Earlyish start, the familiar view approaching Cathedral Gulley:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Nice moon and rocks at the top of the gulley:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
After scrambling up P1 of the regular route on HCS, getting to the business at the start of P2:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
I know, we need to work on having more fun out there, not taking it all so seriously:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
It's a beautiful pitch, with a specific 5.9 crux early on (here he's above it):
Visit on googleusercontent.com
This type of pro encourages one to not fall:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
I think I took the path less followed for my version of P3 (I went up and right where the regular climb takes easier ground to the left). Here's looking down it:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
It started off as a cool crack line, then suddenly I was a bit strung out on powerful but solid fingertip sideclings or somesuch. I think it was the technical crux for our path. It's been a few months now, I don't remember well. But here's a photo from the side, taken during the rap. It shows the part before the tree in the preceding picture:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Visit on googleusercontent.com
The variation seemed not well trodden, but I did reach an official bolted anchor for some different line. le_bruce seems satisfied with my decision:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
EDIT 2012-09-18: Looks like this was the A1 pitch on the Steck Route 5.9 A1 (page 271 on 94 Meyers/Reid). Call it 5.10a now.
Nowhere else we'd rather be:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Just be careful if you have a sausage, he tries to attack it! (I'll probably pay for that... err no I didn't really have to pay for it, I just meant... I'll shut up now)
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Can't complain about the position (phew! anything to get off the topic of the last position):
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Attentive belay at the start of our P4:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Exploring into the unknown out right. Well we don't know it, which is good enough for us:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
And we stumble onto this stellar easy dihedral:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Here's a broader perspective of where we are:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Our P5 is a nice short face problem with just enough protection to not worry about dying or serious injury. A couple of bouldery moves, seen from above:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Visit on googleusercontent.com
The jug:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Visit on googleusercontent.com
If I was cool I would have made an animated gif out of that. But I'm not.
So much fun stuff to do in the valley:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
We were just ahead of another party, who coincidentally planned to do the HCS + Braille Book link-up just like us! My first reflex was "oh crap, that's what we get for doing normal supertopo routes" but it turned out to be cool. We were laughing up a storm with these guys, but what with my early onset alzheimer's I can't remember their names for the life of me. Please send me a message if these pics are you!
Visit on googleusercontent.com
OK, I know this shady character next to me is le_bruce:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
All I remember is this dude is funny, and he does have a name:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
This guy too:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
The view never gets old (at least not when you see it live):
Visit on googleusercontent.com
El Cap and the profile of EB Middle Cath:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Team Comedian after the rap (le_bruce, help me out with some names here):
Visit on googleusercontent.com
There was a gratuitous supertopian sighting as well. I've already forgot his name once, been reminded, and forgotten again over a several month period. I'm a little better with numbers than with names, but I'm still a disaster:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Edit: It's ontheedgeandscaredtodeath. Thanks!
Enjoying the scenic traverse over to Braille Book:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
We let the other dudes go first, and here's le_bruce chomping up P1:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
The rock is really outstanding on Braille Book. Unique among the other climbs I've done in the valley, what with all the flowing knobs, pretty colors, etc. Sort of like polished river stones, but all melted together:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Been there. Done that. But so much more there I haven't done!
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Here's our compadre again:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Experimenting with flash to address the high contrast lighting challenges:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
And more of that yummy rock!
Visit on googleusercontent.com
A little better light balance here:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Now we make some new friends, a couple of studs who did Moratorium the day before, and are taking a rest day hiking up Cathedral Gulley and doing Braille Book:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
If you guessed that I forgot their names, you might be right. I do remember this guy is from Colombia and owns a healthcare business there:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
le_bruce is having his own fun:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Visit on googleusercontent.com
But maybe we're having more?
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Exhibit 127 showing my packless hydration strategy. next slide please:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
This climb just keeps on being beautiful, and in a few spots I was caught off guard how challenging it was. I don't know if this was one of them. Before:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
After:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
I think the intent of this picture is looking back to show where I went wrong (or shall we just say differently?) and ended up in another variation:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
I just had to see what was around the corner, and the view did not disappoint:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Looking almost straight down though it's hard to tell with the wide angle:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
This is the "why the heck did you go that way?" face:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
But he checks it out when he comes up, and I think in the end he was fine with it. Much better to have air under foot than a cruiser slab finish anyways:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
And there he's got the bugger tamed:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
I haven't been the other way so I can't really compare, but I think this should be the regular way:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Higher Cathedral Rock is big:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Visit on googleusercontent.com
After the traverse into the crack, it's solid enough for me to get fancy with self-portraits:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
The tree from another perspective:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Running up the final slabs:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Glorious!
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Just looking at that chocolaty rock makes me drool:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Nice views of Cloud's Rest:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
And some other peaks that many of you can easily name, but I can't:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
I think we cruised over from here to the summit of HCS while we were in the neighborhood. When you've gone that far, you kind of have to:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Looking west to the backside of Leaning Tower:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Every time I end up in this place I feel like it's a reunion with an old friend:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Portraits of our heroes:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Visit on googleusercontent.com
And then I start to get mushy and take pictures of everything in sight (even more than the rest of the day):
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Congratulations, you have reached the end:
Visit on googleusercontent.com
Visit on googleusercontent.com
