Monday, August 27, 2012
Trout in August
I interrupted my yard work weekend when Stan wanted to meet at Trout Creek on Sunday. I had not climbed with Stan over a year if my memory serves me right. I spent a very comfortable night at the quiet campground on Saturday and Stan was at camp 7am sharp on Sunday. Given the heat we started climbing early and non-stop until we were pretty tired. Once the sun hit the main wall we went to the north end. We managed to get in 8 routes, not bad for TC, topping off the day with little offwidth practice on Rodeo Crack. We climbed U3, Fissuremen*, Gold Rush, Two Step Left*, Fun Soup, Great Googlie Mooglie*, Bedside Manner, Rodeo Crack.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Sierra Blitz
With big plans to climb several classic alpine lines but without permits, Ye and I took a gamble to go down to Eastern Sierra during the first week of August. We were always on the move and made the most out of the time we spent there and came back safely with a great sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.
July 28, Saturday:
We started driving from PDX at 6:30am and reached the famous Mobile station restaurant in Lee Vining around 7pm for the usual stop to have a nice and expensive dinner. Then we drove to Saddleback Lake campground and pitched our tents and slept in the trees out of sight. The night at 10K elevation was hard after coming up from sea level.
July 29, Sunday:
We couldn't get up and moving at our 5am plan to climb the Third Pillar after having difficulties sleeping. Eventually, our engines started kicking and we cruised up Dana Plateau. Seeing many parties getting ready we ran down the gully and of course missed the turn off to the start of the route. 2 hours to the base was not bad but our late start had put 3 parties ahead of us. Fortunately for us, not so for them, two parties got lost on the second pitch (go further left and don't get suckered in the cracks on the face) we passed them and were on top by 2pm. Happily we cruised down to the lake and Mobil station for a slice of pizza and fries, yum. Next, we drove to Lone Pine and up to Whitney Portal and camped at the beautiful hikers campground at 8.3K.
July 30, Monday
Here comes the first crux, we planned to get in to the lottery for Whitney permits at 11am so we had a leisurely morning and coffee in Lone Pine. The friendly ranger there says that there a two permits available for today. Stunned by our luck we have a big brunch at Alabama Hills Diner in Lone Pine and go back up to Whitney Portal. We spent the hot hours packing for the next 3 days. Around 3pm we shoulder our heavy packs and motor up the North fork trail which goes by quickly with great vistas. After a 3.5 hour trek we found ourselves a nice sheltered spot to camp by Iceberg Lake. We both have light headache but not too bad.
July 31, Tuesday
The plan for today was to climb the east buttress on
Mt Whitney which has more climbing and better rock according to people we talked. However, Ye was really feeling the altitude and could not sleep at all, but amazingly he rallied and we started moving after everybody had gone already. The party ahead of us decided to bail after the first pitch so we were free to go. Few roped pitches led up and around the Peewee and we un-roped and scrambled to the top. After enjoying the views, taking pictures we endured a long nasty descent of Mountaineers route. The afternoon was hot and we both hit the sack for some napping.
August 1, Wednesday
With Whitney behind us we wanted to climb Mt Russell. We brought enough gear for Mithral Dihedral so went for it. Since the route stays in the shade we had another leisurely start. Two guys were already on the route when we got there. The first two pitches were great fun despite what Croft says in his book. Then came the "dihedral". I took the first part and stopped at the chimney. I remembered people saying that it would be good place to stop to avoid a hanging belay higher up. Ye finished up the rest and it was awesome. From the top of the dihedral we stayed roped and simuled three rope lengths to the top. There were hard sections that a rope was good idea. Another long scree and talus descent, not as bad as Mountaineers, saw us back to camp.
August 2, Thursday
The previous day clouds were building all day and at night we had clouds shroud the entire Iceberg followed by lightning and rain, very eery. We briefly entertained the idea of climbing Fishhook on Mt Russell but instead of doing the same descent we decided to pack up, yes including our wag bags, and hike out. The hike out was expedited by thoughts of a large brunch at A-Hills Diner in Lone Pine. Food and the valley heat made us really slow but eventually we made our way to Bishop for some afternoon climbing. Cardinal Pinnacle with its relatively short approach and four fun pitches on the west side fit the bill well. We stuffed ourselves at The Chinese buffet in Bishop for dinner and watched the lightning storm outside.
August 3, Friday
We spent the previous night 20 miles south of Lee Vining in the woods.It was nice to sleep in the warmth and extra oxygen for once. We continued driving north to Bridgeport to get permits for the Incredible Hulk area. After we got our backcountry permits Ye spent several hours to stitch his approach shoes together which had taken a serious beating from all the scree and talus hiking. Mono Village and all the RVs, campers and people was quite the scene. After lunch in sweltering heat we hiked in Little Slide Canyon to the Hulk area. We found the trail which led to a dry crossing on a log and bypassed the swamps and beaver crossings. In 2.5 hours we joined the masses camped at the base of the Hulk. The heat of the day resulted in a big thunderstorm and we watched party after party bailing from the wall.
August 4, Saturday
We got up at 5am and saw a team already hiking by headlamp to the base of Red Dihedral, our goal for the day. We got going at 6am and shortly after that two young guys were pressing right behind us posed to pass us. Not so fast young guns, they admitted by saying "we didn't think you were so fit" :). We started behind the party that started in the dark but they were already lost on the first pitch and we caught up with them quickly and got stuck. They slowed us down considerably until they finally let us pass three pitches above the red dihedral. We cruised to the top and enjoyed few moments before the thunderstorm closed in. We got a good soaker on the final talus descent, but we couldn't care less. In an hour we were packed up and headed out. On the way out we ran into John Erickson, my doctor friend from Chicago, who had to bail from Positive Vibes when the storm hit, small world. That evening I joined Ye and had the biggest slab of meat in a very long time at Mono Village.
August 5, Sunday
The previous night we experienced an incredibly violent thunder, lightning and rain storm. At times it was so bright that it would blind and the noise was deafening. As terrifying as all this was, I lied on my back with a smile of great satisfaction having climbed all these classic lines. In the morning we picked up our wet camping gear and started the long drive home. It was a memorable trip and much thanks to Ye for making it happen!
More pictures from the trip are here.
July 28, Saturday:
We started driving from PDX at 6:30am and reached the famous Mobile station restaurant in Lee Vining around 7pm for the usual stop to have a nice and expensive dinner. Then we drove to Saddleback Lake campground and pitched our tents and slept in the trees out of sight. The night at 10K elevation was hard after coming up from sea level.
July 29, Sunday:
We couldn't get up and moving at our 5am plan to climb the Third Pillar after having difficulties sleeping. Eventually, our engines started kicking and we cruised up Dana Plateau. Seeing many parties getting ready we ran down the gully and of course missed the turn off to the start of the route. 2 hours to the base was not bad but our late start had put 3 parties ahead of us. Fortunately for us, not so for them, two parties got lost on the second pitch (go further left and don't get suckered in the cracks on the face) we passed them and were on top by 2pm. Happily we cruised down to the lake and Mobil station for a slice of pizza and fries, yum. Next, we drove to Lone Pine and up to Whitney Portal and camped at the beautiful hikers campground at 8.3K. July 30, Monday
Here comes the first crux, we planned to get in to the lottery for Whitney permits at 11am so we had a leisurely morning and coffee in Lone Pine. The friendly ranger there says that there a two permits available for today. Stunned by our luck we have a big brunch at Alabama Hills Diner in Lone Pine and go back up to Whitney Portal. We spent the hot hours packing for the next 3 days. Around 3pm we shoulder our heavy packs and motor up the North fork trail which goes by quickly with great vistas. After a 3.5 hour trek we found ourselves a nice sheltered spot to camp by Iceberg Lake. We both have light headache but not too bad.July 31, Tuesday
Mt Whitney which has more climbing and better rock according to people we talked. However, Ye was really feeling the altitude and could not sleep at all, but amazingly he rallied and we started moving after everybody had gone already. The party ahead of us decided to bail after the first pitch so we were free to go. Few roped pitches led up and around the Peewee and we un-roped and scrambled to the top. After enjoying the views, taking pictures we endured a long nasty descent of Mountaineers route. The afternoon was hot and we both hit the sack for some napping.
August 1, Wednesday
With Whitney behind us we wanted to climb Mt Russell. We brought enough gear for Mithral Dihedral so went for it. Since the route stays in the shade we had another leisurely start. Two guys were already on the route when we got there. The first two pitches were great fun despite what Croft says in his book. Then came the "dihedral". I took the first part and stopped at the chimney. I remembered people saying that it would be good place to stop to avoid a hanging belay higher up. Ye finished up the rest and it was awesome. From the top of the dihedral we stayed roped and simuled three rope lengths to the top. There were hard sections that a rope was good idea. Another long scree and talus descent, not as bad as Mountaineers, saw us back to camp.August 2, Thursday
The previous day clouds were building all day and at night we had clouds shroud the entire Iceberg followed by lightning and rain, very eery. We briefly entertained the idea of climbing Fishhook on Mt Russell but instead of doing the same descent we decided to pack up, yes including our wag bags, and hike out. The hike out was expedited by thoughts of a large brunch at A-Hills Diner in Lone Pine. Food and the valley heat made us really slow but eventually we made our way to Bishop for some afternoon climbing. Cardinal Pinnacle with its relatively short approach and four fun pitches on the west side fit the bill well. We stuffed ourselves at The Chinese buffet in Bishop for dinner and watched the lightning storm outside.August 3, Friday
We spent the previous night 20 miles south of Lee Vining in the woods.It was nice to sleep in the warmth and extra oxygen for once. We continued driving north to Bridgeport to get permits for the Incredible Hulk area. After we got our backcountry permits Ye spent several hours to stitch his approach shoes together which had taken a serious beating from all the scree and talus hiking. Mono Village and all the RVs, campers and people was quite the scene. After lunch in sweltering heat we hiked in Little Slide Canyon to the Hulk area. We found the trail which led to a dry crossing on a log and bypassed the swamps and beaver crossings. In 2.5 hours we joined the masses camped at the base of the Hulk. The heat of the day resulted in a big thunderstorm and we watched party after party bailing from the wall.August 4, Saturday
We got up at 5am and saw a team already hiking by headlamp to the base of Red Dihedral, our goal for the day. We got going at 6am and shortly after that two young guys were pressing right behind us posed to pass us. Not so fast young guns, they admitted by saying "we didn't think you were so fit" :). We started behind the party that started in the dark but they were already lost on the first pitch and we caught up with them quickly and got stuck. They slowed us down considerably until they finally let us pass three pitches above the red dihedral. We cruised to the top and enjoyed few moments before the thunderstorm closed in. We got a good soaker on the final talus descent, but we couldn't care less. In an hour we were packed up and headed out. On the way out we ran into John Erickson, my doctor friend from Chicago, who had to bail from Positive Vibes when the storm hit, small world. That evening I joined Ye and had the biggest slab of meat in a very long time at Mono Village.
August 5, Sunday
The previous night we experienced an incredibly violent thunder, lightning and rain storm. At times it was so bright that it would blind and the noise was deafening. As terrifying as all this was, I lied on my back with a smile of great satisfaction having climbed all these classic lines. In the morning we picked up our wet camping gear and started the long drive home. It was a memorable trip and much thanks to Ye for making it happen!
More pictures from the trip are here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)