Here's a report of him on this same route a few years before:
http://www.supertopo.com/tr/Super-Slacker-Highway-killer-winter-climb-to-pillar-summit/t11870n.html
P1 follows Knob Job, continues up and left on a knobby face, and you see this from the belay:
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P2 continues up a beautiful corner crack, to glorious overhanging choose-your-own-adventure jugs:
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This leads to a great hanging belay:
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Which inspired some goofing around:
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Next pitch is a cool short face that ends in a delicate move straight into a tricky mantel. I got through the delicate move and hoped for something positive to materialize, and then got stuck mid-mantel out of juice and in an awkward position. I yarded on a bolt or a sling or something to keep moving.
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Views of Cookie Sheet, Tales of Power, Separate Reality:
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My mug, views down valley with part of Elephant area:
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Selfie between the pinnacles, with a hard-to-spot waterfall in the background:
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Better view of the waterfall:
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I didn't even tip my guide (or pay him):
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I think this is the moment he realizes I'm not going to pay him.
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I should start a gofundme to get some new shoes. I might break into the 5.11 range if only I wasn't so disadvantaged in life:
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Left-side of the pinnacles looks like a great easy chimney climb:
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But assume you'll be building your own anchors and use a different rap route:
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Last pitch is a really fun crack, to a platform right before the final block of the pinnacle summit. I was focusing on how to climb this arete that looked borderline impossible for me, marveling that Bryce made it up without much fanfare, and then it occurred to me there is a wall right behind for a simple chimney. After face-climbing in SoCal, and too little time in Yosemite, I even forget to even think about chimney as an option! But it's a fun finish with a slow transition from back/knee to back/feet, and I flop over the top with a somersault tumble to much aplomb.
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The view encompasses upper Cookie Cliff and Cookie Sheet, Elephant', all the way past Rostrum and Reed's and Leaning Tower and the Cathedrals. Not a bad spot!
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I'm available for perfume ad modeling (strictly the high end stuff):
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And then there's this thing:
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Well, we're gonna go sit there too. But first a placeholder for the shadow selfie thread:
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Some brainstorming...
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And the plan is to do it rap-assisted:
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Chillin' on the lower pinnacle:
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The rap situation from the lower pinnacle (we just did a little hop to the previous belay station):
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to here:
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Not too shabby of a day back! After I dropped off le_bruce with his family, I stopped on top of the Rostrum area and wandered around as it got dark. Final artsy shot:
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Good times.
