hike all the way out there and not do the second half.
Regarding the finish... at some point you hit that tower, and you can just walk off 3rd class on the west side of it. Or you can climb the tower.
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Impaler
Gym climber
Vancouver
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Jul 21, 2011 - 09:27pm PT
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If you do the first half, it's totally worth doing the second half. It's not so much harder. I didn't use a rope, so can't really comment on protection. The 5.7 part getting to the N summit is straight forward crack climbing with a few layback moves off the ledge. The previously mentioned "wave" feature is amazing. I remember it being a bit spooky to do the move to downclimb off of it, but it's really easy (5.5 or 5.6) - you just can't see where you are stepping down to at first. As for getting off the crest - there are many options. I think I just downclimbed about 20 or 30 feet when it was practically over on 3rd class. Go for it and have fun!
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Anxious Melancholy
Mountain climber
Between the Depths of Despair & Heights of Folly
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Jul 21, 2011 - 10:54pm PT
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Must
Go
All the Way!
Descending from the "summit" without completely traversing that marvelous ridge untill it blends into the hillside robs you of fully experiencing one of the Sierra's unique wonders.
(ps: as others mention, if you've competently climbed to that point, you won't have any trouble finding and climbing the balance of the ridge)
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dee ee
Mountain climber
citizen of planet Earth
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Jul 21, 2011 - 11:48pm PT
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What AM said.
"Must Go All The Way."
At that point there is nothing harder than what you have already done.
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Matt
Trad climber
primordial soup
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Jul 22, 2011 - 03:35am PT
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i think the guides are pretty accurate when they say it's far less protectable. i was sans cord, but it seemsed like even protecting the 1st 1/2 of the ridge was problematic, and often pointless.
it's not so much that the 2nd 1/2 is so much harder, just that much of the 1/2 half is barely 5th class, just with huge penalty points.
don't go into the 2nd half if you are not very very comfortable with every step of the 1st half, i think that's fair to say. it is some great climbing!
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August West
Trad climber
Where the wind blows strange
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Jul 22, 2011 - 11:44am PT
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I would say the advice "if you are feeling confident on the first half, keep going and if at all shaky, bail" is pretty good.
The thing is a traverse, so both the first and second climber need to be comfortable on "lead". I think this is even more true of the second half. The first climber is on toprope for the hardest/scariest moves (as much as I can remember). The second is not only the one facing the fall, but is reliant on whatever pro the first placed (which I have always found adds a bit to the intimidation factor, although the good news is, that it is [generally] a lot easier to yank a piece of pro out than futz it in).
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