Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
|
|
|
Sep 29, 2016 - 09:29pm PT
|
Urmas, the place is really cool. I have been inspired by the route you and Bruce climbed there for a while - Escape From Freedom. Hope to gain enough skills to try it one day. Hope to organize all the photos from climbing the Golden Dawn and these two routes after I return to the Bay Area. And hope to spent more time climbing out there in the future. The Yasoo dome looks like a semi-forgotten gem!
Have to think of a good name for that formation between the Yasoo dome and Mt. Watkins. Maybe use a native name to fit with the theme of Basket and Acorn domes? What does Yasoo mean?
Our route up Watkins went from the toe of the buttress up and pulled over the long horizontal roof on the right (east) side. You can see the rock scar on top of the Golden Dawn here:
Scenery is hard to beat!
|
|
Scole
Trad climber
Zapopan
|
|
|
Sep 30, 2016 - 08:09am PT
|
It was great to see this article again. I must point out however, that it was Chris Cantwell who had the dreams of flying in, and of crashing, a B-52.
My dreams were vivid, but of a much more enjoyable type.
The bee sting incident happened when Punk Roy knocked a rock loose on a steep section that covered a yellow jacket nest. I was behind him carrying an 80 lb haulbag and wearing shorts and tennis shoes. I was swarmed by hundreds of yellowjackets and every inch of skin was covered by them. I must have been stung over a hundred times. It was fortunate that I was not allergic to the stings, or I would have died right there. I did swell up to about twice normal size, then later lost an entire layer of epidermis as the inflammation went down.
We climbed two pitches on that attempt, but I was so uncomfortable from the stings and Chris was so weirded out by his dreams that we headed out the next day.
|
|
Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Sep 30, 2016 - 08:10am PT
|
Proud effort Vitaly.
I had a feeling that this thread would lead to a few new routes with all that nice clean slabbage to be had.
|
|
Urmas
Social climber
Sierra Eastside
|
|
|
Sep 30, 2016 - 08:11am PT
|
Yasoo is another awesome formation. Al Swanson and I put up a route there called Peacepipe V 5.11d A0. There is a 60' section that hasn't been freed yet, but will definitely go. Al's route the Chief is super good too. Keep sending the new routes, Vitaliy! Your TR's are the best thing on ST!!
|
|
ablegabel
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
|
|
|
Sep 30, 2016 - 12:43pm PT
|
Urmas,
On Peace Pipe, I have that section on the 10th pitch recorded as freed at 5.12 now. There is also a report of a hold breaking on the third pitch, that may have made that pitch harder.
On the FA list, I have; Al Swanson, Urmas Franosch, and Greenberg.
There is no FFA credit. Possibly Tom Addison?
Do you have a first or last name for Greenberg?
 Eric Gabel
|
|
Llewelyn Moss
Big Wall climber
LZ Loon
|
|
V,
We first climbed that dome in 2009(?). I forget the exact year. I was on a mission to tag all the formations back there. That took a while. Your route looks pretty cool.
|
|
Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
|
|
LMoss, where did you climb up it? The area is awesome. What did you end up climbing up watkins and Yasoo? And what else?
Some more photos
|
|
Llewelyn Moss
Big Wall climber
LZ Loon
|
|
V,
We also got the fa of Mini Dome. This is the dome you refer to as "acorn" dome. Yeah, my girlfriend named it but that is the climber's name of that formation. Mini is a proud ground up send of ours and the FA. Glad you got to experience that location.
V, have fun, but be mindful of routes back there. There are a lot more than you think. Careful.
|
|
Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
|
|
If you can post where the routes you have climbed go in order to avoid any confusion, it would be awesome. No one wants to mess with existing routes, but when the First Ascent team is not willing to share what they have climbed it is not unreasonable to blame self, in case someone goes out there without knowing what is there. Climbers can't read each other's minds and there are no road signs at the base pointing out what has been climbed. It is not a big deal to post what you have climbed, this climbing thing we do is something some of us take really seriously, yet in the same time to the universe it is chasing the wind. Pointless. It does not make us better or worse people to repeat hard routes or climb new ones.
Before being aware of anything on it we proposed the Harding Tower as the name. The two giant balls at the base and nature of the route we climbed seemed to fit haha, but please post up something different if you have a better name with route topo, we did not have any strong opinions on the names, if someone from this forum had something better, we would be happy to hear, or let Eric G. name the thing, can care less! But anyway, on the route Mark W and I did on the formation between Watkins and Yasoo there was a spot when I asked Mark if he could simul about 10-15 meters from the belay while I did some 5.8-9 slippery friction slab to a place where I could make a natural belay. A few bolts on that pitch would make a lot of sense, and I may actually add them in the future. But if I didn't want anyone to do so, sharing where I went would be vital for other people to know where not to bolt (as the terrain is slabby and skills/comfort level etv vary greatly). Any of the FAs out there who are protective of their babies, PLEASE claim them! Make it easier for all of us. :)
Here is a topo for Teabag Wisdom (about 1300-1400 ft w/ a crux of 11a, most pitches are low to mid 10), which is a route Chris Koppl and I did over 4 days GU. It is not a death route, yet fairly committing in spots, don't let the topo deceive you to think it bolted every 6 feet everywhere. The falls are usually safe and it is reasonably well bolted, it is no death route! But I have to avoid feeling like a sandbagger if someone goes out there and gets spooked. The quality of climbing, location and rock is stellar. One of the best routes I have climbed anywhere. That's why we decided to put in time to make good anchors and a rap route. With xrex it is easy to locate, or also the gully used for Golden Dawn can also be used.
Hope some people go climb it before the Tioga closes for the season, it is a worthy outing that can hopefully put a smile on your face! Allow one hour from Olmsted Point (on a good trail all the way) to the top and a few hours to the base. Maybe 4-8 hours for the climb, depending how much of rock-gangster the climbers are.
|
|
Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
|
|
Thanks for the overlay.
Looks like a lot of bolts.
Did you place them on lead, or on rappel?
|
|
Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
|
|
On lead. GU. We bailed on the first attempt slightly less than half way up. Climbing out the rap gully sucks btw. Returned, finished. Left the ropes up there, added anchors on rap on 3rd day. Took 4 days of work total. On the final day we started early and added several on the way down for rap/belay anchors and climbed the route clean and free. Because it takes forever to place bolts some days were LONG.
It sucked to add belay anchors in most of the spots where gear can be used, but people would not be stoked with those, and because the climbing was so good we did not want to half ass it. So enjoy! And please send feedback about pitch lengths and ratings so they can be updated if there is a a need. Want to be as objective as possible. As long as there is not a huge difference, it is all good. One letter grade or 5 meters. Because of the rap route you can bring several ropes and mini trax it even. Don't think you will encounter crowds. :)
|
|
Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
|
|
Cool, thanks for explaining.
Bob and I do the same thing sometimes - single bolt belays at first and add the second bolt later.
P.S. "Llewelyn Moss" has reported his climbs on Mini Dome to me. They are mostly left of Luke's rapbolted dike route.
Actually the first pitch of Luke's route is in a crack and is the start of one of the routes LM did.
They will be in the new book, and a photo overlay is available if you plan to climb there and want to know what's been done.
|
|
Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
|
|
Nice, hope the FA credit is to 'ananymous.' Glad there are people out there who are so humble they are too good to post up where their climbs go, yet want the community to know they are there and respect their boundaries. Hoping to bring an oracle along for the next trip!
Before climbing on the middle dome, I researched online, in the old guide and even looked at Eric ' s binder for the New Comprehensive guide (thanks a lot for that!), there was no name or routes listed for the formation. Also, Bruce Morris told me multiple times that I should do a route right of the Golden Dawn and on the formation to the right because he knew of no one who has seen it from the base. I tried hard to find out what's on it! Lol. So please let us know what did you do on it, where it goes etc. It is the usual practical way of avoiding confusion regarding things that are done. You don't have to write an article in the climbing magazine, sign up for instagram and these reports won't make you as cool as Royal or Harding, but it can prevent confusion and hurt feelings!
|
|
limpingcrab
Trad climber
the middle of CA
|
|
Deleted. Don't want to be a sarcastic dooooshbag
|
|
Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
|
|
LM's reason for not reporting routes in this area to the general public is that he likes climbing in more remote areas with very few other climbers around.
This does make it harder to do new routes, because it may take time/trips to figure out what has already been done. Instead of say putting up lines between the well known lines.
It also involves a risk that his climbs may get "bolted over" if there are few signs of passage and later parties prefer more bolts on what they think is a FA.
This happens in some remote areas, like Fireplace Bluffs.
Walt Shipley and John Middendorf did a FA there some decades ago, but John can't remember where it went, and they didn't place any bolts.
So when Eric Gabel started doing routes there, he placed very few bolts
because he was not sure if he was climbing over their route.
Later when I did some routes there with Bob,
we were twice mistaken about where some of the known no-bolt routes went (even though we had a topo),
and we went back and removed a few that we placed.
|
|
ablegabel
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
|
|
I actually didn't know about the other route on Fireplace Bluffs when we went up there. We saw a few bolts under the arch when we got there, which turned out to be a couple Sean Jones routes. Not knowing what else had been done, we went with a light hand for sure, in case we found that our route had seen a prior ascent. But the reality was that the rock was so beautiful up there, I was just reluctant to put any bolts in at all. We were pretty confident that our routes hadn't been climbed. The protection seamed to come just often enough to keep us pushing on.
We ended up putting in two double bolt anchors on two different routes. So four bolts total for the 25+ pitches we established up there. This resulted in some run out but beautiful R/X routes. It was nice to get first pick of the bunch up there for sure. Of course this made it hard for the next party up there to figure out where we had been. So Clint and Bob had to sort out our lines as they established theirs. But that's how it goes sometimes, and they were very respectful of our routes.
I think it's always best to climb bold when putting up new routes in unknown areas, till you figure out what's gone on before you. You can always add protection later if necessary.
Hopefully more information will come to light in the Watkins area, to clear up what has been done out there.
Eric Gabel
|
|
Bruce Morris
Trad climber
Belmont, California
|
|
Isn't the Acorn down below North Dome, nowhere anywhere near the East Face of Mt Watkins?
As I recall, I ran out from the Snow Creek maintenance yard and found the descent gully to Watkins that I'd seen earlier in the week on a run up Half Dome. Urmas and I then went out there and rapped down the gully, placing bolt anchors to let us go down and bivy at the base of the Golden Dawn. A couple days later, in the afternoon, we rapped in with porta-ledges, double racks, food, hammers and bolts. That evening I led the first pitch and fixed a line before dinner. The next day we did Pitches 2, 3, 4 and maybe started 5. The last day on the wall we finished 5, added 6 and completed Pitch 7, topping out around 3 in the afternoon.
It took only a little over 2 days to complete ground-up on sight, mostly because the route was so well defined. No rapping in from above, all stances, no hooks. A couple days later we rapped in with an assistant and jugged back up the descent gully with our bivy gear. Some said we should have begun at Ahwahnee Hotel parking lot to do a true ground up but the descent gully is a long way over from the East Face and an adventure in itself.
I'm sure Urmas can supply more details, but that's what I recall now. What was so satisfying was that it fit together so perfectly and we emerged successful on our first attempt. Nice to see there's now more to do out there and that's there's more to come.
|
|
Urmas
Social climber
Sierra Eastside
|
|
Bruce, your memories of the FA are more detailed than mine. I don't have anything to add. I think it's great that more lines are being done in that area. It might start to see more traffic as people realize how quick the approach is. I'm sure that climbers will continue to find solitude however.
Eric, Peacepipe FA team included Nate Greenberg. Would be very curious to find out who freed the "White Lie" pitch, and what the exact rating is.
|
|
Bruce Morris
Trad climber
Belmont, California
|
|
Urmas - I do find it interesting how V found it an easier approach to amble in and back from Olmsted Point rather than post-holing up and down the sand piles from the Snow Creek trail intersection on the Tioga Road (US 120).
The preferred approach?
"The great way is wide for those with no expectations"?
Perhaps!
Check with Tom Addison about freeing the White Lie pitch I guess.
|
|
Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
|
|
As I recall, I ran out from the Snow Creek maintenance yard and found the descent gully to Watkins that I'd seen earlier in the week on a run up Half Dome. Urmas and I then went out there and rapped down the gully, placing bolt anchors to let us go down and bivy at the base of the Golden Dawn. A couple days later, in the afternoon, we rapped in with porta-ledges, double racks, food, hammers and bolts. That evening I led the first pitch and fixed a line before dinner. The next day we did Pitches 2, 3, 4 and maybe started 5. The last day on the wall we finished 5, added 6 and completed Pitch 7, topping out around 3 in the afternoon.
It took only a little over 2 days to complete ground-up on sight, mostly because the route was so well defined. No rapping in from above, all stances, no hooks. A couple days later we rapped in with an assistant and jugged back up the descent gully with our bivy gear. Some said we should have begun at Ahwahnee Hotel parking lot to do a true ground up but the descent gully is a long way over from the East Face and an adventure in itself.
Damn, that's pretty bad ass. I remember the 3rd pitch on the Golden Dawn being quite sustained and stances for drilling being tiny there. Thought some of those could have been done from hooks or at least with using the previous bolt as a part of the stance. Whoever led that pitch must have had calves of steel. That would be like a 2 hour lead probably with 6 bolts to drill?!
For the approach I thought the way from Olmsted was slightly longer mileage-wise, but all trail, till you are on top of Watkins crossing the slab towards the gully. Chris and I usually hiked out by headlamp, with getting to the car around 4am on the first day of our attempt. Thought it was nice to not care about cutting across the woods just right to get to the sand lot. However you do it, the approach is damn short. On one of the days we timed it from olmsted at 50 minutes going in with two ropes and all the gear. Maybe it is long for someone used to approach El Cap but come on, hiking to some cliffs at Owens River Gorge will take you longer. Can't be more happy that this particular route waited for us all these years, yet believe other people would have a blast in the location, whatever they climb. A fantastic place! Personally, I feel more in line with the attitude Bruce Morris has displayed over the years, being more inviting for other people to experience the place instead of trying to keep it all to himself and his buddies. There is so much damn rock in the state you can do new routes till your body falls apart. No good reason to go to only one spot and banging out every possible line. To each his own though.
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!