Pippin, Mountaineers Dome 5.9 R

Tuolumne Meadows, California USA

Currently 4.0/5

Avg time to climb route: 3-4 hours

Approach time: 5 minutes

Descent time: 30 minutes

Number of pitches: 3

Height of route: 500'

Overview

FA: Vern Clevenger, Mike Munger, August 1971.

A varied climb with lots of easy climbing and some neat crux sections, Pippin wanders up disconnected features on the left side of Mountaineers Dome. A cool crux pitch up featured rock is the highlight of the route. Sections of dirty cracks and corners detract from the quality.

The first few moves off the ground are a slippery 5.9 lieback, but you can spot the leader, and then a shallow 1” cam protects 5.8 knobby slab past a tree. Except for the first 20 feet, this pitch is really easy, and it doesn’t detract much from the route to do a simple 3rd class scramble around this pitch.
The second pitch is the crux. The two variations for this pitch – the original which follows a dike, and an easier variation to the left – are both fun-featured face and thin cracks.
The 5.6 runout pitch can be climbed various ways, but the cleanest is to head straight up the faint water streak to a 0.75” cam placement left of the base of the corner, then to traverse straight right into the corner.
The anchor after the 5.6 runout is poor (thin nuts and a shallow 1” cam), and it’s best to continue up to the base of the flake where bomber 1-1.25” pro is found. The corner is very slick 5.7 with poor pro, and some dirt and moss.
The last pitch climbs the flake to stacked blocks perched on top (relatively solid), and a bolt placed from the blocks. Climb left from the bolt into the corner, which has a steep bouldery 5.8 crack section up top. Alternatively, you can climb the face above the bolt to the arête of the corner, then up right to a right-leaning groove/crack. This face variation has some 5.8 moves about 20 feet above the bolt. Walk off left.

This route is a waterfall in early season.

Climber Beta on Pippin