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Largo
Sport climber
The Big Wide Open Face
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Topic Author's Original Post - Oct 14, 2016 - 04:19pm PT
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During the first few weeks of October 2016, The Adidas Outdoor Team held their annual Yosemite get-together and with a lot of support from a lot of people, we managed to project, send, scrub clean and retool (replace bad bolts) two long-standing projects: West Face of Sentinel and The Misty Wall Direct, all free.
Kevin Jorgeson and Ben Rueck sent the West Face, and Jon Cardwell and Marcus Garcia sent the Misty Wall, adding a direct finish up the exposed headwall, 20 feet right of an aid variation (Escape from Tora Bora) Eric Kohl put up (solo, of course) in 2002, and finishing on a spectacular 5.12 airball splitter.
Both routes have been restored to museum quality and by all estimates are terrific modern masterpieces. Both were routes I always wanted to bag (tried the West Face half a dozen times) free but never could, so it's fun to see the young guys finally send them.
NOTE: All photos are by John Evans.
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Burnin' Oil
Trad climber
CA
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Oct 14, 2016 - 04:33pm PT
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Spectacular looking routes. FYI, John, your piece in R&I, Gravity, was brilliant.
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i-b-goB
Social climber
Wise Acres
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Oct 14, 2016 - 04:39pm PT
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Dynomite!
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BLUEBLOCR
Social climber
joshua tree
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Oct 14, 2016 - 05:03pm PT
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Thanks Largo
Wow that Sharks Tooth is.... Wow!
Man oh man are those pics ever clear on my 4K display. Nice job an the photography!
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jgill
Boulder climber
The high prairie of southern Colorado
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Oct 14, 2016 - 05:33pm PT
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Great photos, JL!
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Largo
Sport climber
The Big Wide Open Face
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 14, 2016 - 05:56pm PT
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As mentioned, the photos are by John Evans, who did some of the most terrifying jugging and dangling on fixed lines I have ever seen to get those pics. Projecting those routes was a ton of work and none of it ever would have happened with Devo Derby and Marcus Garcia humping withering loads up and down the Falls Trail and up the long march to Sentinel. It was a group effort for sure, but credit goes to the climbers for pulling off the send. Misty Wall is modern gemstone but probably too hard for weekend warriors. I think now that the West Face has been brushed and polished clean as Plymouth Rock, and new bolts installed, it could be as popular and sought after as Astroman. Sure was a blast to be part of the adventure.
JL
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ryankelly
Trad climber
Bhumi
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Oct 14, 2016 - 06:01pm PT
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modern commercials are so slick they barely even look like add campaigns anymore
(hats off to the athletes for sure though)
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
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Oct 14, 2016 - 09:54pm PT
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thx for the report Largo! Climbs in other parts of the Valley are just waiting to be unearthed. I like seeing these guys get after it.
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micronut
Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
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Oct 14, 2016 - 10:42pm PT
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Wild. That sure is some proud terrain up there. Nice work fellas. Fantastic photography too.
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steveA
Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
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Oct 15, 2016 - 05:08am PT
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John,
Thanks for posting this, and nice chatting with you in the Valley.
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MH2
Boulder climber
Andy Cairns
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Oct 15, 2016 - 07:25am PT
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Looks and sounds great, from a vicarious perch.
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PhilG
Trad climber
The Circuit, Tonasket WA
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Oct 15, 2016 - 08:51am PT
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Thank you, John.
Great to feel the connection between he generations.
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jogill
climber
Colorado
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Oct 15, 2016 - 12:39pm PT
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What a fine accomplishment! I have witnessed such an astounding increase in athletic climbing ability in the last sixty years. Equipment like sticky rubber accounts for a little bit of this surge, but primarily it's all about the large increase in the number of climbers in the last forty years, including exceptional athletes like Largo and the Stonemasters - and the far right tail-end of the normal curve. Brilliant accomplishments!
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StahlBro
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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Oct 15, 2016 - 01:31pm PT
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Great work. Hope those beauties get some repeats soon.
Turning that shark tooth looks pretty desperate, and then you have to crank 5.12 face moves? My palms are all sweaty...
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Oct 15, 2016 - 02:50pm PT
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Sheesh!
That shark's tooth looks SCARY!!!! and with that bolt
under the lip, yes, Toto, this sure isn't Kansas!!!!
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Gnome Ofthe Diabase
climber
Out Of Bed
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Oct 15, 2016 - 03:32pm PT
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weuhue, Man size bite of the apple!
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WBraun
climber
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Oct 15, 2016 - 06:34pm PT
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I went up there (West Face of Sentinel) 3 different times to free it with 3 different partners.
First time with Dale Bard, (Failed)
Second time with Coz and we failed that one too.
Third time with Merry, we failed.
Where's these new 3/8 new bolts?
There were no bolts before and there was scary azz run out.
Did they put bolt in for that scary azz run out?
But these new guys are definitely supermen .......
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Oct 15, 2016 - 07:22pm PT
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I haven't seen where the new version goes, but here's the overlay I made
of the crux pitch in 2014.
[Edit:] Wow, John - thanks for the details! (see below)
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Oct 15, 2016 - 07:28pm PT
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"Hang in there baby cuz everything is gonna be everything."--James McEachin, Play Misty For Me
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Largo
Sport climber
The Big Wide Open Face
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 15, 2016 - 09:24pm PT
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Those guys (and me too) were protective of the Yoz ethic of avoiding bolts, so no new ones were added, though several were replaced. The two shitty ones at the hanging belay at the end of pitch 2, and the two 56 year old Frost/Chouinard belay bolts below the Dogleg crack. Ryan of YOSAR replaced those bolts and filled the holes with putty. They did things right, thinking of future parties, trying to fashion a masterpiece.
Per the crux pitch - they followed the right had variation which Bil Price and I first tried in 1977, and replaced the first coffin nail (1/4 buttonhead) bolt we placed at the start of the hard face climbing. The second bolt (by the "A0" on Clint's topo), a dozen feet above, I believe Coz put in. It's a 3/8 incher though over 25 years old it still looked good with a stainless SMC hanger so they left that one as is (taking numerous rippers on it) and it protected the big dyno move that unlocked the all free ascent.
They also combined pitch 4 and 5 on Clint's topo producing a mega lead with a bunch of hard stuff basically start to finish. Plus the thing has been scrubbed till it gleamed and is ready for anyone to rock.
I suspect it will become quite popular because it's full value Yosemite (technical approach, requires varied techniques, and gains a fantastic true summit, like scaling a mountain. And if you can't huck the dyno you can easily aid a move off the bolt and still get a dandy 5.12 pitch on flint hard stone.
Ben also top roped the lefthand A5 Flake version and got all the moves but linking them would probably be 5.14. He's going back this week to give that a concerted try since that is the original line. But I suspect the right hand path will be the one that catches on, because skilled free climbers can manage that one and still do the line ground up in a long day. The A5 Flake version would take even a 5.15 climber some serious tries and several hours at the very least. It looked beastly hard.
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