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jhump
Mountain climber
Cleveland, OH
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Topic Author's Original Post - Oct 9, 2003 - 08:07pm PT
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This past May a friend and I took a short jaunt south from the Valley to Oakhurst to watch the new Matrix movie. We decided we needed to climb something so we found the first hunk of granite we could see form the highway and started driving toward it. Soon we saw signs for Fresno Dome. As we neared the dome my buddy's Neon became impaled on a snow hump. Some hilljacks with a mega-winch saved the day. We walked the rest of the way.
Having no idea how to approach, we walked the shortest path as the crow flies. We bushwhacked through thick pines and sometimes thigh-deep snow in our tennis shoes. Eventually we reached granite and skirted the base on a scraggly trail. Soon we found some bolts. We pushed on looking for a long gear protected route. Near the end of the dome we found such a route. It started with a low angled gully that went for about 150' to a good stance. The next pitch led up and around a giant roof underclinging the underbelly...maybe 5.5-5.7 . Two big bolts were encountered at the top of this pitch, the only bolts I saw on route. The next pitch traversed left on low angle then climbed a nice crack/flake maybe 5.5-5.6. The final pitch was short and loose to the summit proper. Glorious climbing into the complete unknown.
The view was great. The fun glissade to a well packed trail confirmed my suspicions that we had not taken the correct approach. This was one of the most enjoyable climbs I have ever done. Not just because the climb was so high quality, but because the entire day was fantastic and we had the dome to ourselves. It was almost as good as climbing in Ohio.
So, does anyone know the name and the details of this climb I described. This easy classic has a special place in my climbing memories.
Thanks,
Jeremy
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Brutus of Wyde
climber
Old Climbers' Home, Oakland CA
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Oct 13, 2003 - 07:18pm PT
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Dude, it would help a bit if you told us if you were walking counterclockwise along the base of the dome (to the right as you face the dome) or clockwise (to the left).
Brutus
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jhump
Mountain climber
Cleveland, OH
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 13, 2003 - 10:50pm PT
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Sorry about that, I thought my description of the bushwhack "as the crow flies" from the road was enough. Just shows my ignorance of the area. We walked straight to the rock from the road and moved to the climber's right. We found the route just before the rock ended. There was another "wyde" crack in a right facing dihedral about 50' to the climber's left of the route. We thought about it, but were only racked to 2".
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Lg
Trad climber
Sow City
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Oct 14, 2003 - 07:58pm PT
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Jhump, you most likely did Looking Glass from what I could tell. It's rated 5.7, FA unknown. It's a decent route that a lot of people like to do. Good job in seeking out an adventure...
Lg
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Greg Barnes
climber
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Oct 15, 2003 - 03:14pm PT
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Hey Dingus,
if you want even older Higgins obscurities, I just replaced the protection bolt and one of the two anchor bolts on East Cottage Regular Route in Tuol., bolts were just over 35 years old (Aug. 1968). Beta: if you have the '83 guide, I didn't see anything like that first pitch but who knows. If you have the more modern guide, and you manage to find the bolted anchor (old-school 4th class in on ramp from the left, maybe a more direct start too), then go 50' right, then 15' up to find the bolt. The vertical knobs 5.8 crux is right AFTER the bolt, only 5.6 or so getting to the bolt. Then, about 100' with maybe some knob tie offs to the summit...
The protection bolt was a short thread-head compression with a sweet LONGware hanger, the best condition LONGware hanger I've ever seen.
Greg
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Lg
Trad climber
Sow City
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Oct 15, 2003 - 04:30pm PT
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Hey Dingus, yea, I've done it. Of course, AFTER I replaced the bolts. Sorry for robbing you of the extra excitement...but still very exciting nonetheless. If I remember correctly, protectable down by the 5.8 but still might be a liittle run to the first bolt. Then probably standard Higgin R to the next bolt, not real bad as to dump a big load in your underoos but maybe just a little ;) Then you reach a ledge w/ another bolt, now here's where it gets funky. This is where we thought the anchor should be, very natural anchor location, a freakin' stance, right? But no, the psycho went up another 15' or so and put the anchor where there isn't a stance??? A friend extended webbing down from the anchors to assist the one bolt on the ledge. Maybe the webbing is still there? If you prefer not to use the "lowered anchor", you can always just clip the bolt on the ledge, do the crux then clip the original anchors and hang there while your guts squeeze out. If the webbing is still there, it's probably two years old, west facing...you decide, but at least you do have good bolts now. Have fun! It's a great route (10c), pretty f*#kin' cutting edge for '78!
Lg
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jhump
Mountain climber
Cleveland, OH
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 16, 2003 - 03:42pm PT
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Thank you for the reply.
Jeremy
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