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Jingy
Social climber
Flatland, Ca
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Jun 11, 2008 - 12:50am PT
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True.
The hike is great. The route may be easy to get lost on, but is a fun trek.
I personally had a tough time with it due to personal strength issues (weak legs, neck, soul and completely spineless!) The 70-80lb pack didn't help matters much.
But over all, I would have to agree with what I've read here. Go for the hike off the top down the gully. And from the TR I suspect you like to take pictures. If so, bring the long lens. If anyone s trailing you, you will get some good shots from the trail down.
Have fun with it. If you have a good pair of approach shoes, as I I did, you should have no problem keeping your footing. I only slipped a few times, and that was due to getting off trail and completely out of sorts with regards to my head.
P.S. That rap anchor in the gully.... total waste of bolt! Let's find out who put it there and why?
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up2top
Big Wall climber
Phoenix, AZ
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Jun 11, 2008 - 12:50am PT
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Nice TR. A few days climbing anything in the Valley can always be counted as a successful trip. You have to get experience some where so why not on some of the trade routes? Keep at it -- you'll get better, and if you enjoy it despite the hard work and suffering then you'll eventually have a success to write about.
Technique for cleaning a roof or traverse -- use a gri gri as you bottom ascender rather than a second jug. That way when you go to weight the rope above the piece you're trying to clean you won't have to worry about the lower ascender (a gri gri in this case) getting sucked up into the piece you're trying to clean. With a gri gri all you need to do is pull back on the handle to easily introduce some slack into the system allowing you to easily clean the gear.
Ed
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GDavis
Trad climber
SoCal
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Jun 11, 2008 - 12:53am PT
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"Have we gotten in over our heads?"
Don't worry dude, anyone who hasn't asked themselves the same question is climbing for the wrong reasons.
:)
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L
climber
The right side of the tracks but in the wrong town
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Jun 11, 2008 - 01:12am PT
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Funny TR, Mike.
It's good you were able to laugh at yourself--and to laugh at your partner when he laughed at you--rather than getting all bent out of shape for not being perfect. (I know guys who do that and it ruins the entire adventure.)
Your photos were great and it looked like you two had a heck of a good time. You better post up the sequel!
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Gobie
Trad climber
Northern, Ca.
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Jun 11, 2008 - 01:18am PT
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Nice report. My first wall bivy was a blast and I didnt top out either. The back door to success is failure. Im with stanley on cleaning. I usually never remove my lower ascender though. Once my upper ascender is weighted I unclip the piece and move my ascender up. I rarely clean above my waist and its usually to one side of my hips, or between my legs. If you think your going to swing out then after you unclip the rope, reclip it back below your ascender, jug up, pull over to the piece and clean it, never unclipping the rope so if you drop it its still clipped to something. Pins are easier to clean from the side and below you and you can unclip the rope and use your funkness. Removing the lower ascender takes more time then unclipping the rope and reclipping it as the rope is already in your hand. ALWAYS BACK YOURSELF UP ON TRAVERSES ENOUGH TO KEEP YOU OFF LEDGES!!!
Keep it real.
Ron
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elcap-pics
climber
Crestline CA
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Jun 11, 2008 - 01:56am PT
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I see no failure here man. You were up there doing fun things and learning a lot. You have to learn somewhere! Keep going up and having fun, that's really all you need to do.
"There is no success like failure"
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Jun 11, 2008 - 02:24am PT
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Thank you for the report of your adventure - lots of fun!
I suspect there are few if any people who've done more than one or two grade Vs and VIs who didn't start with trips like yours, and learn from them.
If you're feeling energetic and traditional at the top of the climbing, you could even walk to the top of North Dome - the true 'summit' of the feature, at least to a mountaineer.
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Jun 11, 2008 - 09:34am PT
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Nice report and pictures.
agree that you should lose the negative labels. Sounds like you had a good trip, most folks don't top out on their first wall.
My Feeling, if you want to rap the South face, do so before the loose pitch on top. It's a catch 22 because hauling the last pitch will knock down rocks (or pebbles) on those below and rapping past them is a bit of hassle. Usually, everybody can make friends and agree on how to deal with each other the night before on Dinner LEdge.
Peace
Karl
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Zander
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Jun 11, 2008 - 10:47am PT
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Cool trip report.
Thanks for posting.
Zander
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salad
climber
Escondido
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Jun 12, 2008 - 12:26pm PT
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Loser - nice job, lots of smiles, thats what counts. ive done that first pitch a dozen times and always aid it.
i spilled on the third pitch once as well, it was around 1 in the morning and i got cocky in my tennis shoes. bounced of a ledge and ended up below the belay.
keep at it!
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10b4me
climber
sous le toit
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Jun 12, 2008 - 02:53pm PT
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great tr
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Crimpergirl
Social climber
Boulder, Colorado!
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Jun 12, 2008 - 08:52pm PT
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Loved the TR and photos! Thanks for sharing...
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