Mark Hudon
Trad climber
On the road.
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No one is "officially" responsible for the lines so they are there when they are there and not when they are not.
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Chris McNamara
Advanced climber
On the road.
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Great questions
Hollow flake ledge is pretty big but not very comfortable. You will love having the portanledge. The portaledge is always more comfortable and if you bring it you should set it up. Nobody bivies on triangle ledge because they usually climb the first 10 pitches in a day without a haulbag, then rappel to the ground. The next day they haul their bag up the heart ledges fixed lines and go from there. As long as you let people pass you and are friendly then going slow should not be a problem.
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Chris McNamara
SuperTopo staff member
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I just got this correction to the topo:
In the big wall book, pitch 23 is incorrect. What you have deemed as the Teflon Corner, is actually the pin-filled aid line.
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Mark Hudon
Trad climber
On the road.
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It's more psychological than anything. Get up in there and sit a bit to let your eye become accustomed to the darkness. Face out and you'll find all sorts of little ledges to grab.
BTW, the route has much, much more stout 5.9 offwidths and chimneys than the Ear. if the Ear freaks you out then there isn't really much chance you'll get up the route.
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WallMan
Trad climber
Denver, CO
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Oscar - the Ear, along with the Hollow Flake, were the two most memorable and challenging pitches for me on the Salathe. The Hollow Flake was easier, but waay waay run out. The Ear was an absolute grunt. Most of the pitch is easy - but then you get into the bowels of the Ear, and need to traverse roughly 30 feet straight horizontal. The Ear is a bombay chimney - meaning the bottom of the chimney opens up and is wider than the top. The climbing "style" I used to get through the Ear was to place a wide piece, lower down a bit so I could get out of the maw and turn my head and see what my next moves were, then get back into the maw and set the next piece of gear or slide the previous piece, and then repeat. Very strenuous and very memorable pitch. However, I don't believe it is a show stopper (route ending) pitch like the Hollow Flake can be.
The Salathe is a great route.
Wally
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Squeezo
Trad climber
Conifer CO
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Grippa,
If no lines are fixed you will nesd four ropes, if your fixin, maybe do free blast with 2 parties and each bring 2 ropes and fix, . I heard the lines were shot now as of last month and a bolt needed to be replaced also on the 3rd set of anchors. good luck and enjoy
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Tez
Mountain climber
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I thought this was harder than the nose. Some of the aid was tricky. There is a fair amount of mandatory wide climbing.
The bivy on top of Hollow flake is great for 1. I would call it good for 2. You have a sandy slot that is about 9’ long that can fit 2 people if they don’t mind having legs sharing the middle.
I had a #6 Technical Friend and it worked great on a number of pitches (a #6 Camelot is a half inch smaller and would be less secure). I used it on pitches 14, 15, 18, 20, 21, & 34.
Even if you don’t climb harder than 5.9, wear your free climbing shoes on the Free Blast and pitches 11 – 16, 18, 20 – 22, 23 – 26, 32 – 35. Have knee pads on for pitches 14, 15, 18, 21, & 34
When you get to Long Ledge, haul from the middle of the ledge, not the left. Of course, clip the bolts on the right for your follower.
Pitch 35 the topo shows going fairly straight up. I went over to the left about 15’, then followed features in a rising traverse to the right until I was slightly right of the belay. Then I went straight up until I saw a tree to belay from.
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pitu
Trad climber
barcelona, spain
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Topo according our sub 24 hour ascension in june 2017. We free climb up to 5.10 d, aprox. Harder than this, we mixed free and aid climbing. Beside the gear recommended for the Freeblast, we used a nº 5 cam, a nº 6 cam, a second nº 4 cam, and a third nº 1" and 1.25" cam. Also a extra set of micro stoppers, a cam hook and a beak. The lasts are useful in the headwall.
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Chris McNamara
SuperTopo staff member
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Many people who consider The Nose also consider the Triple Direct or Salathé Wall. Which wall should you climb? Ill explain the pros and cons of each:
CROWDS: all three routes are crowded. The Nose is by far the most crowded and sometimes when the nose has 4 parties the Salathé Wall only has one. The triple direct is hit or miss with crowds. if you time it wrong you can end up at Camp 4 with tons of people in front of you.
DIFFICULTY
The Nose is harder than the Triple Direct and a little easier that the Salathé Wall. The Salathé Wall has more wide climbing and requires you to be comfortable on 5.9 OW. The Salathé also has slightly more tricky aid (or 5.13).
TIME: There are few good bivy spots on the upper half of the Salathé Wall. On The Nose, and Triple Direct there are more ledges spread over the climb. This means that The Nose and Triple Direct can be comfortably climbed with 2 or 3 bivies while The Salathé Wall can only by comfortable climbed in 1 bivy (El Cap Spire). Therefor, the Salathé Wall is best climbed in a fast and light style while The Nose and Triple Direct can be climbed at a more leisurely pace.
OVERALL I feel the Nose is the best route on El Cap. The triple direct is good but misses many of the classic pitches on The Nose: Stoveleg Crack, King Swing, El Cap Tower. The Salathé Wall is almost as classic as The Nose and takes the most natural line up El Capitan. Overall you will have an incredible experience no matter which route you do.
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Jeremy
Intermediate climber
Mill Valley, CA
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I have a couple of quick questions. I am coming out this spring to climb the Salathe Wall in a very slow style. My first question is... Are the triangle and hollow flake ledges large enough to accomodate a two person bivy? I am bringing a ledge, however I would rather not have to mess with it if I do not need to. My bivy shedule is... triangle ledge, mammoth terraces, hollow flake ledge, el cap spire, the block, and then the summit before descending. And my last question is will my slow style get in the way of a lot of other teams who may be going faster or should they be able to pass ok(i don't want to be the slow valley as#@&%e)? I would appreciate any feedback you may have.
PS - Your topos kick ass!!
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Kevin Fons
Intermediate climber
Mill Valley, CA
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What kind of shape are the fixed lines usually in? I have heard of a large range of conditions?
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John O'Connor
Boulder climber
Fort Fun
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To jeremy: I climbed the Salathe Wall last may. It was my first el cap route and it is awesome. The only problem with your schedule is the block straight to the summit. We were not fast and we just planned a bivy on long ledge. Its is actually fairly comfortable for three and it makes a great last night on the wall. The next day is cruiser and you will summit by late morning thus giving yourself time to find the east ledges (we got seriously lost). From one slow party to another this is what i would recommend. DO the free blast in a day then come back to the ground. the next day haul to heart ledges and then climb to hollow flake ledge. We tried to go from heart to el cap spire and we got there way late. then from the spire to the block really isnt that bad. Then from the block to long ledge. This is good because we got off route on the souse le toit pitch and wasted alot of time. you are also on the headwall that day it is really exposed and you will move slow, because you will be double checking everything. Then long ledge to the summit. If i were to climb the salathe again this is how i would do it. Hope this helps dont sweat it youll fire it!!
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chris mcnamara
Advanced climber
Fort Fun
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great beta, jeremy.
kevin, the conditions of the fixed ropes are usually less than inspiring. just keep telling yourself "Ropes don't break, ropes don't break..." fortunately, there are usually multiple bad ropes do you could back yourself up. i have never done this but i imagine a petzl shunt would be the great backup tool.
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S D
Novice climber
Fort Fun
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Last Time I went up the fixed lines, I took a deep breath and gunned them. Lots of knots in the lines to keep the frayed ends out. Scary, but not bad
Are you really DLFA?
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john
Novice climber
Fort Fun
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yeah definitely use more than one line. Maybe jug on one and then tie in short on another rope, thats what I did. Yes definitely keep telling yourself "ropes dont break"
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Tim Lawrence
Trad climber
Madrid, Spain
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A friend and I were talking about routes we wanted to do this May and he mentioned the Salathe Wall looked really nice. That statement was quickly followed by a whimper about the scary Hollow Flake pitch and some sort of 60-80 run out on wide, unprotectable 5.9 crack. Anybody have beta for the pitch? Is it technically hard or just a "heady" lead? Thanks for any and all beta.
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michael
Novice climber
Madrid, Spain
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does anyone know how large the triangle ledge is at the end of pitch 6? is it large enough to accomodate a bivy? i know everyone does the free blast and does not bivy here, but i am looking to just play around for a day. thanks
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billiebob
Advanced climber
Madrid, Spain
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Fixed lines are in OK shape as of last week. Take the RIGHT lines if ascending, unless the left one is clearly better.
#6 Friend was key on this route. #5 Camalot would be too small.
tricams pink thru blue are helpful on the aid climbing below the roof.
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ergophobe
Novice climber
Madrid, Spain
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Hollow Falke warning: As if the Hollow Flake pitch weren't scary enough, I just got off the route and found that I could clean the first pendulum pin with my hand. I thought about just taking it with me so that nobody would get hurt, but I left. It is *very* easy to back this up with a small stopper or two just below the pin. Make sure you do so and have fun on the Flake!
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ergophobe
Novice climber
Madrid, Spain
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A few answers to some old questions..
1. Fixed Lines. In the past there have always been multiple ratty ropes on the rappels. Last week there was a single set of nice ropes on all pitches that were fixed. There were no fixed lines from the top of Little John to the ground. Also, there is about 50 feet of fixed static line from Mammoth. Obviously that doesn't get you down to Heart.
2. Hollow Flake. As I mentioned above, BACK UP THE PENDULUM PIN. Having thrutched up the HF with all the crap on, if I were to do it again, I would take one set of stoppers (to back up the pin) and some slings, biners and hauler. If you get any gear on the HF, it will be a #5 Camalot low down, which you will push until it's competely tipped out (which is pretty much the point you pendulum in at anyway) and then you will rerack it and just climb, holding your breath.
As squeeze chimneys go, I would say the HF is fairly soft. Definitely not talking Ahab here or even the Narrows, but you are *way* out from your gear. It's mostly a head trip without any hard climbing, but if you popped out, you would likely go rocketing back into the dihedral.
You could try to place Big Bros, but it will take you forever since you don't want to leave them (you'll have enough drag just with the rope coming around the corner without putting an angle in it) and you can't really push them and you won't use them again on the whole route.
Good luck!
Tom
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smitty
Intermediate climber
Madrid, Spain
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Climbed the first four pitches as practice aid climbing. Great fun. I was a bit dissapointed to find the rap slings were void of rings. One pull of a double rope rappel is good to burn through slings...hope to see some go up soon. Otherwise, the climbing is great, and the view of the shield is fantastic. We left a new sling on the fixed piton right off on the start of pitch 3 to replace the old one...enjoy...and about 20 feet later around the corner is a Blue water nut up for grabs for the lucky climber to free it up...
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D.
Novice climber
Madrid, Spain
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Give me a break. Most people don't plan on climbing only the first 4 pitches of the FreeBlast before bailing. I personally hope we don't see rap rings cluttering every belay. If you were planning on rapping down after only four pitches of this route instead of at least climbing to Mammoth ledges why didn't you bring your own damn rap ring?
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Lou H
Intermediate climber
Madrid, Spain
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I led the Hollow Flake on two fat lead lines. One for the pendulum and one for the Hollow Flake. I placed two big cams and three (4?) big bros. I cruised the pitch easily and it wasn't scary. It was nice to have a third rope as a backup anyway. The extra big gear rode in a little minihaulbag under the main bag the rest of the way and wasn't a problem. This may be the wuss way but it didn't add much more trouble in my opinion.
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smitty
Intermediate climber
Madrid, Spain
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Well, D. ...I figure if slings go up (which there were) then a ring should be with them...
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david_webb_aus
Big Wall climber
Canberra Australia
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Can anyone give an updated gear list required to complete this climb. I plan on climbing it next year and want to plan ahead on what gear I need.
Cheers
Dave
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david_webb_aus
Big Wall climber
Canberra Australia
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Can anyone give an updated gear list required to complete this climb. I plan on climbing it next year and want to plan ahead on what gear I need or email me at david_webb@telstra.com
Cheers
Dave
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sfclimber
Trad climber
Redwood City, CA
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My partner and I attempted freeblast (first 10 pitches) over the weekend. The second bolt of the 5th pitch bolted section is missing. I didn't see it with my own eyes, but my partner for the day said that it could no longer be aided at the advertised A0 without a couple of hooks.
The team ahead of us had no trouble freeing the 5.11b roof starting the 3rd pitch, but fell 3 times trying to get past the missing bolt, so I took my partners word at face value and we had to retreat. Bring a cheater stick.
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George Bell
Trad climber
Colorado
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Is the Hollow Flake getting wider? I did the route in 1989, and remember walking the largest Yates Big Dude up the crack. It fit fine, except for maybe the last 15 feet or so where the crack became too wide. However from talking with people who have done the route more recently, you can't walk a big cam all the way up as before. Is the crack slowly widening? Or is it that the #5 Camalot most people probably take now is slightly smaller than what I used?
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Hi George
I did the route in the 80's and bought the biggest Yates Big Dude just for hollow flake. I was able to walk it up a bit in the lower section of hollow flake but found that the party was over pretty soon and had to run it out for the top section.
Never trust your memory of burly and scary routes from the past. It's like folks who block out their memories of traumatic abuse
Peace
karl
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August West
Trad climber
Where the wind blows strange
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Did Freeblast (first ten pitches of Salathe) this week and had some comments. The supertopo shows linking pitches 3 and 4. We were going to do this, but the anchor at pitch 2 is a hanging belay whereas anchor 3 is a nice stance. So I brought my partner up to the third anchor. Linking 2 and 3 or maybe even 4 and 5 might be nicer.
I thought the fifth pitch was a sandbag. Even though the first part of the pitch is listed as 10d or C1, you can't avoid some fairly hard, mandatory free (unless you are willing to do aid harder than C1). Even yarding and standing on bolts, the mandatory free moves on the friction part felt way harder than 5.8 (I hope I'm not that rusty on friction climbing). Maybe it would be 5.8/A0 with a cheater stick. The bolts are close enough together that the falls are short and clean. (And no, nothing is missing or broken.)
Turning the lip at the bottom of the Half Dollar was also hard for 10b. With offset Aliens, for the pin scars, it's not that hard to aid through. However, the Half Dollar was easy for a Yosemite, 5.8 wide crack. It was a little awkward because of the flare, but there are jams in the back and it is low angle--not much danger of falling out. The bolts at the top of the Half Dollar are out of sight below the main ledge (they are positioned for hauling).
I linked pitches 9 and 10 with a 60m. My partner had to climb about 15 feet of third class before I got to the anchor at pitch 10.
[Unless you are a novice on wide cracks,] I would skip the big gear. One #3 Camalot and a couple of #2 Camalots is plenty. Bigger gear might go in the Half Dollar, but there is enough medium sized pro. As with many El Cap routes, the hard climbing (and/or aid) are thin cracks with lots of pin scars. I would take the two sets of nuts (regular and offsets) and tiny to just over finger sized cams. I had two complete sets of offset Aliens and I was very happy about that.
An excellant free route. The fixed lines make it pretty quick to get down. However, you do have to pass some knots while rappeling. One of the rap anchors has a blue and a red rope. The red rope is in better shape, with no knots to pass, but it doesn't make it all the way to the next anchor. Start on red and then switch to blue. Watch the ends of your rope!
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climbingbuzz
Trad climber
SF, CA
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Anyone know the condition of the fixed ropes (if any) from Heart ledges to the ground on the Salathe?
Also, how easy is it to retreat to the ground from either the top of the hollow flake pitch or El Cap Spire?
Thanks in advance.
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nate
Trad climber
virginia
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did the free blast in may onsighting up to the move entering the half dollar. Thought that the first slab pitch was a crazy sandbag. Guess I was just tired and I set up for the move a little tricky. The half dollar was soaked in the crack and i ended up chimneying the whole thing which sucks as it is a bit flared. cant wait to go back and go to the top. Cool Route.
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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In April 2006, there are no fixed lines in place to Heart Ledges. I don't know who, why or how.
FYI
Peace
Karl
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RockMD
Big Wall climber
Arizona
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Hello all, does anyone know what the deal is with the fixed ropes from Heart ledges? I'm planning on being in the valley at the 1st of June with the intention of jumping on the Nose. If the crowds are too much, then I was planning on Salathe as a back up. Does anyone know if the fixed lines are going to be put back up or should I plan on hauling the free blast? Does anyone have any beta for hauling the free blast? Thanks in advance.
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Ron Raimonde
Big Wall climber
Sedona,Az
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Lines were re-fixed to heart on 5-15-06 with burly statics that are in great condition. Heart to mammoth is NOT fixed. In regard to hauling free blast? Its not as easy as the heart hauls, but is not as bad as many say. Make sure to keep your haul line out on the face of the dollar. As long as heart is fixed I would take advantage of hauling to there,then having fun on the free blast. Heart to Mammoth might be fixed by your June climb, It often is.
Have Fun, Ron
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semorrison
Big Wall climber
Berkeley, CA
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As of June 2, Heart Ledges is fixed with ropes in decent condition; there's some fuzzing on the sheaths, and no major damage, except right below Heart Ledge, where there's a badly damaged section tied out with a knot.
There are also fixed ropes to Mammoth Terrace (and from there somewhere higher), as well as mysterious fixed ropes coming from somewhere up to Hollow Flake Ledge. Finally, a few of the upper pitches around the Headwall have fixed ropes at the moment.
There are haul bags all over the route! Above the Headwall there's a big 4 gallon container of water, dated 5-15.
The Sewer is running.
Beg, buy or steal a number 6 camalot.
wow :-)
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Jordan Ramey
Big Wall climber
Calgary, Alberta
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Fixed ropes to heart ledges still present as of July 6th. There is a tied out section near the bottom with some core showing. Didn't jug the lines, so I only checked out the bottom ones. They were fixed all the way to heart.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
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From postings on the Forum - fixed ropes are gone as of October 06.
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gheart
Mountain climber
austria
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hi there!
I just put my trip report on my website [http://www.gerhardschaar.com]
There are also reports of the ascents of the Prow and Zodiac.
I found the Ear the hardest pitch of my life, in comparrisson to that the Hollow Flake felt like a sunday afternoon walk. Man, this should be 5.7??? I don't know. Maybe I am just too big to fit into that wicked squeeze.
Pitch 33., the 5.8 slab had been much fun as well in pouring rain. Ever tried to free climb a small waterfall? Jesus, what a nightmare!
The night in the portaledge under The Roof was one of the best I ever had though, check it out one day.
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<:3)~~~~
Trad climber
Portland, Or
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The Salathe Wall.
I agree, the ear is the most horrid pitch on the Salathe. The half dollar was fun, the hollow flake was thrilling, the sewer pitch was a stinking slim fest. But the ear... The ear was just nasty.
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E.A.
Trad climber
Gunks
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I'm heading up this coming Sunday - can someone tell me if it's currently fixed to Heart?
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RockMD
Big Wall climber
Arizona
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Does anyone know if there are fixed ropes to heart ledges?
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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On March 17, 2008, there were lines fixed from the ground to Heart and on to the left side of Mammoth Terraces. They seemed to be mostly the same ropes that were in place in June 2007. The ropes were in good shape, except for the pitch above Little John, where the right hand rope is under tension and has a core shot on the upper anchor. Obviously you won't want to rappel on this one, but somebody should release the tension and tie out the core shot, in case somebody tries to ascend it without checking it from above.
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lizard fiasco
Trad climber
Berkeley, CA
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As of May 2, 2008 all the fixed lines to Heart and Mammoth Terraces were in good condition, including the orange and blue ropes above Little John.
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