Sierra Wide

Our Sierra trip for the year was in doubt due to my niece's visit over the summer and Ye getting very busy at work after she left. But when Ye found the time to leave over the Labor Day weekend, the trip was on! This was going to be a month later than last year's trip and again we had no permits to the popular destinations. Unfortunately, I got hit badly in the ribs during karate just before the trip. I would call out the guy who hit me every time I had to make a hard move and my ribs screamed. Anyway, we ended up climbing long, wide and hard climbs which were challenging in many ways. Ye climbed exceptionally well and got us through the hardest sections. I tried my best and worked hard to follow. I'm proud to watch him grow to become the climber he is today and I'd be very happy if I have contributed to his progression.

A selection of pictures from the trip are here.

August 31, Saturday: 
We started driving from PDX at 6:00am and reached Bridgeport in the evening to very smoky skies. We were planning to climb on the Incredible Hulk, but the smoke made us wonder if we should change plans. We asked various people what the conditions were in the backcountry. Everybody had a different story so we decided to take a chance and go in anyway. We parked and camped for the night at Mono Village campground at Twin Lakes under smoky conditions. The friendly attendant came out late and let us camp for free, otherwise we would had to go in the forest beyond the campground, nice!

September 1, Sunday:

In the morning the campground was still very smoky but we went with the plan and hiked in to the Hulk. We knew from last year the dry crossing over the beaver dams and swamps and early morning cool temps allowed us to make good time. We arrived in 2.5hrs below the Hulk to an eerie emptiness. There were nobody around, what a difference from last year when we couldn't find a spot to camp due to crowds. Smoke worked in our favor. We dropped our packs and hiked up to the base of the Polish Route (5.10+) with our climbing gear. The route's first pitch delivered a punch to us. Things were hard from the get go. It remained this way throughout the climb, struggle, struggle. It was a tough choice for the first climb of the trip and at altitude. In the afternoon the valleys filled with smoke. Fortunately no storms but abundant wind as usual. Once we finished the climb the next challenge was to find the rappels. The only anchor we could see was on the prow and not pointing to the gully. So first Ye went back towards the gully looking for the rappels but came back with no luck. Then I went looking further down and saw a couple trees hoping they had slings on them but none. So then with serious doubts we decided to try the bolt anchor on the prow. I went down the sheer face only to see that our single 60m wouldn't get as to any other anchor. So I climbed up the rope, ugh. In the mean time it was getting late and the possibility of spending the night up there loomed. Once I got back to our high point, Ye decided to go as far as he could with the rope, it is pretty exposed so we kept the belays on, looking for the rappels. He passed the trees and yelled back that he found an anchor. What a relief. I followed quickly and we made four rappels off of somewhat sketchy anchors. Not only that every next anchor was not easily spotted. We made it down to the gully floor as it got dark and hiked out with headlamps over the endless talus. The gear beta was spot on with 2x#4 and a single #5 cam but the descent not so much. We picked a primo spot to pitch our tents and had a late but relaxing dinner having averted an epic.

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September 2, Monday:

We had a slow start to the day from the near epic climb the day before. As we watched three strong climbers hiking to the base of Positive Vibes, we decided we should go climb the Beeline (5.10-). This was a route I tried to climb with Victor several years ago but turned around from its base due to stormy conditions on that day. Around 10am, a leisurely alpine start, we started hiking towards the base. The climbing was a lot of fun and much easier than the Polish route. It was quite windy and the smoke started moving in again in the afternoon. The first three pitches followed fun cracks, fourth pitch called for technical stemming and it was engaging, the fifth pitch started with a right trending face traverse into a wide crack. We both felt comfortable with it. The Polish must have prepared us for the wide. Last couple pitches were easier but the rock quality was not as good. We enjoyed the summit as Ye returned the Hulk Ball, which he took from the summit register last year, mission accomplished! We returned to camp with plenty day light left. Instead of hiking out we decided to stay another night and explore the upper lakes, what a beautiful place.

September 3, Tuesday:
In the morning we hiked out the beautiful Hulk camp hoping to come back to it for more alpine candy.
Next goal was to hike into Temple Crag area. We drove down to Bishop and scored a permit. But the weather was getting very dark and as we were still in Bishop it started raining. Things only got worse during the drive to the trailhead in Big Pine. We waited for a break in the rain but it became obvious we could not hike in today. We had enough of waiting and drove down south to Lone Pine to see if the weather was any better and if we could score permits for Mt Whitney area. No permits and the ranger told us to come on Thursday, sure... We went back to town and had one of the best tacos from a taco truck before heading up to camp at Whitney Portal. That night as we were pouring over topos to decide on the next climbs, Ye asked me if I'd climb the Harding Route on Keeler Needle. What? He had been dreaming about this climb ever since seeing it last year. I listed many of my reservations and fears as excuses. After all Keeler Needle is very ominous and intimidating. It has a reputation for bad rock, hard climbing, snow/ice cone at its base etc. Ye demanded a yes or no answer and finally I agreed to commit while thinking that the Polish route was a struggle and this climb is harder, higher, wider, longer. Obviously I didn't sleep well that night thinking about what we were getting ourselves into...

September 4, Wednesday:
We had an early start to our approach to Keeler Needle to avoid any contact with the law :). Knowing the approach from last year we made quick progress towards the Mt Whitney massif. In less than three hours we were in the moraine of Keeler Needle.  The whole place is covered by big boulders and hardly any flat spots were available. We found a sandy spot and scraped it flat so we could pitch our little tents. Snow melt was nearby for water source. It was still before noon and we had planned to do some other climbing nearby but the sheer size of Keeler Needle made us decide that we should take the day off, rest and hydrate for the big day tomorrow. Incidentally there was a party on the climb. We watched and cheered them on as they made progress towards the top all day along. We stashed our gear for the climb at the base of the climb and got a close up look. The route didn't look too bad as far as we could see. The snow cone was a simple walk-up and my ice axe was totally unnecessary. Now we just had to wait till early morning to get on this beast next morning.

September 5, Thursday:

Big day, and time to put the game face on. We got up at 5am but it was pitch dark and cold below freezing. After a quick bite and coffee we got moving by 7am we started the first pitch. Here we go Harding Route (5.10c). Ye launched the first pitch, followed by the second pitch which involved pulling over a roof which was quite physical. A moderate third pitch got us to the base of the first offwidth. Most of the crack had features and no offwidth technique was required until the very end where a #5 cam seemed useful.  The next long pitch was easy and we simulclimbed it to the first big bench area. We felt we were moving faster than the team from yesterday. The next pitch brought us to the base of the Red Dihedral pitch. We both smiled at the scene, what a great looking crack. If it was at low elevation there would be a line. Perfect jams and stems for 200ft brought us to the base of the crux offwidth. We had read that the crack would take gear at its back and indeed it did. Ye did a great job leading it and not too long has passed the three bolts after which the climbing eases. Wow, the hardest part was over for him. I shouldered the two packs until I had to go into offwidth mode, then they had to be dangled. It was pretty hard going with the weight and bulk and I appreciated very much the tight belay Ye provided. I was worked at the end of the pitch. Ye took us through another chimney and we were nearly under the summit headwall. From there a counter clock traverse brought us to the upper bench right under the summit. The exposure and rope drag were huge. At this point we were in the shade and it got really cold. We looked at what the topo calls clean cracks. They looked good but the cold motivated us to skip them and get up as fast as we could. From here on the route goes in to the chossy, blocky north side. Ye had a picture of this section and we found it very helpful. From the upper bench five pitches brought us to the summit. I could not believe it was only 5pm and we had pulled off the climb so smoothly. We hiked over to the summit plateau of Mt Whitney and down the scrappy Mountaineer's route down to Iceberg Lake and back to our camp in the hole under Keeler Needle. It took a while to grasp what we had just did. It was just about a 12 hour day including the climb and descent. I really wished we could celebrate this but all I had was a handful of pasta and a tuna pouch. Food was little but the satisfaction was huge and an enormous weight had lifted off of our shoulders. I thank Ye for convincing me to do this climb which scared me so much and believing that we could pull it off. He made it happen!














September 6, Friday:
We packed our stuff and hiked out of the Keeler moraine. Incredibly proud but very hungry also. A two hour hike got us back to Whitney Portal. We quickly made it down to Lone Pine for a brunch at our favorite Alabama Hills Diner. We felt like we were done climbing, nothing else would feel right after Keeler!

So the thought of hiking in to Temple Crag was scrapped. Instead, we decided for a fun moderate day by running the ridges on Mt Conness as our last climb before we would head home. We drove to Saddleback campground near Tuolumne to find it nearly empty due to the Rim Fire closures. The camping was so pleasant here, which made me wonder why we always camped over the years in the dirty, noisy ghetto Tuolumne campground. We cooked large amounts of food now that we had access to our supplies. My body lacked so much nutrition from all the camps first at the Hulk then at Keeler, that I stuffed myself to the brink. After food and a bit of rest we thought we are here and used to the wide climbing by now, why not do another Harding route on the SW face on Mt Conness. The route is shorter and the book claims it is easier than Keeler Needle. So a plan was hatched to go for it early morning.

September 7, Saturday:
A pretty chilly morning greeted us around 6:30am as we started our approach hike towards Mt Conness from Sawmill CG. We practically were running to stay warm. Along the way we passed another team who was also going for the SW Face, coincidentally we had met one of them, David, on Red Dihedral on the Hulk last year. We chatted a bit and continued our brisk pace. We dropped our packs on the summit plateau and donned our climbing gear. During the haste to get out of the hard blowing cold wind, we completely missed the descent gully which resulted in dropping down way further than the gully and contouring back to the base of the route. This probably added another 40 minutes or so extra boulder hopping. The other team caught up with us as we started the first pitch. The first pitch was slimy wet as expected. The second pitch was full rope long, slanting to the right awkward and hard. Third pitch started easy then zigzaged across an unprotected face followed by a chimney. Placing gear at the beginning and end of the traverse and then going straight up in the chimney gave me horrible rope drag and I had to cut the pitch short which kind of killed my mojo. Next was the offwitdh pitch. The really tight start gave me hard time as I struggled with the pack on. We had a single #6 cam and Ye completely ran out the pitch. I was terrified just following it and thinking about the consequence of a fall here. It was truly a heroic lead, wow!

Next pitch contained the tricky 5.10 traverse and supposedly 5.8 chimney. I sailed off the traverse and had a tough time moving up the chimney, which did not favor bigger bodies. After this the climbing became more open crack climbing for two more pitches and fun. We found ourselves on easy ground below the summit. It was now 5pm and it had taken us about seven hours to climb the route. I felt the climbing was much harder than on Keeler Needle, maybe I was tired from a week long climbing or had too much food the night before.The views were obscured by all the smoke coming from the Rim Fire to the west. We briefly enjoyed the summit and forced our tired legs to go down. On the way back we ran into a family of Ptarmigans who were not afraid of us at all. We enjoyed their presence and took bunch of pictures. Before dark we made it back to camp with great joy and satisfaction of having done another one of the big four routes according to Peter Croft.

September 8, Sunday:
After the near fiasco on the Polish route we had our doubts about our climbing but in a way it prepared us for the wide climbing that ensued. The smoke from the fires kept the crowds down and made camping easier. Ye did an exceptionally well job leading the hard pitches. I'm simply proud to be part of the overall effort. The Sierra-Nevada mountains have been nice to us. They challenged and inspired at the same time. Until next time, peace!

Squamish Climbing Frenzy

With four days of vacation and perfect forecast to the north we decided to head up to Squamish with the goal of climbing as much as we could. We drove as far as the border and spent the night at the last rest area on grass hidden behind trees. Noisy but nice otherwise. On Thursday we made the short trip to Squamish hoping to find a spot in the Chief campground. Of course it was full so we opted to stay at Klahanie campground, pricey but with showers, tables and somewhat private camp sites it was worth the extra money. We scored a site (108) with the best view just to be moved to another one the next day due to existing reservations...
Anxious to start climbing we dashed for Squaw to climb Birds of Prey. But by the time we got to the base there were multiple parties on route and waiting, so went over to Jungle Warfare (5.10a)

More pictures can be seen here.

Valkyrie Attempt

To be written up.

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. 

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.

Flagstone (July 5-6, 2008)

I had hoped to make a Squamish trip over the long Independence Day weekend, but the forecast was not good to the north. Unfortunately I didn't have any alpine partners either, so the weekend didn't look good for climbing. Henry had invited me for a BBQ and fireworks at his ranch on the 4th. The Denyer's were there too and they told me that they were going to Flagstone tomorrow. I had never even heard of this place and with my usual snobbish attitude I asked if it was any good or if it was a choss pile. They assured me it was good climbing with bolts and slabs but no cracks. Not my favorite style but hey it was climbing so we hatched a plan to go there.

Flagstone is basically a dome east of Eugene above McKenzie River. The access is via long forest roads. I was surprised to see how popular the place was. It is mainly a slab climbing area, with good rock. The popular routes are clean of moss and friendly bolted. The routes on the north side are almost over bolted. The routes are long and it is good to have a 70m rope or two 60m ropes to get down. I have to admit the climbing is quite fun.

Saturday turned out to be overcast which provided cool temps ideal for climbing. Mark led Hydrotube (5.9) first thing in the morning. I and Natasha followed the exciting first pitch and led the easier second pitch. Meanwhile Henry and Nolana climbed Acme Problem (5.7). We all converged for the double rope rappel down. Next I jumped on a 5.10a route which had a thin start, midway I got a bit off-route and it got hard that I had to down climb and correct it. Next door Mark led a 5.8 route which was stiff for the grade. From my route we TRed the next right slab which is another 5.10a/b. Finally before heading for lunch I led another long 5.10a route, a 70m rope was just enough to get me back. The route started with easy 5.9 moves and the upper section was sustained and cool 10a moves to a mantle before anchors. For lunch we ate Henry's left over roast beef sandwiches , yummy. For the afternoon we headed to the north side and Mark led the first pitches of Northern Ligths (5.8) and another 5.8 next door. Nolana did a fine job leading the first picth Toy Box (5.8). There we ran into Gent and John G. they came to set up ropes for their kids. It was fun to watch the kids play on the slabs, so cool.
We called it a day and set camp in the middle of the blocked forest road. Mark cooked up fajitas and with all the good stuff to go with.

Sunday we woke up to a misty morning but the clouds soon burned off as we went back to the crag. Henry and Nolana wanted to do Hydrotube (5.9) so we went to the far right end of the crag and I led the tenuous Deep Pocket (5.9), the first bolt is pretty high and required sketchy traversy moves. It was a wake up call. I almost fell at the third bolt as I missed the key pocket hold. After Mark and Natasha TRed the route we traded ropes with Henry. We ran into the guy who put up some of the routes here nearly 20 year ago. He recommended the 5.10b next to Hydrotube. So I went for it with a bit of hesitation after my so so performance on Deep Pocket. The route had really powerful and good moves. The crux came higher up when I had to do a side pull and high reach over the lip. I committed to the move but my right foot slipped and I came off, fortunately the route is well bolted and it was a short fall. After some thinking and looking around I pulled the move, very fun and exciting. I placed a blue tcu and gold camalot on the route, so I was happy. After everybody took their turn, Mark led another fun 5.10b to the right. This route didn't have powerful moves but was more delicate, also really good. Finally I pushed Henry to lead a 5.10a route next to Acme Problem and he did a fine job. We all took rides on these routes and called it good.

It turned out to be a great fun weekend of climbing on slabs which I didn't know existed in Oregon. Thanks to the Denyer's and Henry and Nolana for having me and all the good food.

More pictures from this trip are here.

Buckner NFace Attempt (June 28-29, 2008)

More pictures from this trip are here.

Wall Practice on Monkey (June 14-15, 2008)

More pictures from this trip are here.

Fred Beckey Sighting (June 7-8, 2008)

Splitter Camp of Oregon (May 31-June1, 2008)

Memorial Day Weekend at Smith (May 25-26, 2008)

As it is usually with Memorial Day weekends, the once promising forecast had deteriorated into an unstable weather pattern. So were the dreams of a potential Squamish trip quickly dashed. Another long weekend and no climbing, I never have luck with long weekends. So it was mostly yard work on Saturday. Later in the afternoon we walked to Laughing Planet in downtown with Sally and Andrew. Soon after we got back a huge thunderstorm and heavy downpour hit the town. Given the dismal forecast we hatched a plan to do at least a day of aid climbing on Monkey Face at Smith Rock and also bring Andrew's haul bag and portaledge to spend the night on the West Face.

When I arrived at Andrew's on Sunday morning, given the rainy weather and thunderstorms we skipped the haulbag and portaledge idea. We drove down to Smith in steady rain and wondered why we were so optimistic. It was cold, drizzling rain and the low clouds were hanging over the rocks. We still decided to drag our climbing and aid gear to Monkey and see if we can get anything in. Going over Asterisk pass with the heavy packs was challenging. The continuous drizzle had soaked us at the base of Monkey. It was after 1pm when I put on Andrew's wall gear sling and 4 aider set. He told me not to get into to habit of using a fifi hook, so no fifi! One hook and clip the first bolt off I go. After 5 bolts, cam hook move followed by a nut and more cam hooks and nut placements continued. I was fiddling too much with the gear and the aiders were getting tangled. Slow progress. Higher up I was bounce testing a bad red C3 placement when it failed and I took a short fall. Soon after that I was at the mantle move below the anchors. It wasn't bad once I took the gloves off. In the mean time the sun came out and it was beautiful. It had taken me about 2hours and 15 minutes to lead the pitch. Andrew cleaned the pitch in a whopping 10minutes, unbelievable. Once at the anchors he showed me how to haul, which needs to be tested with the pig someday. Dark clouds were once again gathering so we rapped down quickly and hiked back over Misery Ridge. This was my hardest and most serious aid lead ever and I enjoyed it very much. Thanks much to Andrew for his patient belay and all the tricks and mentoring he showed.
I used a dozen of various nuts (had two sets of regular nuts, offset nuts), set of regular aliens, green, red and gold C4s, two medium cam hooks and the grappling hook for the start.

In the Smith parking lot we ran into Stan and his clan. They invited us to stay with them at the Prineville house. We spent the night eating pizza and drinking beer. Next morning I really wanted go climb cracks, haven't done any cracks since Yosemite, but somehow ended up spending all day sport climbing on the Mesa Verde wall in on and off rain. Stan ropegunned all the hard routes. We climbed Cosmos (5.10a), Screaming Yellow Zonkers (5.10b), Moons of Pluto (5.10d) and finally Bad Moon Rising (5.11a). The climbing was mainly pulling/pinching and stepping on tiny nubbins. Not exactly crack climbing but given the bad forecast we managed to get some climbing in and had a good time after all.

Urban Cragging (May 17-18, 2008)

Just being back from Yosemite I was itching to go for more crack climbing at Trout Creek but nobody was interested. Then Jim mentioned that he was going to climb with the Denyer's and Henry at Madrone Wall. I haven't had climbed with Jim in a long time and even though had some reservations about climbing at Madrone because of its access issues, I decided to go anyways. We all climbed for a half day on Saturday before the sun hit the cliff and cooked the place. It was really fun and I say this being a route snob. I led Tangerine Dreams (5.10a) with a bouldery crux over a bulge but a fun route. Mark led a next door overhanging route (5.10c) which had a crack opening moves followed by hard roof moves. Jim led an obscure dirty looking route to the left. Henry led a bolted kind of awkward route (5.8). From Tangerine Dreams I tried to TR a severely overhanging route. I kept falling off but with each move I would figure out another move and try again after going back to ground. Finally I got shot down by the final hard move as the sun was blinding me. Later found out the route was rated 5.11d may be that was the reason and not the sun.

Coming home I saw a message from Stan wanting to go to Broughtons on Sunday with Tia for half a day. On the way out we picked up Andrew and went to the cliff. It had been a very long time since I was at Broughton and all I remember was what a hard time I had the last time I was here. Stan led a 5.8 route on the Classic Crack wall. We TRed the route just to the left. I have no idea what these routes are called or rated. I had a hell of a time on it and coming off several times. Then Andrew and I did Classic Crack (5.9). Last time I was here years ago I couldn't even start this climb. Then Stan led a route called Thai Sticks (5.11d, I think). It looked way hard and I couldn't finish the route as I came off on the overhanging part and couldn't get back on it. Once again Broughtons spanked me, even on TR 11s are out of my league. From Broughton Bluff Andrew and I went to hike Angels Rest to top off the day.

In the morning when we came to the cliff we saw a guy solo working the Classic Crack moves. He spent the whole morning trying to make each and every move. He told us he wanted to lead this crack some day. I was simply amazed by his determination and work. I just couldn't see myself doing this but maybe this is the way to get good at things. Or was he a German?

Yosemite (May 2008)

Other than my day climb on Nutcracker with the Brazilian ladies in October of 2006, I had not climbed anything at Yosemite. Yes what a shame on somebody who truly enjoys crack climbing... Andrew had been telling me for a long time that I needed to go to the Ditch for real crack climbing and invited me on his annual trip in May with the rest of the gang. What better opportunity to climb with good friends and excellent climbing partners. So over the long rainy and cold winter months when we went to the gym and climbed routes back to back often exceeding 25 some pitches at night to build endurance and strength, Yosemite was always on our minds and our motivation. Andrew would psyche me up with all the excellent crack routes like Sacherer, Outer Limits, Serenity and others. Would I be ready for the challenge as I always hear how hard Valley ratings are. There is only one way to find out.

Time came and we loaded the Subaru for the long drive to Victor's place in Midpines, CA. We arrived late after midnight on a Friday and crashed on his floor. Next morning we had a slow start and tried to figure out Victor's home network problems without success.

We finally rolled out of the house and went to Pat and Jack Pinnacle. Andrew led Sherrie's Crack (5.10c), which was kind of hard, he slipped couple times but recovered without falling and pulled through the crux. I didn't do well at all and fell several times as my feet slipped repeatedly. I whined about the slippery granite but didn't let the bad start dampen my spirit. Next we climbed the two pitch route Knob Job (5.10b). A very talkative lady kept telling it was the best route in the Valley, ok. I took the first pitch, nice crack but the big granite grains started to bite my tapeless hands. Despite one slip I was able to pull the 10b section and Andrew led the second pitch which had an exciting mantle move. We rappelled down and continued on to the Apron to climb a slab route called Grack Marginal (5.9R). We noticed the darkening skies suddenly but before I could put my shoes on Andrew flew up the approach pitch. As Andrew was starting the first roped pitch it started spitting rain and the wind picked up. We looked at each other and decided to just go up the first pitch at least. Andrew placed a piece and easily mantled over the roof and disappeared. I thought it must be easy but when I got to the roof it was actually a hard committing move followed by more hard slab moves. Welcome to Apron fun. I made it to the top but it was blowing hard and the slab was getting wet so we bailed and called it the day and drove back to Victor's. Not a bad day.

Sunday we were supposed to get our camp site in Upper Pines campground. On the way in to the Park we stopped at Generator Crack but two guys were already on it so we watched a guy struggle his way up it. After claiming the camp site we set our circus tent under again darkening skies. We saw Craig and Ujahn walking by Curry Village. We picked them up and went to climb Reeds Pinnacle (5.9). Andrew led the fun first pitch quickly and handed me the rack. The second pitch looks just awesome. After a wide awkward start I got into the crack but the crack had wide pods with nice constrictions where I nicely jammed but also blocked my pro. Cams weren't working well either so I kind of grunted my way up until the final offwidth section. Andrew had told me to escape to the left on the face but I walked the #4 camalot up and went for the wideness. It was fun and felt good. I started bringing up Ujahn and Andrew on the same rope until the rope got heavy as Ujahn blew the wide section "bzzzzt" where he unclipped and left the #4 as a gift for Andrew to pick up as he escaped happily onto the face. Ujahn was experiencing strange "bzzzzt" sounds in his hands. We brought up Craig who was in visible pain because of the tight shoes he was stretching out for Stan. It again started raining lightly. We rappelled down as steady rain came down. We went back to camp and met Stan and Steve. It would rain all evening and night and I thought we had left the wetness back in Oregon...

We woke up to a nice sunny morning, aah California and decided to head for Cookie Cliff. It was show time for Outer Limits (5.10b). I have a picture of this incredible crack hanging in my cubicle at work and have been looking at it for a long time. But two Swiss guys were climbing it already, with typical German discipline. We watched one of the guys took three falls and several hangs on the upper part of the crack. Hmmm, I don't think I needed this drama. Finally it was my turn, the lower part is harder with an off-fingers part but the upper part was pure joy with sinker hand jams. What a hoot, loved it. Everybody took a run on this great route. On the way down we looked at Waverly Wafer, Wheat Thin, Butterballs all hard but very sweet inspiring routes to work up to for the next time! We thought of climbing Beverly's Tower but instead Andrew led the somewhat stiff 5.9 first pitch of Meat Grinder. We rapped down as ice chunks started falling from the sky. In the mean time Steve and Stan had put up couple of hard 5.11 sport routes, but the looks of Catchy (5.10d) was catching our interest. Andrew cruised until the hard and reachy move where he came off flying but on the next attempt he stick the move. Nice lead on another great classic crack. Finally, I gave Pringles (5.11) a try but couldn't pass the third bolt on TR my excuse being slippery rock and trying to save the soles of my shoes. Cookie was good to us, what a great cliff.

Next morning we wanted to do a longer route and Steve suggested we should do the Serenity and Sons of Yesterday combo. If it was too crowded we would go to the El Cap base as plan B. With Stan, Steve and Andrew we went to Royal Arches but first we got lost finding the route. When we got up to the base we saw 4 people waiting to start and another 4 people at the top of the first pitch, not looking good. Steve suggested to climb Maxine's Wall (5.10a) a slab route to the right of Serenity Crack, while we were waiting. So he quickly led it and Stan followed him. We pulled the ropes and Andrew led it again and I followed him. It was a good route and beats sitting around and waiting. Our turn on Serenity Crack (5.10d) was getting closer. I had seen pictures and heard horror stories about the notorious first pitch which is a manufactured crack with many pin scars with no reliable pro until the first bolt 30 feet up. But now I was standing in front of it and about to start leading it. I was hoping Stan and Steve, who are much better climbers than me, go first and trail our rope and clip the bolt 30 some feet up. No luck, they encouraged me to go for it. Getting started was the hardest part, finally I did a lieback sidepull move to get up where I could pinch the first decent pin scars. I was already high enough and could not reverse my moves so the only option was to go up and not fall. The pin scars were getting bigger and I jammed my toes hard in them so I wouldn't fall, man it hurt a lot. About 20ft up I crammed in an uninspiring #1 camalot and gunned for the bolt another 10ft up. Great relief to clip it. Finally the pin scars turned into a nice crack and the going was really fun. Once I reached the anchors I realized I had forgotten my camera in all the excitement, it would have been great shots of Stan and Steve leading right behind us. Andrew led the second pitch which involved switching cracks on a blank face. For a while I couldn't figure out how he did it, finally I leaned out and I could reach the right crack and pulled myself over, no sweat. I started the crux pitch (5.10d) using the double cracks mainly jamming the left one and pulling on the right flake. Going was fun but I could see the thin crux section. Andrew had told me to place a good nut and just go for it. I had hard time getting to the good spot to place the nut and my feet slipped and here I come off. Try again same thing, and again. My fingers were taking a beating at this point and I was getting frustrated. I heard the guys at the belay "Go Haydar Go Go" so I go with an all out effort barely making the belay ledge and yell out a "F..k". From the belay I watched how Andrew and Stan climbed this section. They made it look easy demonstrating good frogging technique, which I need to learn. Now we were at the base of Sons of Yesterday (5.10a). Andrew led the first easy pitch and brought me in. The next long pitch(10a) didn't look too bad but once I started it was actually pretty stout with many off fingers and hands sections. I was going slowly and finally the crack got wide enough and I went on the face. Higher up I ran in the traffic jam. People were rappelling and belaying so I had to hang out on the face for a while. Andrew led the next dihedral thin hands pitch (5.8) it was a fun pitch but my feet were hurting badly at this point. When I got to the belay, I offered Andrew to continue because of my foot pain. But he told me the next pitch was great, so I dig in deep and go for it. The start had a wide pod and the left wall slick as glass. I slammed in a green camalot and tried to jam but no good and was about to peel. I yell back falling and saw Andrew telling me "Go it is a crack". So I curse at myself "dam'it its a crack you know how to do this" and off I went. It was simply a great straight in hands crack, didn't even feel the foot pain, glad I did it. The next and last pitch (5.10a) was incredible. The nearly horizontal crack had a small offset that you could walk your feet on it while jamming your left hand in the crack at your foot level, with breathtaking exposure. The crack than turns back right and gets wider but easy. Andrew belayed me up. Steve cruised up right behind me and soon we started the long rappels down the route. They taught me the rappel signals without yelling back and forth. After we came down I stared at the route for a while and I couldn't believe that I just climbed one of my best routes ever. Walked away proud and very satisfied.

Next day Steve and Stan were planning another big day climbing Royal Arches and Crest Jewel. Andrew, Steve and Stan have climbed Royal Arches in about 2 hours by soloing the easy parts and simulclimbing the rest. We were not sure if I was up to this speed especially after the long day yesterday. So instead we decided to go visit the "Base" and Steve and Stan blasted Royal Arches and Crest Jewel and down North Dome gully. With Craig, Ujahn and Andrew we went to the El Cap base. Walking across the meadows and looking up the sheer size of the Big Stone is just overwhelming. We were having a slow day and the views were not helping either. Finally, we made it to the base and went up to La Cosita Right (5.9). Andrew led this very polished finger crack. I realized my fingers and feet were sore from yesterday. After all of us took a run on La Cosita it was my turn to look at Sacherer Cracker (5.10a). This is another amazing looking crack very long and it goes through all the sizes. But all I knew was that many get shot down by the offwidth before the anchors. Listening to stories of Gent cartwheeling out of the OW head first wasn't helping either. After taping up ankles and putting on all the armor I jump on the wide start which is rated 5.7 but of course felt harder. A #5 camalot was good to have for this section. The fingery purple camalot section was the crux for me. Andrew was telling me not to worry placing so much gear so close together and just keep moving to better spots. I can only hope to be as confident some day, much to learn. The higher I got the wider the crack became and the climbing was fun, but I was eying the OW. It didn't look all that long to me. Finally I got at its base and slung the bomber chockstone and off loaded all the extra gear. I got my right side in with heel-toeing my right foot, arm bar my right arm and pushed myself up with my left foot which was bridging the crack and banging my shin with each move. After few groveling moves I reached and grabbed the top of the pillar and soon was at the anchors, wow I was in great joy. Andrew put his long sleeve USSR hockey team shirt and started cleaning the route. I wish I had a camera up with me. With the extra rope and all the gear hanging from him, the OW moves were harder but he pulled it without problems. We tied the two ropes together and rapped off. After Craig and Ujahn had their run at Sacherer, Andrew and I took another lap on this beauty. As we started packing up a cheat stick came flying down from higher up the wall. So we left looking up at the number of teams on Salathe and Nose. Worthy goals, maybe some day...

As every morning while discussing what to do, we remembered with had left some unfinished business on the Apron. So we walked over to finish Grack Marginal (5.9R) which we started but bailed on our first day. It was a beautiful sunny morning. There was a line for the Grack (5.6) but nobody on the Marginal. We quickly hiked up the approach pitch and again Andrew made quick work of the first pitch over the roof and belayed me up. The next pitch was easier and the granite slab was nicely textured. I clipped two pins and made it to the anchors. Andrew did a little variation on the last pitch wandering into the harder and somewhat dirtier section. The this turned out to be a very fun slab route. Stan and Ujahn were right behind us and we simulrappelled to the base. Then we walked leisurely towards Goodrich Pinnacle (5.9R) on the Apron. There were two guys on the route but they were not moving and we thought they were off route. Finally they gave up and bailed and the route opened up to us. Andrew took the lead and cruised up the first two pitches with a little simulclimbing. Again Stan and Ujahn were right behind us. The third pitch was on slick granite and slippery cracks but not very hard. The fourth pitch started with a thin crack and deposited us on the expansive upper slabs. This was perhaps the best pitch. For the next pitch I went up and then traversed right and clipped a bolt halfway across the traverse and after a final hard move landed at the belay. I felt like getting in the groove a slab climbing. Andrew started the next slab pitch. There were 3 bolts closely spaced, going to the left seemed harder and his shoes started squeaking and lost their friction and slid down in slow motion. He made through the hard section on his second attempt. When I followed, I also lost friction and came off and couldn't progress. Finally I went further to the right and then cut back left. The last pitch was a weird chimney and it was safer if you stay in it but the upward progress was harder. Staying to the outside edge provided faster progress. There was plenty pro but stacked up flakes caused us some concern. I couldn't see the bolts in the topo instead stopped at the webbing at the end of the chimney. We watched Stan and Ujahn have their share of fun in the chimney. After some deliberation we decided to rappel the route and not to the left as suggested in the topo as we couldn't know for sure if there were stations. The setting was incredible surrounded by Yosemite Falls, Royal Arches, North Dome and Half Dome. But it was getting cold and windy so we went down quickly. At the base Ujahn gave us liquorish candies which we quickly turned into fangs and made goofy faces. Another fun day at the Apron.

On our last day in the Valley Victor was came to climb with us again at the Base. In the mean time we broke down the tents and packed up all our stuff in the car. Earlier in the week Andrew had spotted somebody climbing a route called Mr Natural. Later I learned that he would climb this route on every trip but had not climbed since 1998 after the major rock fall on the Apron. As we all started driving out of the campground, Andrew started showing anxiousness to get on Mr Natural before we leave but at the same time couldn't decide whether to disband the group. As we got to the turn where we had to make a decision I decided for him and turned the car. We left the others and went to the Apron parking. Andrew got me on many excellent routes and I thought getting him on a route he wanted to do so badly would be the least I can do. At the parking lot we stashed all our food in the bear boxes and went for Mr Natural (5.10c). I had no idea what we were going to climb but at this point I was fully trusting Andrew's taste in choosing routes. As we got closer the crack and the white streak started to looing increasingly inviting. It was going to be a great climb, but first we needed to surmount the snow bank at the base of the wall and climb the somewhat dirty 4th class approach pitch solo to the belay tree. From the tree Andrew traversed horizontally and then downwards to get to the base of the crack. Finally he started the ever thinning crack. It is a beauty on a slab and affords good finger locks between long reachy moves. Right before the anchors you had to leave the crack and do couple slab moves. Andrew did a great job on lead with his trademark of using minimum of the essential gear. It simply was a great finger crack. We rappelled off with big smiles on our faces, still in awe what we had just climbed. I was incredibly satisfied. We took showers in Curry Village and went to the El Cap meadows for the most scenic lunch ever. After sitting on the grass for an hour and watching El Cap we went looking for the gang and found them done climbing and just about coming down.

We all spent a great evening at Victor's having a huge pasta and salad dinner and drove back home the next morning. What an amazing trip and great introduction to Valley climbing. Several days after coming back I would still think about all the climbs we did and look at all the pictures.

What techniques did I learn:
- Rappel signals without yelling back and forth
- Climbing/belaying without visual or audible signals
- Frogging technique on thin cracks

Climb Summary:
Sherrie's Crack (5.10c) 1P
Knob Job (5.10b) 2P
Grack Marginal (5.9R) 1P bailed

Reed's Direct (5.9) 2P

Outer Limits (5.10b) 1P
Meat Grinder (5.9) 1P
Catchy (5.10d) 1P

Maxine's Wall (5.10a) 1P
Serenity Crack (5.10d) 3P
Sons of Yesterday (5.10a) 5P

La Cosita Right (5.9) 1P
Sacherer Cracker (5.10a) 1P

Grack Marginal (5.9R) 3P
Goodrich Pinnacle (5.9) 6P

Mr Natural (5.10c) 1P

Pictures from the trip are here.

Indian Creek (April 26-27, 2008)

More pictures from the trip are here.

Red Rock (April 11-13, 2008)

More pictures from the trip are here.

Red Rock (April 4-6, 2008)

More pictures from the trip are here.

Trout Creek (March 29-30)

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Lower Gorge at Smith (March 16, 2008)

Encouraged by the promising forecast and Andrew wanting to get back into climbing after his surgery about a month ago, we made a quick trip to Smith on Sunday. The plan was to climb on the west side in the morning and move to the east following the sun. The river was running high so we ended up staying on the west side. We met my friends Shirley, Radek and Jason down there and as always had a fun time climbing bunch of cracks. I led Bad Finger (5.10b) it was sustained and exciting going over bulges. Definitely deserving its 4 star classic status. Andrew made quick work on Cruel Sister (5.10a). At this point we lost the sun. We moved up stream and wondered if I could lead Old and in the Way (5.10c). I had followed Radek's lead couple weeks ago cleanly but on lead the moves would be really committing. As always after having the pre-lead jitters, I barely pulled the first bouldery crux off the ground. After fiddling with my uninspiring gear for a while I committed to the next long move. A hefty grunt or scream got me up and over the crux, wow. On the way out we climbed Quasar (5.10a) and drove back home satisfied. Good day!

(Climbing Bad Finger (5.10b), picture by Radek C.)