Trip Report
Overhang Bypass - Valley 5.7, 6 pitches

by Ed H
Wednesday June 1, 2016 7:28pm
Last year someone asked me about a moderate, multi-pitch route on Lower Cathedral Rock, so I did some research:

Overhang Bypass 5.7, 6 pitches, 3 stars, FA: Bill Dunmire, Ed Robbins, Bill Long, & Dick Long - June, 1952

From the 1964 Roper guide: ‘one of the most popular routes on the south side of the Valley’

Karl Baba: ‘the approach sucks, the descent is long, and the actual climbing isn't too good either - still, it gets points for being a trad adventure, having a real summit, and old school bonus points to boot.’

John Eleazarian: ‘scenic, enjoyable, and mostly easy’

Werner: ‘a junk yard’ and ‘a pile’

Brokedownclimber: ‘the godawful gunsight’ descent

MP beta: ‘a flake broke off, and the crux is closer to 5.9 now’ and ‘Route finding can be an issue’

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Credit: Yosemike
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1952 FA? Old School? Long approach/descent? Route finding crux? a missing flake and 5.9 move? Hmmm – I’ve got to check this thing out - but I’ve got to find just the right partner…

Who else but my old school buddy Todd from Reno – King of route finding (and also runout slab).

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Where is the route?
Where is the route?
Credit: Ed H
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Approx location of route as seen from the road:

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Credit: Yosemite + Ed
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Le Bruce beta:

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Credit: Le Bruce
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Too much gear!

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This way to the start

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Let the gully scramble begin

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More scrambling

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Bridalveil views

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More scrambling but getting close

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Bridalveil rainbow mist

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More scrambling - when you start seeing rap stations you are getting close..

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Finally! the start of the route, or P2 in Reid guide. It's a very striking feature.

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Todd on the way to the hog trough

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Old school hardware

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Overhang feature - wowza!

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Looking up at the hog trough

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Looking back at the trough - exposure!

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I love climbing in approach shoes..

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The missing flake. Yes - it's probably 5.9, but you have a small wire at your chest, and a piton about 5 feet to the right. I did a lie back, then got a C3 up higher to sew it up. I think you could also go up the flake on the right, but the pro did not look as good.

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Moving the belay across the ledge

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The face pitch was fun and wandered a bit. Full Yosemite 5.7 value.

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The views of El Cap remind you why you come to the Valley - even on Memorial Day weekend.

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We finished on the exposed 5.6 traverse variation. Looking back at this gem:

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Topping out

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I've never seen Leaning Tower from this angle

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On to the gunsight - Ha! What a gem this little gully is

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MCR

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Enter the gunsight

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Yosemite 4th class. '

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Munge rap station - love it!

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Views from the gunsight

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8 hours car to car at a leisurely pace, and back in time to watch the sunset.

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I really enjoyed the route, and would recommend it for anyone looking for a moderate, adventure route.

More info:

MP: http://www.mountainproject.com/v/overhang-bypass/106669076

ST: http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/542987/Overhang-Bypass-TR-fall-2006

ST: http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/2126938/Overhang-Route-4-27-2013-TR

ST: http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/579217/Not-the-Midget-Chimney-Photo-TR

Accident report http://www.howardreplogle.com/essays/climbingacident/caccident.htm















  Trip Report Views: 4,537
Ed H
About the Author
Ed H is a trad climber from Santa Rosa, CA

Comments
looks easy from here

climber
Santa Cruzish
  Jun 1, 2016 - 07:34pm PT
Nice. Thanks. Every time I see this route mentioned I want to climb it, and every time I'm deciding what to climb I forget about it. Maybe this'll finally get it to stick in the mush between my ears.
JOEY.F

Gym climber
It's not rocket surgery
  Jun 1, 2016 - 07:40pm PT
Thanks!
ß Î Ø T Ç H

Boulder climber
ne'er–do–well
  Jun 1, 2016 - 08:15pm PT
Interesting to see the pussyfication of Gunsight (raps/ ropes).
F10

Trad climber
Bishop
  Jun 1, 2016 - 08:16pm PT
Thanks for the cool report. I remember doing this in the early 70's, brought back some good memories. We started late in the afternoon and descended gunsight in the dark. Turned out to be a little epic since my partner had prescription sunglasses on. We survived, thanks again.
guido

Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
  Jun 1, 2016 - 08:22pm PT
Well that rings some bells on the waybackmachine. Nice to see the photos. Carry on with your oldies!
Kalimon

Social climber
Ridgway, CO
  Jun 1, 2016 - 08:25pm PT
Awesome Ed! The Hog Trough looks nice. Way to get out there.
Burnin' Oil

Trad climber
CA
  Jun 1, 2016 - 08:44pm PT
DThat is on the list. Thanks for the info. Did you see a cord and rap ring slung on a rock in the Gunsight?

That picture of El Cap from the Gunsight is surreal.
Ed H

Trad climber
Santa Rosa, CA
Author's Reply  Jun 1, 2016 - 08:56pm PT
^^ We did 2 raps in the gunsight - one fixed, and the other off the munge slings - both in photos above. No booty.

Love that photo Walleye! Thanks
Flip Flop

climber
Earth Planet, Universe
  Jun 2, 2016 - 12:12am PT
Good one
mcreel

climber
Barcelona
  Jun 2, 2016 - 12:38am PT
Sounds like a fun outing. Some of those photos are from perspectives I've never seen before, e.g, the one of Middle.
mouse from merced

Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
  Jun 2, 2016 - 01:50am PT
Some great shots of Yosemite talus bopping.

Thanks for keeping the fun in climbing, Ed.
Bargainhunter

climber
  Jun 2, 2016 - 03:02am PT
This was one of my first routes in the Valley a couple of decades ago. I still remember the adventure feel. We raced to the Gunsight as the sun was setting, and scrambled down... no rappel necessary. Your TR makes me want to do it again when I return. Thanks for posting.
Ezra Ellis

Trad climber
North wet, and Da souf
  Jun 2, 2016 - 03:34am PT
Awesomeness abounds!
Charlie D.

Trad climber
Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra
  Jun 2, 2016 - 04:54am PT
That's great Ed thanks, cool to see some different perspectives on the Valley. OBP was a very popular route way back when the Sierra Club RCS was active.
NutAgain!

Trad climber
https://nutagain.org
  Jun 2, 2016 - 07:14am PT
Nice one!

This was one of my favorite Yosemite adventure days. Add more climbing by starting directly under the big roof between the official route start and Bridalveil East. It is well to the climber's right of Overhang area.

The topo from le_bruce captures the path. Search for our trip report about Midget Chimney to see more info.

And beware early season descents of the gunsight. Steep snow, too hard for kicking steps.
Inner City

Trad climber
Portland, OR
  Jun 2, 2016 - 07:39am PT
Love the report Ed! This sandbagged route used to be a yearly thing for me. Always thought I was gonna head down to Bridalveil for a swim after the hot climb but never made it down there. Anyone ever swim in that pool?

Route was pretty 'grainy' as I remember it, having fallen into obscurity after its Sierra Club heyday.

Adventure is found here..
steelmnkey

climber
Vision man...ya gotta have vision...
  Jun 2, 2016 - 08:39am PT
Nice TR Ed. Did the route a long time ago (was sort of a bachelor climbing day for my buddy Bill who got married the weekend after). Some nice jungle climbing in there.

Tim heading up into the Hog Trough

Tim cleaning pitch 4

Coming down the Gunsight

JEleazarian

Trad climber
Fresno CA
  Jun 2, 2016 - 12:07pm PT
Very nice TR. Thanks much for remembering my comments!

John
Brokedownclimber

Trad climber
Douglas, WY
  Jun 2, 2016 - 08:44pm PT
Can't believe it's already been 51 years since I did this route! June, 1965, with Pete Williamson and a broken rib. Long fooking day!
arunmahajan

Mountain climber
Palo Alto, Ca
  Jun 10, 2016 - 10:40am PT
Great TR, thanks! I remember getting the pitch with the broken flake > 10 years ago and the guidebook we had with us was older and we had not known about the flake having come off. I had to use a small nut as well.
skcreidc

Social climber
SD, CA
  Jun 10, 2016 - 10:52am PT
Very nice outing gents! Thanks for posting up.
Brokedownclimber

Trad climber
Douglas, WY
  Jun 10, 2016 - 10:53am PT
My memories of this climb still involve the grungy steep dirt approach getting to the rock. The rock itself was clean, and the only pitch I can recall clearly was the crux, which I led with a broken rib sustained a few days earlier on Koko Ledge, where a RURP pulled and zippered 3 other aid pins. Those were the days! No harnesses; no Swami belts; lots of iron! I did like the Hog Trough, however. Would I go back and repeat the route? Probably not; too many nicer climbs in the Valley.
Whitehorse Jeff

Trad climber
Fairfield, CT
  Jun 11, 2016 - 08:49pm PT
My memories ( from July 1971) of this route are of extreme thirst and the nasty descent; the original Roper guide had it at 5.6, if my memory serves, and it was our first " long multipitch climb" in Yosemite. My partner and I ran out of water before the upper slabs on a 90+ degree July afternoon, and were approaching delirium before finishing the end of the descent. Lessons about afternoon climbing on high W facing slabs in Yos with less than a liter each were well learned. In the 45 years since, I don't think I've ever "bonked" harder on a climb of such modest length / difficulty😝
two-shoes

Trad climber
Auberry, CA
  Jun 11, 2016 - 10:21pm PT
I think, the route was used as one of the text book examples of a Yosemite 5.7 in the old Roper guide, if I am not mistaken. 5.7 has definitely been watered down a little through time.

I remember liking this route. Did it a couple of times with my sweetie, Leni. The view of valley looking through the Gunsight is a spectacle, and is still a vivid mental image in my mind.

Thanks for the TR Ed!
Darwin

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
  Jun 12, 2016 - 10:26am PT
Thanks for the TR Ed. I remember the rock freaking me out a bit. I think I worried about the flake that later went missing(?), but mostly the pitch you titled "The face pitch was fun and wandered a bit. Full Yosemite 5.7 value". I handled the climbing well enough, but big sheets of the rock on that pitch seemed to have a hollow sound and I imagined a 50+' x 50+' section of slab sloughing off while I was on it.

I was very glad for the Gunsight rap slings myself and probably would have been contemptuous of them in 1970
Fearless

Big Wall climber
Fresno, Ca.
  Jun 14, 2016 - 03:06pm PT
good report, good memories. My first climb...1961.
Ed H

Trad climber
Santa Rosa, CA
Author's Reply  Jun 15, 2016 - 10:29am PT
Thanks for all the story guys! I love these old school adventure routes - we just did Craven Image 5.7 at the Leap last weekend - a Royal Robbins, Steve Roper route with no good topo - fun!

msiddens

Trad climber
  Jun 17, 2016 - 04:36am PT
Sweeet
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