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PSP also PP
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Topic Author's Original Post - May 7, 2012 - 08:14pm PT
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Arches Terrace ( A Stout 5.8)
So for the first climb of the year we tried Arches Terrace. On Saturday we got one pitch and realized we were on Arches Terrace Direct because there clearly was not a long traverse to the right. So we bailed and went and found Arches Terrace. We came back Sunday and the first pitch went well . The second pitch was a 130 foot plus horizontal traverse on 5.8 to 5.9 friction/edge smearing with only 5 bolts. There was no double bolts in the middle of the traverse like the book showed so a 50 meter rope did not make it to the next belay which was another 30 feet higher up . Then there was 30 feet of easy face and 30 feet of a water track like groove to go up before you come to first protection of an old piton ( your casual 60 foot runout). The last 25 feet of this groove got steeper and is protected with cams in pin scars ( a little bit funky and awkward). the last pitch has an awkward 5.8 move over a small bulge.
Due to the long traverse you can't rap the same way you came up. All of the rap stations had old webbing so we had to add new webbing on all of them. During the rapping near the top you have to be careful the wind doesn't blow your ropes over one of the arches immediately to the east.
Its hard to believe the face traverse was free climbed in the late fifties. I forgot how committing 5.8 can get.
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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This really is a Classic and was the first real friction ascent done in Yosemite by the talented team of Rich Calderwood and Merle Alley. I remember watching the first FFA of the route in 58? and being blown away by it. Calderwood was so smooth and delightful to watch on hard friction. Curious as to how many bolts were placed on the first ascent and how many on the route now? From a historical viewpoint this is a must do climb to get a pulse of the era.
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nutjob
Gym climber
Berkeley, CA
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le_bruce and I did this a few months back... definitely more serious than I expected! I was uncomfortable following the big traverse, and uncomfortable leading the next little traverse and up into the water groove. I think I had a little sigh of relief and sat wedged in there a while to regroup after that!
I'll see if I can dig up pics from le_bruce trip report
Edit: looks like only a couple of pics at the start of a different trip report from that same weekend:
http://www.supertopo.com/tr/Independence-Pinnacle-Photo-TR/t11336n.html
I think I have more pics to add to that!
Edit2:
It was January 2012 in the weird good weather.
If you look closely, you can see le_bruce by the second lowest tree:
After the water groove pitch, can't see much from this angle:
After that:
Some run-out, don't remember if super-easy or moderate easy:
Our "summit" pictures:
We went through a phase with a lot of cluster-f@#Q ropes getting stuck near the edge of night... this might have been one of them?
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Greg Barnes
climber
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Those original '50s bolts were all 3/8" Star-Dryvins with homemade aluminum hangers. I'd like to see their 3/8" drill kit!
I made the mistake of trying to replace one from stance while following the traverse. First big mistake: you can't drill through the 3/8" lead sleeve with a 3/8" bit. Second big mistake: trying to do just that for way too long before admitting I had to drill a new hole. Third big mistake: not telling your partner that you might take 45 minutes screwing around replacing a bolt from stance (thanks for your patience Andrew!).
The rest of the traverse was super fun since it didn't involve hanging out at the same stance for 45 minutes - and I didn't even consider trying to replace another bolt.
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PSP also PP
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Topic Author's Reply - May 8, 2012 - 12:18am PT
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Guido: what kind of shoes would Calderwood be wearing?
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TomCochrane
Trad climber
Santa Cruz Mountains and Monterey Bay
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one of my first climbs in Yosemite in the early 60s, wearing Kronhofers
i'd like to do it again
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Tom,
If you are looking for a partner for it, I'll go.
I think there is even some rebolting to be done up high on the route.
 Clint
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Calderwood shoes? I would imagine Kronhofers?
Will have to ask him.
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Jay Wood
Trad climber
Land of God-less fools
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That sounds pretty hard.
Are you sure you were on the right route?
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Rich Calderwood was a mentor to my generation of Fresno climbers. As Guido points out, he was unbelievably skilled on friction.
We did the route in the early 1970's, also as our first climb of the season. I'd heard all kinds of horror stories about the runout on the last part of the first friction traverse and, for once, they were not an exaggeration. It was several months, and an awful lot of climbing, before I regained enough confidence to do another friction climb.
John
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Brokedownclimber
Trad climber
Douglas, WY
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I climbed Arches Terrace in June, 1965 with Pete Williamson (RIP). I was climbing in Kletter Spiders! Probably the absolute WORST shoe for hard friction, although could edge easily in a dime thickness of rock.
I found it to be (1) damnably hard, and (2) damnably committing. It wasn't ever an epic, but unknowingly did it with a broken rib sustained in a leader fall on Koko Ledge.
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Koko Ledge, Right Side, was my first A3 lead, brokendown, and Koko Continuation one of my first A4's. Where did you fall on Koko?
John
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Brokedownclimber
Trad climber
Douglas, WY
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John-
I had a RURP pull out about 60' off the deck on the Right Side of Koko Ledge. I had all the wrong selection of pins, since all the formerly "blade" cracks had wallered out to 3/4" and 1" angle cracks. There was a short very thin crack about 25-30 feet below the top of the climb. That's where I "took the plunge." I had brought my partner (Jan!) up to a sling belay so I could have all the cleaned Chouinard angles. I had climbed down from my high point and smashed in a bombproof 1 1/2" angle for the sling stance and another one for an anchor. I had 2-3 RURPs in a row above that point, and after climbing up the first time, then down to set the stance, and "the third time's the charm" was the case as i was reaching down to retrieve my aid sling it pulled. Looking straight down when you fall is an experience I'll not forget! Jan was slammed hard enough to sustain a broken wrist (navicular bone); I had a sprung or cracked rib that hurt like hell; Tom Fender and Roger Dalke were at the base watching the antics and helped get Jan down.
Jan was rendered hors de combat for the trip, and I was laid up for several days with an extremely sore side. Pete Williamson then showed up in Camp 4 and we first went back and finished Koko Ledge to reclaim my gear, then did Lower Cathedral Rock, Overhang Bypass; we finished the trip with Arches Terrace.
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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I can easily see how that could happen, Brokedown. I had the red Roper guide that talked about KB's and RURP's in 1970 when I first climbed it, and would have had an entirely inappropriate rack had it not been for my first visit there, which was to do the left side. Having had a good look at the crack, we had lots of angles with us.
Interestingly, I held a fall on a RURP later in 1970 on the Center Route. I'd already led it, and "graciously" let my partner, Dan Smith, have the lead six months later. His sixth placement pulled, his fifth (the RURP) held, and everything else between the RURP and the ground also pulled. Fortunately, Mike Caldwell and Bill Fujimoto were coming down from Limbo Ledge and retrieved that now venerated RURP for us. I think Dan still has it.
John
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Brokedownclimber
Trad climber
Douglas, WY
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John-
The red Roper guidebook was the only thing available, other than Pratt's notebook in Camp 4. We were "conned" into doing the climb by Chris Fredericks, saying that it was "easy." I thought it wasn't too bad WITH THE RIGHT GEAR!
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