New Dawn A3 5.8

I'm Jon and my comments are in this format: This just happens to be a trip report for the 5th ascent of Genesis by Pass the Pitons Pete and ag.Fox

I'm PtPP, and I'll be writing in this format. I see that Jon resized the photos a bit on the narrow size, although they are of decently high resolution. So the Better Way to look at this slide show would be to hit "ctrl" plus "+" on your keyboard to make text and photos a bit bigger and better to look at. If you make it too big, just hit "ctrl" plus "-" to shrink it back. And to return to regular size, hit "ctrl" plus "0" Cheers, eh?

We're going to climb an El Cap obscurity named Genesis. Genesis as we chose to climb it begins on New Dawn, continues to Lay Lady Ledge, then climbs straight up the corner to briefly intersect the Nose. The route proper starts just right of the base of Texas Flake. This route was put up in 1989 by Doug Englekirk and Eric Brand. I don't know who made the second ascent, but our very own Shipoopi made the third ascent – solo and in the wintertime, no less. Steve ranted about the quality of the climbing, and before long Batgirl and E. made the fourth ascent. Kate returned from the climb with a grim look on her face. "The free climbing is the Real Deal, Pete," she declared. "Erik made a nest of peckers, and ran it out another fifty or sixty feet. You're going to need to find yourself a Free Climbing Rope Gun.

Meanwhile, Silver and I had been typing back and forth, and Aaron had managed to locate my erstwhile climbing partner, Jon Fox. Back in 1999, Jon and I had made the eighth ascent of the big wall testpiece Jolly Roger. Arguably among the finest of El Cap routes, its combination of hard free climbing and hard aid climbing keeps away the riff raff for most part. Yet when Mr. Riff of free climbing and Mr. Raff of aid climbing get together, we achieve a synergistic effect whereby the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. In other words, we send. Jolly Roger, along with Bermuda Dunes, remains at the top of the list of my favourite El Cap routes.

So with Silver's help, I recruited Jon to be my free climbing rope gun for Genesis.

New Dawn -> Genesis -> New Dawn; September 2012
Prepping in front of the base flake - has it been 13 years since JR?
So here it begins, yet again. It's time for another wall. More schlepping, more fixing.

Pete had invited TS to learn some wall technique, so he drove up after he got off work in Las Vegas and got to the bridge the next morning to help with some pig schlepping. I had led the first pitch the previous day but hadn't cleaned yet, so I suggested Travis clean the pendos since I could jug up along side on a haul line to coach him through the process. As he began passing the lead line through the first pendulum point, Travis passed out -COLD. I was in disbelief for a few moments as I approached him...until he flipped over in his aiders.

Fifty feet off the deck I starting into freaking out: "WTF??? What happened? Dude!!!! Wake the f*<K uP!1!1" I struggled to keep him upright and supported while reversing the lead line through the pendi-point
We got off to a rather inauspicious start. Travis = VegasClimber had volunteered to come along and give us a hand fixing and schlepping, but on the first pitch, he had some sort of seizure and passed out on the rope while cleaning the pitch! Jon managed to upright him, and then reach me on the radio as I was hiking a load up to the base. I dropped my pig and ran back to the Meadows to grab a cell phone off a guy in the first car I flagged down, and called Yosar who responded within minutes.

I yelled for help, and Justin immediately ran to the base, and was up beside Travis until the Yosar crew arrived. Together he and Jon lowered Travis to the ground where he was immediately put on oxygen and an IV. Yosar felt there was risk of serious brain damage should Travis have another seizure, and insisted he get flown via helicopter to hospital. They rolled him down to the Meadows on their one-wheeled gurney, and we soon heard the sound of helicopter rotors.

I figured this was the last of Travis we’d see for a while.  The whole scene was very dire and not a little frightening.


Miracles never cease to amaze…
I was beyond amazement when I saw Travis sitting on the bridge the next morning – I practically had to pick up my jaw from the asphalt. I was certain he'd have been kept in hospital, but they chucked him out that very night, and not all the worse for wear. The most likely diagnosis was that he "bonked" from lack of food, water and sleep. Worse for Travis than getting bonked was getting dinged – thousands upon thousands for the helicopter ride and the hospital treatment.

First morning at the top of pitch 3 - day 3 climbing, 1st vert bivy after 3 days of humping loads, fixing, lushing, plundering..... Aarrrrhhhh!!!
Anyway, we're finally on the wall, and life is good. Is that a Breakfast Burrito sitting on top of your ledge, dude?

P4 New Dawn. Plenty of time to relax before the belay marathon begins
This is one of the hardest pitches on the route currently, with a significant lack of fixed gear. It has some very thin beaking and runout hooking. I didn't place any heads, which would have made it easier. In a failed attempt previously, I climbed this pitch just after having completed Grape Race, and it is harder than anything on that route.

PTPP setting up belay at top of P4
I wore a red T-shirt, to avoid the Wrath of Tom Evans. This is actually a pretty decent little bivi spot, with plenty of opportunity to spread out the ledges on natural pro to either side. There is also a bit of a stance which is handy when you first arrive. Of course by the time you get everything set up, you're always bivi'd below the ledge it seems.

First half of haul, P4
Jon is lowering out the first load beneath the flagged ledge. On our Big Wall Camping excursions, we need two loads on two hauls using two power points and two haul lines. We couldn't possibly lift all those beers in a single load. Plus the propane-powered fridge is pretty heavy.

Second half of haul, P5
I'm cleaning while Jon hauls my Crab-O-Ledge, which is the virtually indestructible Fish double portaledge. Do KNOTT buy a Fish Portaledge … unless you only want it to last 500 nights on El Cap. {wink} Wee-Wee the Big Wall Crab, El Cap's premier climbing crustacean, is painted on its bottom. Notice how I have my half of the Junk Show rigged in a vertical array. This is to save horizontal docking space at the belays because we have two loads. The extra food, water and libations for the second week are in the lower pig, which we only need to access on the second week. Otherwise, any of the sub-loads are attached to the main suspension point via colour-coded Catch Lines, so that we can pull them up easily when we need them.

Lay Lady Ledge – did someone say there was BBQ???
I made sure we packed the sausages we roasted in my upper pig.

Fireside grape juice – definitely roughing it with roasted kielbasa!
We opened a bottle of fine Napa Valley Cabernet to have with our entrée, of course. Note the Mountain Equipment Co-op stemware in Jon's hand. Big wall wine snobbery knows no bounds. We built our little campfire – which didn't last very long since it was made mostly from dried grass! – in a pre-existing firepit

I couldn't help but think of the words of Isaiah:
I always feel so privileged share and enjoy God's creation here in Yosemite. And He did one helluva fine job when he sent those glaciers to carve El Cap for us. And in case you ever wondered, my complete Yosemite nickname is "Praise the Lord and pass the pitons Pete".

Nine section of first pitch off Lay Lady, this looks like a good place to run it out...
It's definitely a benefit having a free climbing gun on your team!

Awesome view up the right side of El Cap Tower
Notice how the shadows have already passed over the west, thus proving we did knott start climbing too early. There are three long, clean and WYDE pitches above Lay Lady Ledge
Gads, one man's idea of fun is another man's torture move. My ass muscles hurt just looking at that photo!

P8, better now – I've crossed over to the wyde side…
Splitter cracks, big cams, and Jon cruising on up.

Fixed to right side of Texas Flake. Back to LLL, with PtPP and the burning bush
Hey, you crafty bugger -- that's a pic from the night before! But it makes the trip report look a little better, eh? Incidentally, I highly recommend the Platypus Big Wall Wine container.

Rise and shine hoser! Don't roll over
Crap. I hate mornings. However in the Dr. Piton lexicon, "mornings" don't begin until the double digits, and can linger well beyond, pretty much until Changeover Time. Lay Lady Ledge is one of my favourite ledges on El Cap, and one of the very few big enough to safely unrope.

That's me – the counter-balance – extracting kit from the wyde.
The hauling has to be getting easier by now. Doesn't it?!

Right side of Texas, ledge #2
Here's a little known and unappreciated bivi spot, close to the Nose but out of everyone's way. If you ever find yourself arriving at El Cap Tower and the neon sign reads No Vacancy, climb another half pitch up to the base of the Texas Flake, and walk carefully right along the boulder-strewn ledge to a great alternative campsite.

Ledge #2 annex, home for bi-nationals
Ahem. Anyway, check out that Junk Show – it's gone from vertical to horizontal. Here's your Dr. Piton Big Wall Tip of the Day: the two-dollar rope bag. Get yourself a couple of cloth grocery bags, put one inside the other, and duct tape them together to make a single reasonably strong rope bag. Guaranteed for five walls or five pitches, whichever comes first.

Roughing it with the wall-press. Gentlemen, start your engines!
Ah yes, Dr. Piton's Shagadelic Big Wall Coffee Press. Constructed mostly out of blue closed-cell foam, contact cement, Marine Goop and duct tape, it keeps your coffee hot for forty-five minutes. Featuring Hood River Coffee PTPP Blend New Guinea Dark, with great thanks to Mark Hudon!

Here's another Dr. Piton Big Wall Tip of the Day – check out the two-dollar hanging stove assembly for the Jet Boil stove behind me. Forget that crazy unstable triangle thingy they sell you. Go to your local hardware store and buy a four-inch hose clamp, screw it around the top, and add yourself a clip-in loop. Voila!

Belaying PtPP from behind an improvised sun-proof junk curtain

Petey's first of many equalized thin nailing placements
This is leading up to the roof traverse on the first pitch of Genesis proper, after it branches leftward from the New Dawn traverse into Wall of Early Morning Light. Individually, none of the three small peckers seemed capable of holding body weight, but together I achieved the synergistic effect of which I previously wrote. When Jon cleaned this pitch, he came upon these three equalized small pitons. Jon positively gushed: "Dude! Take a picture of those things! You should make that picture your Facebook profile photo!" Geeeez….

El Cap tower looks mostly junk free…
It is. But look what's hiding in the shade. {snicker} Here's a look down at Jon cleaning the first pitch. Dolt Tower is at one o'clock and El Cap Towers is at two.

Wow – do we have enough thin gear?
Big Peckers driven straight up – and clipped to the cleaning sling tied through the hole on top, not to the cable in the tail – seemed more secure than traditional knifeblades driven straight up. Or at least I allowed myself to believe that. This kinda stuff creeps me out. My hands are sweating as I type this. [Where's my chalkbag? Oh right, I forgot – I don't own one] Fortunately the roof is not as expando as I feared.

"Ya know what, Jonny? The sun's starting to set. Let me equalize some pieces, then zip me up a rope so I can rap down to camp. I've had enough of this pitch for today!"

It's a mighty thin under this arch
The start of the second pitch features rather sporting A3 nailing pitch straight up under the roof. You know, the kind of thing where you're wondering if the crack is going to open up while you're nailing the next pin, and spit out the pin you're on sending you off into space? The technique here is to keep your adjustable daisies snug, and whack that pin home as fast as you can. It definitely helped to be a lefty here!

Dawn #7 on the wall – completely Genesis
Clearly, a photo from so early in the morning it could knott have been taken by me! You can see how I've climbed from right to left beneath the roof on the second pitch of Genesis, from where I fixed back to camp the night before.

Climbers on the Nose – where is your junk show?
Hey – check out how I've put a Grigri on top of my ledge suspension point, and have it tensioned against one of the fixed ropes above, thus spreading out our bivi a bit. Clever, eh? Surely I can extend morning long enough for another cup of coffee, before I have to get back up there. Sheesh.

Miracle #2 – my pillow dropped during bivy cleanup to the last belay ledge
"If it ain't clipped, it's gone." Below Jon you can see the dried grass on Lay Lady Ledge, and even farther below, the start of our route on the Mescalito slab.

PtPP leading out the 1st pitch of Genesis
Oh joy, time to get back at it. Fortunately, the difficulties relent after passing the roof, and I cruised up the ramp to the second belay anchors on thin peckers and "enchanted" hooks. I'm pretty sure these were the only hook enhancements on the route. I see from my notes that I made a grand total of one cam placement in the first two pitches – a blue/black hybrid Alien.

Two-rope cleaning (very effective technique, thanks Pete!) of the long left arch, P2 Genesis
Jon was a bit spooked about cleaning this giant traverse, until I pointed out how easily he could do it, if I simply fixed a second rope straight up to act as a second toprope. So with tension from directly above, Jon was able to clip, climb and funk his way across with no fear. Try it, you'll like it.

Once Jon finished cleaning this pitch, we returned to camp for a beer, then hauled the Junk Show to the top of 2.

Skyhook for pro – P3 Genesis
Finally, it's time for Jonny to get on the sharp end on Genesis. The third pitch starts out fairly spicy, as you can see. I like this photo because you get a good edge-on view of the North America Wall area. Continental Drift diagonals up and right through the diorite – Neil, Callum and I had made the second ascent of this fine route the previous year.

Free climbing on this pitch almost done….ready for the aid-ace to tackle the A4 corner above
Well, my break didn't last very long, did it – only half a pitch. Dang. Time to climb some A4, I reckon. Fortunately, it was not as hard as I had feared. At the top of 3 there is a one-foot-wide by six-foot-long shelf, and we ended up bivi'd here that night.

Genesis, day #8 on the wall
Finally! A "gimme" pitch. Nice and easy clip-and-climb up rivets, with a few hook moves near the end, just to keep Jon honest.

Captain Tom's view of P4 Genesis
I thought the fifth pitch felt pretty hard. I got a late start on it, and finished it late at night. I found the right-leaning corner to be solid A4, but what really knackered me was the hooking at the end in the dark. I probably missed the best placements, and I remember at one point going the wrong direction towards something reflecting light that I thought was fixed gear – it turned out to be the eyes of a Big Wall Frog. I was quite relieved to finally clip the bolts at the anchor after that pitch, that's for sure.

P6 free climbing fun!
See? What a great partner. Even if he has a strange idea of "fun"…

Big fun, as seen from the bridge, on Genesis' P6 – just before the business
Cool rock features, eh?

This ¼ inch rivet is not very inspiring to pull the .11 mantle – WATCH ME!!!
I got ya, dude! Send it!

P6 dispatched – ready to haul!
Nice one, mate – cheers!

Hooks in the Rain==Free in the Dry! Schneiderado Ledge, here I come
Our topo said A3 hooks and heads, but Jon climbed it as runout 5.10

PtPP belaying from the palatial and airy Schneiderado Ledge (the golden promise, to the north…)
Golden? I look rather pink.
Steve Schneider had told us of this fabulous ledge, halfway between the 6th and 7th belay anchors. Determined not to repeat the mistake of the first ascensionists – who belayed on either side, but not on it – we converted this ledge to a fabulous bivi by adding two bolts as a hauling anchor, plus two rivets on either end for two portaledges. Schneiderado Ledge is fifteen feet long, and at its widest part – which is about three feet – we left space for the two of us to lounge on the ledge. I have rarely added bolts to an El Cap belay, but this was definitely one of those times. I'd like to think we did a good job here, and hope you'll agree.

Tom catches my last aid move before stepping out of the ladders and pulling hard onto P8's belay ledge
And that would be the Show on Schneiderado Ledge, lower right corner. The next pitch – the free climbing money pitch – goes up and left across the bumpy rock towards the ^-shaped roof.

Ladies and Gentlemen – prepare for the freakin' show!

Ticky tack freaklimbing crux – almost pulled it off before Pete could snap the shot
Jon danced across this technical 5.11 traverse pretty darn fast, making it look easy! Dang.

Effin looz-a$s flakes to spice up the afternoon
But as you can see, it starts to get runout – VERY runout – just above.

Free gear behind expanding flakes – God I love SLCDs!!!
Well, it looks good, but would it actually hold a fall??

Two cams are better than one before casting off onto that loose pillar up there
Yeah, and before you take off up above, please pause to ponder the frailty of mortality, and stick your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye!

Another sweet taped down skyhook for pro! I downclimbed back to this point several times before committing to heading up the left side
This was some serious ass sh|t, man.

This route had three pitches that involved some committing, difficult free climbing AND difficult, tenuous aid – send in the Ace of Aid
Yup, another pitch that we split, according to the team members' ability.
OK, Pete – I've got a little green Alien stuck in this expanding downward-facing flake here above this runout 5.10 free climbing with no pro. Go ahead and lower me off, and you can jug back up and take over the lead.
Are you freaking kidding me, dude?! Stick in at least a couple more cams, will ya! Geeez…

Looking back down on the free crux.
Gee, it doesn't even look hard from up here…

Another stellar weekend ahead gents

This shot would have been even better with a tripod
Not bad considering I just held the camera against the rock and hit the self-timer button. Can you spot the El Cap Bridge and the Meadows?

Day 11 on the wall - a groovy shot shows where the action stopped at dark
And check out our yellow and red T-shirts, eh?

Just before the fall of western civilization…
Better than the Fall of the Millennium.

That was a sweet whipper Petey!
That bastard, Silver! I used one of his home-made rivet hangers that he had made for their Baffin Island trip twenty years ago, and the swage failed like ONE move from the anchor bolts! Man, did I go flying. The only fall I took, I think. Good thing. But Silver – you still owe me that beer!

Dang buddy – you CAN haul fast
That's because YOU keep drinking all the rum and beers!

The view up P9 – The Golden Corner, aid crux
Cool geometry, eh? That's the big Dawn Roof straight above.

During Pete's lead on this pitch, rock chips and flakes rained down a accumulated on the portaledge to the extent I had to dump the fresh till twice! Folks around the base must've been wondering WTF?!?!?

I had to ask Pete to toss the shorts he had been wearing, due to the noxious view from the belay
Yeah, I was sh|tting my pants on this one. Very thin nailing for quite a ways, and then just when you think it's over, a big loose block that you have to somehow get around.

Day 12, ready to tackle P10. Any chance of dimming that thingy?
Maybe one day when you grow up, you'll be able to grow a beard too, Jonny.

You mean I get to lead this? Thanks Pete!
Hey – you're the right-handed one. Just stick in a pin, and nail it straight up. It might even hold you.

Holy frig! More nailing than I've done in a long time. Tried to keep with the clean aid program, but my patience waned after repeated daisey chain falls in the expanding corner.
What? You want me to pass your more pitons? I'm not sure I know how to do that.

Well, all grand things must come to an end – back to New Dawn and a tasty run out :-D
Did you backclean that whole section? Geez, I would have called for a second lead rope.

I suppose I could start leaving some gear behind
Yes, please!

I have been waiting for this bivy for a long time. Looking up at the Dawn roof does no justice to the up-close and personal view
It's one big ass roof, that's for sure. But we're nearly at the top!

Day 13 started with some big air beneath my heals, half an hour before my whipper at the end of this pitch
You fell? Really? Funny how you never seem to remember when the other guy falls!

Dawn roof to bridge: who left this choss up here? Ready to grovel – over…
Send it, Jonny – I've got Summit Fever. Sounds like a disco tune

Awww…flower power!
Geez, I was afraid he meant the Wall Flower, you know, like that breakfast burrito down low?

So this is the Sidewalk. Weird. Get me outa here - I got summit fever!
Shut up and haul!

Day 14 begins with some hauling fun - only because the pigs are nice and light
"Light?" Dude! I am laughing my ass off here – look at the size of the Junk Show! It hasn't gotten smaller, it's gotten BIGGER! You seem to have disappeared from the photo – did all that junk eat you or something??

Very cool exit – can't get off this rock fast enough!
I'm getting the hell off this rock. I'm going down tonight. Forget the summit bivi, I gotta get out of here.
Hmmm, I need to formulate a Diabolical Plan. (evil laughter)

Summit!!! Thanks for changing the perspective Tom! Last haul begins…
New Dawn has – without question – the finest top-out on all of El Cap. A perfect foot-wide hauling ledge an easy step down from the flat. The perfect finish!
All right, let's get the heck outa here.
Come now, have a beer.
If I have a beer, I'll get all sleepy, and I won't be able to go down!
[diabolical grin] Here, let's open a bottle of wine next.

Great friends enjoying a fine red at sunset ;-) Props for the stemware.
A yes, an excellent Sonoma Syrah, served in Mountain Equipment Co-op's finest stemware. Knott exactly an Eisch breathable glass, but it does the job.

Last rays from the top of The Shield
I've enjoyed lots of great summit bivis here, that's for sure.

Trying really hard not to laugh – Yes, future generations will be scarred forever from the sight of such a big schnozz ;-)
Savour the bouquet, mate!

He did actually eat the sun. Thanks for all the memories, we will be back again…
You betcha! See yous next time, eh?