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Darwin
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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A few of my photos of Peter Haan starting up it 1970 or 71. Check out the rack!
I posted a few more of Peter on it somewhere on ST.
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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Before I climbed it I had heard so much about the wide part up top that I didn't think about anything else. The thin hands in the first half almost killed me- definitely a proud onsight for me the day I did it, fully at my limit.
I still remember going through the wide part with Scuffy's voice in my head from prior training sessions- it was like he was Obi Wan and I was Luke and he was telling me "use the outside foot Luke." That part went relatively easy for me.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Climbers were tougher, bolder and climbing was less forgiving back then, Skinny bear
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Roger Breedlove
climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
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When I read the opening post, I thought that it was a little over the top to equate Sacherer Cracker with something so difficult for the time. But, I looked it up. It probably was ground-breaking for the time for a thin crack.
Several years ago, for the Sacherer Remembrance in the Valley, I prepared a summary of Frank's climbs to put them, and his influence, into perspective. At the time, I commented that Sacherer was the first 70's free-climber, although he didn't climb in Valley in the 1970s. He was the first climber to focus solely on free-climbing (followed by Bob Kamps), with one of the most productive periods in Yosemite climbing history.
This table shows the iconic climbs of Yosemite and when they were free climbed. Sometime around 1963, Sacherer refocused his energies to free-climbing only. He did the first free ascents of routes he had previously climbed with other partners with aid. He made a big dent on existing classics. From a historical perspective almost all of the 1960's climbers viewed free and aid as equal means to climb. Robbins and Pratt were good at both. Sacherer was the first Yosemite regular to focus only on free. In 1967 or 1968, Ascent magazine included a short listing of the free and first-free ascent, most of which were climbed by Sacherer and Pratt. This was before Roper's 1970 guide and was a marked departure from the 1964 guide. This showed a major shift in climbing sensibilities and was a major benchmark in the shift to all-free climbing. When the 1970s climbers showed up, free-climbing-only showed a clear path to new routes in the Valley; Mark Klemens, Barry Bates, Steve Wunsch all focused their efforts on only free. Bridwell joined the crowd. Dinky little cracks full of dirt eventually got cleaned out and free-climbed; no one prior to Sacherer's influence would have thought it was worth the effort.
I did not know Sacherer, but Eric Beck and Dick Erb, both of whom post on ST, climbed with Sacherer and knew him well. Maybe they can describe the specifics of Sacherer Cracker's first ascent.
Eric has reported that he and Sacherer were in incredibly great shape from running circuits at UC Berkeley. Eric has also reported that Sacherer had a list of climbs that he, Sacherer, thought would go free. Eric looked at the list and thought some would never go. I think Sacherer did most, if not, all of them.
As for the idea of comparing current climbing to 60s and 70s climbing, there were very different sensibilities. Parallel cracks are hard to protect with nuts and a pain in the neck to protect with pins, and, by the early 1970s, we stopped using pins to reduce pin scars. Longer run outs were the norm on hard climbs and leaders did not fall--really. Or, at least not on purpose to wire the moves. That came later in the early 70s. So a leader would lock-in crack technique and go for it. Nobody died.
Sacherer rated the variation of the Slack, the Sacherer Cracker, 5.9.
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skitch
Gym climber
Bend Or
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We just suck at the wide stuff these days! I would consider Sacherer Cracker to be harder than any 5.10 that doesn't go bigger than 4"...
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AP
Trad climber
Calgary
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How was it done?
With talent, courage, and ability
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Largo
Sport climber
The Big Wide Open Face
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You can sort of style the Sacherer Cracker if you have the technique, and as Ed commented, the top, though sparely protected, is a simple chug if your heel-toe/arm barring is tight.
Not so, Ahab, which I believe Frank did the same week (if memory serves) with Bridwell. Also at the base of El Cap, you basically had to do the entire crux (bottom) sans pro, on ultra greasy rock - still not way severe (5.10b), but no room for error or you were into the dirt from 30 feet.
Now you can slide a big cam up the pitch as you climb it, enjoying a top rope, bottom to top.
Even still, I reckon Sacherer Cracker gets done 50 to 1 over Ahab.
Frank was a hero to many of us 70s climbers - for all the right reasons.
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Rollover
climber
Gross Vegas
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Best to try this one in cooler weather and NOT in the sun..
1000's of ascents have polished this thing..
It was slick as snot in 1993, very early on for me as a leader.
Wonder what it's like now?
I remember the upper bit being an eye opener for me
cuz there was no way to protect it. Hehehe. Not hard but a
little spooky committing to the worm.
Once I locked a knee I was secure though..
Character building for a noob like me..
Classic pictures of Peter!
I wonder what shoes he has on..
Look smooth-soled to me..
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Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
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Roger Breedlove, that is an awesome chart. Really puts some of Frank's accomplishments in perspective.
One I am very inspired by in particular, is the FFA of North Buttress Of Middle Cathedral. Even though I climbed it as a relatively new to climbing, and understand Frank climbed as a dedicated climber for years, it is still stunning when you think of the gear they had etc. Impressive folks with primitive gear looked up giant faces like that and went for it. I don't say this word often, as it is well overused in the climbing community, but it is inspiring!
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EP
Trad climber
Way Out There
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The second chart should read Chuck Ostin , not Otis.
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Oso Flaco
Gym climber
Atascadero, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 9, 2016 - 02:21pm PT
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Thanks guys for sharing all the awesome history so far; I have much admiration for Frank and the early ascensionists.
Here is my experience of the route as originally posted here:
https://www.mountainproject.com/v/sacherer-cracker/105945535
"Does anyone else think that this climb feels every bit as hard as Five & Dime (10d) or other 5.10+ climbs in the Valley? Harder with the wide section...it is definitely the toughest 10a I've ever done. I can't imagine climbing this route in 1964 with no climbing shoes, cams, nuts, or modern equipment. Frank Sacherer was pretty BA.
In the fall 2014 I jumped on this route with my friend Ryan C. I struggled up the 5.8 offwidth start, hung on a cam on the first fingers/lieback section, huffed and puffed up to the good rest stance before the wide hands section, almost completely ranout the wide hands section up to the chockstone because it's so fun and secure, placed a #4 below the chockstone and an offset nut between the chockstone and the wall, then took a 15 footer out of the OW above. I batmanned up to the chockstone and tried several other techniques trying to make progress up the wide crack. The inside of the crack is quite polished and it is difficult to get a good heel/toe to stick on the slick surfaces. I finally committed to stacking a couple fists, pulling up high, and wedging a secure knee in the crack. That's as far as I made it. I slipped down the crack a bit and my knee became painfully wedged in. I was stuck. 15 minutes later, after trying to free myself, I called down to my belayer and friends to call YOSAR. It was pretty humiliating and humbling. My belayer was running down to his truck to get a #6 cam in effort to help me pull myself out while my wife and friends ran down the trail to find cell phone reception in order to call search and rescue. While I was there alone, the anchor tied off below, I begged a prayer to God to help me get out of it. Soon after, I realized that part of the problem was that my right foot was also stuck, which prevented me from being able to shift my knee. I managed to get my shoe off and my foot was free. I stacked fists again above my head, pulled up hard and was able to wiggle my knee free and rest on the rope. When my wife and friends arrived they were relieved and called off the YOSAR team that was on the way. Afterward, everyone was over climbing anymore for the day and I escaped with my tail between my legs, a couple scabs on either side of my knee, and a lost offset nut and 'biner. God answers prayers, even when they are to rescue ourselves from the dumb decisions we make and situations we place ourselves in.
I recently came back to this route for round 2. My buddy Aaron S. floated the 5.8 OW approach pitch, handed me the sharp end, and it was my turn to slay the dragon. I liebacked up the thin crack start and almost peeled a couple times as my left foot smeared on the smooth face left of the line. One might also be able to jam this section using off-fingers jams, but the crack isn't straight in, it cuts into the wall at an angle from right to left, allowing a lieback to be used. I placed a finger sized cam and gunned it for a thin hand jam up high. I made it through the lower section using this strategy of placing gear from the occasional pod hand jam and fighting to the next one. Eventually the crack allowed for solid hand jams up to a good rest ledge. I took a breather there, and asked Aaron S. to tag me up his number 6 (4.5"-7.5" cam), #3 big bro, and Valley Giant #9 (6"-9" cam). I hung these on a shouldered sling and left all the other cams and gear I wouldn't need hanging from a cam near the ledge. I then struggled up the off-hands crack, placing and bumping a couple number 3s (wide hand sized cams) along the way, all the while fighting the giant, unwieldy cams that kept swinging in front of me on the shoulder sling. I must have been pretty tired from our attempts on the Steck Salathe and Gold Wall's Silent Line the two days before, because this section felt much harder than it had before. Approaching the chockstone and horizontal crack that mark the beginning of the real fight up the offwidth, I slapped in a #4 (fist sized cam) and clipped the couple bail slings that were already around the chockstone. I then climbed up to a stance atop the chockstone and horizontal crack for a respite before the fight. Reaching high, I placed the #6 deep into the crevice and started offwidthing right side in. I was able to effectively use the knee lock this time for a couple feet which provided a good upper body rest during the start. Fortunately, the number 6 bumped adequately until about 2/3 up the OW where it settled into a tipped-out but secure position. Gasping for breath and sweating away my friction, I planted the Giant up high in the last bit of the wide and thrashed my way up, almost within reach of the exit jug on the left. I wanted so bad to just grab the cam and make the pain go away, but decided to risk the fall and the skin as I was continually slipping back down against the hard won inches whenever I let up on my body tension or breath. Man did it feel good to finally get that jug in hand. As I mantled up to victory my left foot suddenly skated off the smooth left face, as if to say, "It's not over yet!" Thankfully, I held on, and stood up to clip the chains. Yesssss. Hardest fought 10a of my life...so far. It's 6 days later and my scraped up right shoulder, right knee, and shins are still getting the Neosporin treatment.
Thank you to Wendy, Ryan, Rudi, Kristina, Aaron, and YOSAR for putting up with my shenanigans on this one.
Needless to say, my offwidth and wide climbing experience and technique is limited, so be ready for a fight if you're not dialed on 5.9 offwidth."
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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we usually do it with a single 70m from the ground in one pitch...
the 5.7 at the start is tricky and being too casual here can be bad, it's the place for an old #5 camelot and an attentive belay
after that, the crack starts at something like 3/4" and goes to something like 18" the chockstones at the top of the fist section are the last pro, then a few moves in the OW to the chains.
5.10a is a strange grade in the Valley, for climbs put up around 1970 it represents the boundary between the old 5.9 grade and the then new 5.10 grade, this is especially true for OW, one 5.10a OW can be very different than another.
As for Ahab, Largo is probably right (though I hang out with a very twisted crowd) and the grade, 5.10b, is problematic, there aren't many climbs like it anywhere else.
As far as bring dialed on this, Sacherer looks like he did the FA using "standard" technique staying on the outside of the crack, which is incredible given how slick that is...
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Supposedly John Marts of Seattle did the second free in '66 IIRC and then
went to Chamonix and did the second ascent of the American Direct.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Sacherer Cracker reaches fine with a single 60m, too.
It helps if you have the lower 5.7 wide dialed - I place a #4 Friend there and then backclean it after it gets easy.
Crux is ringlocks with slick feet.
I've never climbed the ow at the top, as it's easier to
traverse left on a flake and finish on the Slack Center knees width chimney.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Outside the Asylum
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Anyone attempting Sacherer Cracker should recall that it is in an area of high rock, and gear, fall. Although you'd probably want to leave your helmet at the start of the upper offwidth.
The Canadian Alpine Journal for 1972 has the following report from Hugh Burton (excerpt):
"Gordie Smaill, arriving a month later [i.e. May 1971], caught the tail end of the bad weather, but managed to climb the strenuous West Buttress of El Capitan. Later, Smaill took a 150' peel on Sacher's Crack. Unfortunately, he hit a passing ledge and broke his pelvis."
Gordie was and is a very strong climber, but perhaps this was during the "run it out" period that Roger refers to.
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Roger Breedlove
climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
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Sep 10, 2016 - 02:13pm PT
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Vitaliy,
This is a complete list of Sacherer's ascents. My list post up-thread was narrowly focused on Sacherer's impact on the shift of Yosemite climbing to free-climbing-only. Sacherer's contribution to Valley climbing is pretty spectacular.
Regarding the North Buttress of Middle, Sacherer grabbed Bridwell to free climb the route. This was before Jim became Bridwell. He had no idea what he was getting into. The North Buttress is a big rock and Frank had one rope and one quart of water. On the crux pitch, over the bulge, Jim was leading and fell off and landed on Frank. Sacherer was furious. He would not let Jim lead any more pitches.
The Sacherer climb on Middle which is most impressive is the FFA of the DNB with Eric Beck. They climbed it in one day, re-routing about five of the lower pitches. This was in 1965. That was also the year that Eric and Frank climbed the West Face of Sentinel in one day. At the time, Sentinel was a Grade VI.
El Cap Tree Direct 5.9 A4 IV FA 1961 Glen Denny Frank Sacherer
Coonyard Pinnacle 5.9 R FFA 1961 Chuck Ostin Frank Sacherer
Bishop's Balcony 5.5 A3 FA 1962 Frank Sacherer, Gary Colliver
Reed's Pinnacle Left Side 5.10a FA 1962 Frank Sacherer, Wally Reed, Gary Colliver; FFA 1962 Frank Sacherer, Dick Erb, Larry Marshik
West Buttress Ribbon Falls 5.8 A3 IV FA 1962 Frank Sacherer, Bob Kamps
Crack of Despair 5.10a FA 1962 Frank Sacherer, Galen Rowell; FFA 1964 Frank Sacherer, Chuck Pratt, Tom Gerughty
Wendy 5.9 FA 1962 Frank Sacherer Bob Kamps; FFA 1970 Kim Schmitz Marty Martin
Right Side Worst Error 5.10a FA 1962 Frank Sacherer Galen Rowell
Right Side of The Hourglass 5.10a FA 1962 Bob Kamps Frank Sacherer FFA 1964 Frank Sacherer Tom Gerughty
Koko Ledge, Continuation A4 FA 1962 Glenn Denny Frank Sacherer
West Face of Lower Cathedral Rock 5.8 A2 III FA 1963 Frank Sacherer, Wally Reed
Tweedle Dee 5.8 FA 1963 Frank Sacherer Jim Baldwin
Lower Cathedral Spire, Northeast Face 5.9 FA 1963 Mark Powell Frank Sacherer Bob Kamps
Moby Dick, Left 5.9 FA 1963 Bob Kamps Frank Sacherer
The Rorp 5.7 FA 1963 Wally Reed Frank Sacherer
Moby Dick, Center 5.10a FFA 1963 Frank Sacherer Steve Roper
The Flakes 5.8 R FA 1964 Frank Sacherer, Mark Powell
Moby Dick, Ahab 5.10b FA 1964 Frank Sacherer, Jim Bridwell
Reed's Pinnacle Direct 5.10a FA 1964 Frank Sacherer, Mark Powell, Wally Reed, Gary Colliver, Andy Lichman, Chris Fredricks
Sacherer Cracker 5.10a FA 1964 Frank Sacherer, Mike Sherrick
Sacherer-Fredericks 5.10c FA 1964 Frank Sacherer, Chris Fredericks
Bridalveil East 5.10c FFA 1964 Frank Sacherer John Morton
The Dihardral 5.10c FFA 1964 Frank Sacherer Tom Gerughty
East Buttress of El Capitan 5.10b FFA 1964 Frank Sacherer Wally Reed
North East Buttress of Higher Cathedral Rock 5.9 IV FFA 1964 Frank Sacherer Jeff Dozier
North Buttress of Middle Cathedral Rock 5.10a V FFA 1964 Frank Sacherer Jim Bridwell
Observation Point 5.9 III FFA 1964 Frank Sacherer Wally Reed
Yosemite Point Buttress, Direct Route 5.9 FFA 1964 Frank Sacherer Don Telshaw
Salathe Route, Half Dome 5.10b R IV FFA1964 Frank Sacherer Bob Kamps Andy Lichtman
Lost Arrow Chimney 5.10a FFA1964 Chuck Pratt Frank Sacherer
Dromedary 5.8+ FA 1965 Frank Sacherer, Gordon Webster
Lower Cathedral Spire, Fredricks-Sacherer Variation 5.9 FA 1965 Chris Fredericks Frank Sacherer TM Herbert
Direct North Buttress of Middle Cathedral Rock 5.10b V FFA 1965 Frank Sacherer Eric Beck
East Buttress of Middle Cathedral Rock 5.10c FFA1965 Frank Sacherer Ed Leeper
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Roger Breedlove
climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
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Sep 10, 2016 - 05:37pm PT
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Hey Kevin,
The long list is Ed's work. In fact the narrower list I put together is taken from Ed's Valley route database. Impressive output. You are one of only a few Valley climbers whose first ascents are in that league.
One of the most impressive bits about Sacherer is that he committed to free climbing by free climbing half the definitive aid routes in the Valley from the late 1940s to the early 1960s, in addition to all of the new stuff he found. It is as if he took on the whole of the climbing community and forced the issue. He could just as easily gone off and climbed new routes in obscure areas.
BTW, have you seen any pictures of Sacherer Fredericks on Middle. It is one of the few Middle routes that I never did. Aside from Largo, I don't even know anyone who has done it.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Sep 10, 2016 - 07:28pm PT
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Regarding the North Buttress of Middle, Sacherer grabbed Bridwell to free climb the route. This was before Jim became Bridwell. He had no idea what he was getting into. The North Buttress is a big rock and Frank had one rope and one quart of water. On the crux pitch, over the bulge, Jim was leading and fell off and landed on Frank. Sacherer was furious. He would not let Jim lead any more pitches. Hmmm, I don't remember a bulge on the pitch I think is the crux (pitch 11). Reading your Middle Cathedral Commentary article, I believe you are referring to pitch 7, which has a bulge with a 5.9 move (now that they freed it).
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Roger Breedlove
climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
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Sep 10, 2016 - 07:37pm PT
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Hey Clint, The spot at which Jim fell onto Frank is the spot you point out in your comment above. Your comment also points out why I never rated anything in the Valley.
I climbed the North Buttress three or four times; I always thought that the bulge was the crux, maybe not 5.10, but still the hardest move. I could never find any 5.10 up higher on the face: just places where you had to think about protection and visualize a sequence to get to the next stopping point. 1960s climbers were very reluctant to rate anything 5.10, Sacherer in particular. It feels a little strange to think about now, but my sense of ratings when I climbed in the 70s was closer to Sacherer's. I was fine with 5.9 being really hard and also okay with someone else calling it 5.10.
Case in point: Ahab, a serious, dangerous route in the 60s and early 70s, was 5.9 offwidth. But the 5.10 rating was appropriate since there was really no protection and did not really have a place to launch from or return to. Nowadays, the 5.10(b) rating (I think) is appropriate, even with large-cam protection, because off-width is a weird skill and most climbers don't feel comfortable with it.
I even remember having a serious conversation with Dave Bircheff when we free climbed the Steck-Salathe about if there was really any 5.9 on the route. I think the rock has changed now and there are 5.10s sections;l but we didn't find any. That said, YDS is consensus rating, so it is what the tribe says it is.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Sep 10, 2016 - 07:45pm PT
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I attempted the Sacherer Fredericks on MCR way back when with Mark Chapman. We were both climbing well, but apparently not as well as FS was when he did it.
I'm guessing that route rarely gets done, but it takes a nice line up a steep and otherwise unclimbed chunk of Middle.
Btw, that route is way harder than Sacherer Cracker! I agree.
It took me 3 tries to get up it.
1. 4/25/1987 - I led p3 (crux is p4), and my partner was ready to follow, but we heard this big noise off left that we thought was rockfall. Then I heard jangling of gear. It was a double fatality accident, when a belay failed on a team climbing the East Buttress. So we bailed and drove over to SAR and reported the fatalities.
2. 5/26/2003 - my partner started leading p3, but the fixed pin was sketchy and so were the (original 1964) belay bolts. So we bailed.
3. 6/8/2003 - we came back with a hammer and bolt kit - replaced the belay bolts with 3/8" stainless and reset the pin. There was still a very loose appearing flake above, but it didn't come off, fortunately. The crux was hard - I thought it was 5.11b. Even a sketchy bush that my parter grabbed on lead.
I remember there were loose flakes/blocks in a couple of places, which confirms little traffic. We trundled a couple of them (like a flake at the start of p3 which partly broke when my partner was resetting the pin. Trundling was tricky, though, because Melissa and J were climbing directly below us. Higher up we couldn't see them and had to stop trundling.
Up high, it's not that hard, but still 5.9/5.10a. I remember my partner needed a break from leading, but I was also real tired, so convinced him to keep leading. It got dark and we missed where the East Buttress exit crosses it, going straight up instead. Eventually we got down and drove home; I recall my partner had a meeting at 8am that morning and got two hours of sleep at my house. :-)
I wrote a trip report, but no photos, as I had stopped shooting slides and didn't have a digital camera yet (they were expensive then; got a used one 6 months later).
http://www.stanford.edu/%7Eclint/rep/036ysacf.txt
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