Trip Reports

El Cap- The nose Injury Speed Record

4/29/2018

My first time on El Cap’s “The Nose” was short and painful. I made The Speed Injury Record on The Nose by taking a 20 foot fall onto a ledge on the first pitch. Im extremely embarrassed by how quickly and low on the route I fell. But theres nothing I can do about it besides find a silver lining and let my ankle heal.

Doug and I have been training for a few months in preparation for this Yosemite season. We were gonna do a trial run on The Nose up to Texas Flake and rap down just to get our feet in the cracks on the granite giant. We woke up in our usual El Portal spot at 5am, made coffee, a quick bathroom stop and were on the trail by 6am. About 15 minutes later, I started up Pine Line as a quick warm and clipped the tree at the top. Doug quickly followed, we flaked our ropes and within a couple minutes I was running up the 4th class scramble to the ledge at Pitch 1 intermediate anchors After clipping them, moving through the bolts, I placed my first cam of the day. I mantled up to a slab sloping section at the base of the cracks (about 5 feet over my piece). Placed another cam, pulled and bounce tested it and it seemed “bomber”. Clipped it, stood up on the aid ladder and was reaching for the piton where I found I was just a tad short of clipping it. I sat back in daisy chain and then a second later, I hear the dreaded sound of a cam popping.

I fell down about 5 feet and saw the slab go by, then about another 15 feet saw the intermediate anchors and finally the ledge. I think the rope caught about 2 feet off the ground so it barley slowed my fall (not enough to make a huge difference but something is better than nothing). I fell directly on my feet and my right ankle took the force of the fall. I collapsed as I hit the ledge and my vision blurred for a quick second. I felt my ankle burning but other than that I felt okay. Doug yelled up asking how I was and I replied “Okay, but my ankle is fucked.” Doug lowed me down and after a quickly assessing the injury, I tried aiding back up but my ankle couldn’t bare any weight. We decided to bail, not even up the first pitch of El Cap. Doug lead the rest of the pitch, cleaned it and then helped me abseil down. After a shameful & painful decent paired with very generous groups of climbers asking if I needed help, we made it back to the car. My ankle was about twice its size and throbbing, but I did set the Speed Record for the fastest El Cap injury.

West Face, Leaning Tower- Our 2nd Bigwall

10/7/2017

Doug packing the bags in the early morning.

Doug and I have wanted to try a big wall together for some time now. We both have very limited experience with aid climbing so we thought why not try West Face, Leaning Tower 5.7 C2. We decided upon this route just due to Leaning Tower being a mostly over hung wall and a few pitches are straight bolt ladders, we thought it would be a good beginner wall.

We woke up in our usual bivy spot in El Portal and cruised into the valley right around 5:30am. I entered the Valley Loop eventually turning off to Wawona Road and another quick turn into Bridalveil Fall parking area. I dropped Doug off along with all of our gear at the bathrooms and crossed the road to park my truck on the side of it. So far we were pretty on track to start the approach by 6am, get to Ahwahnee ledge, drop the bag and fix the next couple of pitches for the following day. Our plan soon went to shit.

This is the first time doing the approach so but we had a little map and our head lamps so it wasn’t too bad There are two ways of doing the approach, the first way is once your past the house size boulder, turn off into the dirt trail marked by carens and it will eventually lead you into the boulder field (recommended). The second option is once your past the house size boulder, go directly into the boulder field and scramble your way up through it and up some loose dirt path (not on the map) until your at the base of the wall (not recommended). Doug and I chose the later. The approach took us two hours not including the cat walk traverse.

Doug took the haul bag for the end of the approach and I went ahead with the little bag filled with all our gear and scouted the cat walk. Thankfully there were already fixed lines and the first part of the cat walk wasn’t so bad. Towards the end of it, thats where it gets pretty gnarly if your carrying the haul bag. The last 75 feet or so are climbing up and down a little ledge about 3 1/2 feet wide and about 200-300 feet high. I would not recommended doing this part of the approach with a haul bag WITHOUT fixing the lines first, its exposed.

Doug making the exposed catwalk traverse.

Anchors at the start of pitch 1.

Washed out view of the valley.

Once to the anchors at the beginning of the climb, I dropped the gear and shuttled across the cat walk to drop off the second bag at the base and return to assist Doug whose carrying the pig. Once were all situated, I roped up with 14 quick draws, 2 beaks, 1 cam hook & zero cams. I was banking off there being a plethora of fixed gears as described in each and every topo.

I cruised through the bolts and get to the roof on the first pitch. Clipped the fixed head at the corner of the roof and quickly realized I am in need of a cam. The next section consist of a perfect offset crack, a blown out head and 10 feet to the next clip able head. With the gear on me, I threw a cam hook in the only spot I figured it would work. I weight the cam hook and step on to it on the roof. I go to top step and the hook adjust and pops. I blow the fixed head and fall to the next bolt about 12 feet below. I yell down to Doug to tie the offset cams to the haul line and he does. I pull the cams up and get situated at the bolt directly below the roof. I had just blown the first fixed head making the distance to the next one about 15 feet. I use the beaks and get up onto the head wall of the roof. Throw the offset cam in where I had previously placed a shitty cam hook and made another beak move up into the next fixed head.

I ease through the rest of the bolts right into the second set of anchors. I tie off the rope and set up our 2:1 hauling system. We packed pretty comfortably with water and food so the bag was a bit heavy. The hauling system made it a breeze to bring it up. Doug took the next two pitches to Ahwahnee.

Pitches 3 and 4 took Doug a little less than three hours to complete. It was his first real time aiding. (Neither him and I frankly had the necessary experience needed to accomplish this route but we thought we would try any way) Doug went pretty slow the first thirty minutes of the pitch. Only going about ten feet, I knew it was gonna be a rough next few hours hanging around at these anchors.

The group ahead of us on Pitch 5, The Ramp.

Fortunately I had the haul bag containing the water and snacks. As the sun grew lower, the wall finally got sunshine making it more shitty hanging out at this belay. Again, I had the water and snacks so I couldn’t complain. Finally Doug made it to the anchors and hauled up from Ahwahnee. I jugged up and met up with him at the ledge.

The soloist topping out on pitch 4.

There was a group ahead of us that set up a portal edge at the anchors of pitch two and by the time we got to Ahwahnee, they had started up pitch 5, The Ramp. The group was going to fix pitch 5 and 6 and jug up the next day. On the other side of the ledge Doug was having a real bad time. He ended up throwing up a bunch and looked real shitty. (He ended up feeling better) By the time the leader had lowered off the sun was already setting. It had taken them about 5 hours for pitch 5 and 6. His partner jugged up in the moonlight and by the time he rapped down we were all in our sleeping bags.

While all of this was going on, a crazy foreign Husband/Wife duo was crushing their way up to Ahwahnee.

While all of this was going on, a crazy foreign Husband/Wife duo was crushing their way up to Ahwahnee. The husband had previously solo’d this route in a day and was looking to top out of Wet Denim Daydream 5.7 C3. (Check out his video of soloing a few walls in Yosemite https://vimeo.com/78812123) The get to Ahwahnee and quickly realized the ledge is full of noobs and they decide to set up their portaledge a little bit under Ahwahnee.
Before we went to sleep, Doug and I decided that we were too slow and after everything said and done, get back to the Bay Area at like 12-1am Monday. That wouldn’t be an issue but Doug had to be in San Francisco at 6am. We decided to play it safe and called it. We would bail in the morning.

Gradually we all fell asleep and the sun rose again illuminating this super cramped ledge full of climbers. Doug and I got our stuff situated and were planning the raps down when we head some hard core yelling below us. Eventually a different breed of climber emerged. A free climber. He was killing his way up to Ahwanne with no aid gear, just a few quick draws and a chalk bag.

Portaledge and the cramped Ahwanne ledge.

He got to the (free-climbing) crux of the fourth pitch, a gnarly lock off on a shitty (aka non-existent) “sloper” to a “bomber" side pull. To sum it up, it was a fucked up move. His first attempt on it ended with him falling and sliding down the slab. He pulled back up to it, clipped the bolt directly under it and brushed the hell out of this “sloper”. He soon the easily passed this crux and clipped the anchors.

Waking up with whisky on the side of the wall.

Doug began the rappel to the second anchors. Even with the wall overhung, the raps weren’t nearly as bad as anticipated. I eventually met up with him at the anchors and we pulled the rope through and Doug began the last rappel to the base. There was a pre-fixed line from the second anchors to the base in which we attached ourselves to to help orient out selves to the base instead of going off into space. if you were to rap directly down without the line, you would fid your self about twenty feet away from the wall with a hell of a hard time getting back. I raped with the haul bag and it was not an issue at all. This wall, I decided to switch things up with the hauling system, for one I did a 2:1 pulley system. With the haul bag, I did a Black Diamond Swivel with a micro-traxion that set up worked really well. The swivel was great for rapping with due to the bag getting twisted, the swivel made this a non issue.

I eventually got down as well and Doug shuttled across the cat walk to drop the gear at the stash bag. He came back and helped with the ropes and help direct me across the cat walk. We traversed our way back on the cat walk and made it to the stash bag. We divided up gear and made the hike back to the car, this time only taking 30 minutes.

Even though we bailed off the wall and our climb was unsuccessful, we still had a fun time. Were gonna dedicate the off season of Yosemite climbing to get better at trad/aid and be fully prepared for the next go. West Face is a pretty do able route for a beginner climber who has their aiding system down and wants to try a big wall. For us, Doug didn’t have it down and we were just taking way too long. I highly recommended giving this route a go and fixing the line on the catwalk is a must. It offers great views and some interesting aid moves.

Donner Pass Road 9/15

9/19/2017

I haven’t had the chance to do some hard trad climbing for a while so when my buddy Zach invited me to Donner I was already game for it. With a group of six, I wasn’t expecting to climb much( with all the beer and good times ya know.) Originally we were supposed to go to Big Chief but a few of our friends warned us against it, saying Donner has more to offer. So Zach, Akela, Scott, Ryan, Santos and I all headed out there.

Snowshed Wall

The crag dog.

Leaving from the Bay Area, Donner Pass Road is about a three hour drive East towards Truckee. Once there, you drive around the lake up onto Donner Pass Road and once you start gaining elevation the crags come into view. The road is literally surrounded by climbing. You can park at any of the several pullouts and find something to climb. The great thing about climbing at Donner is that everything is super accessible. No crag is more than a 30 minute approach on well established trails.

Hair Shirt 5.8 Off Width

We parked our cars right across the ravine from Snowshed Wall. (Snowshed along with Black Wall, holds the most routes at Donner) We made the quick walk across the dry creek to the wall and Ryan decided to warm up on Hair Shirt. A nice 5.8 Off width. Before I start, I have to explain Ryan. He’s a very strong climber and an even more controlled climber. He will crush 5.12 on sport but the moment he feels uncomfortable on trad, he won’t push it. So Ryan starts up the off width with a few small cams and a #4. About 40’ up he places his only #4 and then realizes he’s out of gear for the second half of the climb. Ryan lowers off and before I tie into lead it, I run over to a couple nice looking gentleman with a fantastic dog and borrow a large cam. I lead the rest of the climb. I run out about 20’ to place the second large cam and run it out some more to the anchors. I feel super secure running out on trad just because your jamming your feet and hands into the crack. With off width, you jam your whole body in. It feels even more secure, Id be more worried about getting suck in an off width than falling out of one.

I set up a top-rope and everyone enjoyed them selves on it. Akela has only been climbing for a couple months and she had a real interesting time figuring out the off width. It seems simple to jam your body in and move up but its an awkward thing to do. She had the idea down and after countless tries finally topped out on top-rope. It was pretty cool seeing how she managed to work up for not really knowing much about crack climbing.

Ryan then decided to try out Molar Concentration 5.10b. This time he had the appropriate gear and gets about half way and gets stumped at the crux moves. For us, it was a series of cross overs to a hand jam and then you can finally get the gear in up top. Ryan would have to do that section with some protection down low, but again he wasn’t feeling it and lowered off. With half the climb already protected,

Scott and Ryan getting ready for Molar Concentration 5.10b.

Ryan placing a piece on Molar Concentration 5.10b.

I decided to lead it. I cruise through the first half just clipping the gear. I get to that section Ryan bailed from and move through it nicely. I placed a piece and gained the head wall. The last 1/3rd of the route is a nice finger crack with some decent feet. I cruised through the finger crack section feeling really good. I top out at the anchors and since it was a Friday with not many people, we had the luxury of setting up a couple top ropes.

We all had a nice climbing session at Snowshed. Every one had fun with the top ropes going back and fourth between the two cracks. Ryan easily cruised through Molar Concentration on top rope, easily hitting the crux moves. He even came back to Hair Shirt and killed it in his approach shoes, it was pretty sweet. Before the sunset, we drove up the road to South Star Wall. South Star Wall is a very stout but very fun wall.

Another photo of Ryan on Molar Concentration 5.10b.

Its an overhanging wall full of 5.12s-5.13s all on permanent draws. So you can try any route and easily pull your rope through if you decide its too much. Ryan (being the only capable 5.12 climber of the group) has been projecting Warp Factor 5.13a.

The first couple moves to clip the first bolt are pretty gnarly and you would definitely not wanna take a fall below the first clip. We all give a go trying to rodeo clip it but after numerous failed attempts Ryan decides to climb the route to the left Taste The Pain 5.13c and gets get to the second clip, lower and then clip the first bolt on Warp Factor. The first two clips of Taste The Pain are very doable and he gets situated on Warp Factor and lowers off.

Warp Factor 5.13a

Ryan spends the next 30 minutes projecting the route. Getting to each bolt and working the moves. I could definitely see him sending this route by next year, he was looking real good on it. Another guy (I believe his name was Harris) was there too, a Donner local. He was too trying to hit Warp Factor. From what he told us, the day before, he got to the last couple moves and fell off so we were all very eager to see it go today. Harris rodeo clips the first clip and then starts up. He gets to the third bolt in literally 4 moves and is looking super smooth. He climbs up to the fifth bolt to start the traverse right (the crux). His feet slip and he falls. He barley takes a rest and works his was back up and finishes the climb with plenty left in the tank.

It was pretty neat seeing my buddy project a 5.13 and then another guy just comes up and cruises through it. It really puts in perspective where you are with your climbing ability and it just motivates you more and more. Donner was a great place to spend my Friday, barley touching any routes, I’m already craving to get back with my trad rack and putting down some hard trad climbs. I highly recommend checking out Donner regardless of your climbing ability, Donner offers hundreds of routes at varying grad levels.

Sunset on Donner Pass Road.

Royal Arches Labor Day Weekend 9/3

9/6/2017

Doug racking up before we head out.

I awoke Saturday morning at 4:30am after a measly 4 1/2 hours asleep. Picked Doug up and were on our way to Yosemite by 5am. Already off to a great start, we were planning to hit one of the Yosemite classics, Royal Arches (5.8). Originally, the plan was to climb West Face on Leaning Tower (5.7 C2) but we were not able to secure a haul line in time. Hopefully by the mid-October we can top out on Leaning Tower.

We arrive at the Ahwahnee (sorry, The Majestic Yosemite Hotel) at around 9am. Jump out, sort the gear and start the light approach to the base. Already, we messed up. Instead of taking the first left with a sign signaling the climbers trail, we walked past that and took the second left. We started up a mix of 4th-5.5 scrambling up to the their pitch. From there, we were straightened our selves, getting back onto the route. The next few pitches went by and due to us not being roped up, felt like a long scramble of 5.5-5.7 “climbing” to pitch 7 where we finally decided to tie in.

Yosemite Valley.

I started up pitch 8 which consisted of a series of flakes and and Royal Arches suddenly started to feel more like a climb rather than a giant scramble. Doug followed and led pitch 9 with the “epic” pendulum. We both agreed that this overly-hyped “epic” pendulum was nothing more than a little rope swing. Doug then did a interesting slab traverse to the tree at pitch 10.

Doug on the belay for pitch 10.

I then linked pitch 11 & 12. Pitch 11 offered an interesting hand crack on slab that felt more like climbing up a refrigerator with cracks on either side. I finished pitch 11 and then started up 12. In my opinion pitch 12 offers the most actual climbing on the route. You find the best way to enter this giant flake where I threw in fist and worked my way up. The giant flake only goes 5.7, but for me, this was the most fun pitch on the route. I scrambled up and out of the flake past the belay and about 100’ below the belay for 13, I found a manzanita bush I deemed appropriate for the anchor. Doug followed up and lead the remainder of pitch 13, about 100 feet or so. I scrambled up below him and linked pitches 14 & 15. Both were a ridicules scramble and I thought pitch 15 was the most interesting. After climbing pitch 14 (a long scramble up a face) you emerge onto a giant slab wall with some pretty good exposure. You traverse along the top of it to a three bolt belay. Since Doug & I were going to rap the route, our Royal Arches adventure ended here.

Doug hitting the first of many rappels in style.

The rap down was a headache in all honesty. It was a series of 12 or so raps, all being about 50’ apart. You would spend a few minutes rappelling and then another few minutes pulling the rope through while threading it through the next rap station. To save time we simul-rappelled everything except for two where the anchor was just a shitty sling and one rap ring. It took just as much time getting down than it did to “climb” the damn thing. By the time we got down, it was about 3ish and we were hungry and thirsty so we grabbed some pizza at the loft. All said in done, the first done was a successes only by the means we finished a route. The quality of the climb was very debatable but we did it none the less and had mixed feelings about checking it off our list.We retreated back to El Portal and spent the evening at the bar talking to a local who eventually showed us a sweet campsite along the river.

The following day, we awoke and swung by the lodge to grab breakfast and made our way to Church Bowl to brew up some coffee and sort the gear. We were planning to hit a popular route Church Bowl Tree (5.10-). Doug led this one while I belayed our soon-to-be French friend Ben laid on the bench looking. Doug cruise through the climb and we both ran a few laps on it on top-rope. The start isn’t as polished as its said to be but the top is defiantly the crux. Ben ran a lap on it as well and we soon came to discussing the aid route right next to us, More Balls Than Brains (A3 PG13). We had aid gear in the car and Ben had some hooks so we decided to set up a top-rope and practice some aiding on it. Each hook move on the lower part was bomber as well as the rivets.

Doug belaying on More Balls Than Brains.

Ben top-roping More Balls Than Brains (A3)

Once you navigated the blank face with pockets and rivets you got to the lower portion of the crack. You need cam-hooks to get past this part. Unfortunately for us, that was the two pieces we were lacking. After aimless attempts, we pulled through that section and continued on. The top of the crack to the anchors (15 feet or so) was really fun and interesting. I could not imagine leading this with your only “bomber” piece is a small rivet barley sticking out the wall. Major props to who ever is crazy enough to lead this. It just makes me think of how fucked up A4-A5 big walls are. Maybe some day…
Ben and friends also gave it a go, and soon we found ourselves with a group of 5. By the time the fifth person was climbing, it had started to rain.

We packed up our gear and headed to get some thing to eat. By the time we got to the gear shop it had began to down poor. We were fortunate enough to grab a seat outside under an umbrella and enjoyed some burgers and fries. It wasn’t looking like the rain was going to stop anytime soon, so we hung around the gear shop for a while and decided to spend the rest of the evening at the bar in El Portal playing pool.

On our way out of the valley, apparently a tree had fallen on a car at the 120/140 split causing a back up to El Cap meadow for an hour. It was a complete stand still and soon the sun faded and night creeped in to the valley. We eventually made it out of the park
and to the bar. After a couple hours of hanging out, we drove back to our super secret camp site and called it a night.

Our experience with Royal Arches was nothing spectacular, actually quite the opposite. The climbing quality was no where near worth the rappels to get down and I doubt it for the North Dome Gully Descent. Im sure if your just entering the 5.7-5.8 range on trad, this climb is something, but for us (not to sound cocky) it just wasn’t all that it was hype up to be. Regardless, it was more of an adventure route than anything. Going between 4th class and 5.7 climbing, you’ll defiantly find your self enjoying the view of the valley. High and away from the tourist.

The French Bivy. Only thing missing is their white flag.

The Emeralds & Bowman Lake 7/3

7/3/2017

I haven’t been on a weekend climbing trip in a while due to my sporadic work schedule, so as soon as Mitch and Dave invited me to join them for a weekend filled climbing trip I jumped on it instantly. I-80 was traffic was crawling with people rushing up to Tahoe for a 4th of July weekend filled with booze and fire works. It took me an extra two hours in the hot summer sun to make it to the Emeralds where Dave and Mitch were at. (Usually takes two hours) As soon as I parked my truck, I wasted no time on getting out and moving. I don’t have a problem with long drives, but a combination of traffic and hot sun doesn’t sit well with me.

Dave starting up "Second Time Around" 5.8 while Mitch belays.

Fortunately all the approaches at The Emeralds are real easy and straight forward. With a brisk 10 minute walk I was already with my friends. We started climbing instantly, warming up on an easy 5.8 “Second Time Around”. After Dave and I ran our respective laps, we walked down a little ways and jumped on "Unknown" 5.10d. This was a real easy route with only two bolts. It was a two-move wonder route with an easy scramble to the first bolt then on the head wall was there crux. After I lead that, I climbed “White Riot” 5.11a.

Mitch leading "Super Size Me" 5.11a

“White Riot” was one of the better routes I climbed that day. It starts off with an easy sequence to the first two bolts. Then it goes into a corner sequence covered by a roof with a hand size crack splitting it. You clip the third bolt then work the roof crack come over to the head wall and work your way up to the anchors. The high light of “White Riot” is the roof section by far. Dave ended up following the route on top rope and cleaning it. When Dave came down we all headed out to Fast Food Wall.

Ive climbed a bunch of times at The Emeralds and Fast Food Wall has remained my favorite wall so far. All the lines I’ve climbed there have been very clean and aesthetic. The right side of the wall, you belay off a gnarly ledge clipped into a lower belay-bolt. We started the climbing on the left side of the wall and I tried leading “In and Out Urge” 5.11b/5.11c (The grade varies between Mountain Project and guide books) I got up halfway on the route and started to feel my lack of food really take a toll. I had a pint of berries and coffee all day (it was 6pm by then) and I felt like complete shit. I tried working the crux of the route a few times and decided it was to heinous for my current state. I lowered off and Mitch gave it a go. He was able to pass my spot where I had bailed and made it to the next bolt. He to was shut down and bailed off. The route next to it was easier 5.11a “Super Size Me”.

Dave enjoying a top rope on "Super Size Me" 5.11a

Dave leading "Please Pull Forward" 5.10d

Mitch lead “Super Size Me” 5.11a and took a couple times but finished the route. He fixed my lead line to the anchors and directed it to the route to the left we previously climbed and cleaned it. I jugged the fixed line and took some pictures of Dave top roping “Super Size Me” 5.11a. Dave was real strong through the whole route, only taking a couple falls in the tougher section but finished the climb. Once lowered, Mitch gave the route another go hoping for a clean ascent. After some good climbing, Mitch toped out right as the sun started to set.

Dave and Mitch went over to the right side of the wall and Dave had a sick lead on "Please Pull Forward" 5.10d. After Dave lead it, both Mitch and I ran up it to to finish off the day on a nice send train. Instead of driving back that night, Dave had access to a cabin in Donner and we cruised over the there for some beers and sausage. We spent the night on some cozy cots in the driveway under the stars.

We woke up feeling good, ready for another full day of climbing. After some coffee and a breakfast beer, we found our selves on our way to Bowman Lake for a day full of sport climbing.

Mitch working on gaining the headwall on "Larry Land" 5.11c

The drive to Bowman is about 6 or so miles on a paved road and then goes into a dirt road. Mitch’s Subaru and my Tacoma handled it like a breeze. I saw a few basic sedans so if you have any sort of sedan, you can make the drive too. (It gets pretty rocky at some places) We drove down the whole road and parked our cars and made the hike out to Larry Land. Its a huge wall with a short 10 foot wide roof section and a slaby head wall. I tried warming up on “Yuba Blue” 5.10b and it was pretty wet. I was unable to even make it to the second bolt due to the water run off. I bailed off and Mitch tried climbing “Hot Rod” 5.11b. He made it about 1/4 of the way up and was quickly shut down to the water run off too. It ended up being all the routes within our climbing capability (sub 5.12) were wet. Mitch tried "Larry Land” 5.11c and got up to the third bolt and lowered off. Dave and I both top roped it up to the third bolt and I found the sequence to get onto the head wall and climb the slab. I lowered off and Mitch gave another run up it getting about 1/2 way up and was to tired. He ended up bailing too.

After all getting shut down by Larry Land, we decided to just swim in the nearby swimming holes and head back to the cars.

Alec running up Nemesis V2

On our way back home, we stopped off at Deer Park Boulders in Rocklin. We had some fun times messing around on a gnarly V2 finger crack “Nemesis” Both Mitch and I sent it and ran some laps on it. Mitch ended up getting a V4 and a gnarly V3 mantle. After a quick session we started our drive back home.

Overall, I felt okay about my climbing this trip. I could of sent some harder things but I definitely felt sore the following day. It was a lot more fun just messing around and having a good time climbing than it was trying to send some hard serious climbs. Im excited to get stronger and better and head back to Larry Land.

Big Wall or Bust Pt. 2

6/7/2017

All the water bottles stashed on Dinner Ledge.

PSA: There is a huge difference between leaving water jugs for people to stumble upon in emergencies and leaving them just to shed six pounds of weight off your load. 2-3 gallons in my opinion is enough, not seven or eight fucking gallons of water because at a certain point, your just trashing the route for future climbers. I emptied and carried out most of the water leaving 2 gallons. Please, if your going to leave water at least pack out the oldest looking water in exchange for your new water. Leave one, take one….

This time around, it was not us that chose to bust. Instead our haul line was the weak link. We used a 9.6mm haul line and tied it off to our haul bag mid line. I had forgotten ol' the plastic bottle over the knot trick and by the first haul was completed, we had a nice view of the rope's core….

Lloyd and I awoke from our vehicles at 6am just outside of the park in El Portal. We gathered our gear while making breakfast then drove into the valley right around 7. We arrived at the base of Washington Column in great time compared to our first attempt.

The dozen or so cars in El Portal.

Our haul bag atop the ledge on the first pitch.

I free climbed with a bit of cam-pulling here and there on the first pitch. As Lloyd arrived atop the ledge with the haul bag, thats when I quickly discovered our haul lines condition. With a party of two ahead of us we got a second or two of rest. We re-tied the knot to by-pass the broken core determined to get up to Dinner Ledge. As soon as the part ahead of us cleared the second pitch, Lloyd started aiding up it.

I arrived shortly after with the haul bag and we quickly changed leads. Starting up pitch 3 with a mix of aid/free again I was feeling good. I free climbed the first part but little did I know, I should of went right instead of left about half way up the pitch. The left looked easier in the moment (even though there was a gnarly little roof). I started aiding the roof, and my second placement (Yellow TCU) popped and I soon found my self hanging on my daisy chain. I quickly pulled up, threw in another piece and continued on. I finished the pitch off with some heinous rope drag and shitty hauling.

Ryan belaying atop Dinner Ledge.

When Lloyd and I finally sat down atop dinner ledge, Pete (from the other group) started up pitch 4. Lloyd and I discussed our damaged rope and decided it would be safe to not climb any further. As far as I know, we needed two ropes to rappel down from the top and a haul line that isn't shot to haul our bag up if we were to top out and descend down the North Dome Gully. We decided if it would be best to just spend the night on the ledge and rappel down with our climbing line. I cut the line in the middle and fixed a new rope along the dinner ledge. We also cleared out all the excesses water (5 gallons in total).

Pete working on the Kor Roof

After a good night of sleep, we awoke to Ryan and Pete (the other group) already jugging up their fixed line. Lloyd and I made a quick breakfast and started our rappel down. We ended up having to tie off the already cut haul line to the climbing line to make it down the route. The haul line barely reached the bolts below. When we got down, Lloyd was itching to get on Jo-Jo a 5.10b/c splitter crack.

Lloyd went up Jo-Jo jamming through the finger crack. As Lloyd went further up, the crack became wider and wider. Lloyd started throwing fist in and eventually it became to much. He took a few times working out the sequence but finally prevailed. I followed and cleaned the route. I had a rough time on the finger section, taking multiple falls. Once the crack opened it self up to use, I used a combination of lay-backs and hand jams to finish off my clean.

Half Dome at sun set

After we came down Jo-Jo, we headed back to our cars and Lloyd left the valley and I made my way into El Portal for my rest day. Overall, we accomplished what we wanted. We got our systems down and figured out how to communicate with each other without verbal signals. Even though we had to bail because of our haul rope, I still check this trip off as a successes.

The Emeralds 5/14

5/16/2017

The broken fallen tree on the approach.

Since Lloyd and I bailed off Washington Column, we were itching to perfect our aid climbing techniques at Sugar Loaf. The weather was gloomy and had a high chance of rain/snow so we decided against it. Where else could we spend a beautiful Sunday? Doing some of my favorite sport climbing at The Emeralds.

The Emeralds (even though public) is not a very popular crag. It sits right on the Yuba River and houses a variety short-very sustained sport climbing. All the walls are clean making whippers safe and fun. Every time I have been there, there has been no more than 3-5 groups in the area and the climbing is spread out for 1/2 a mile or so. All of the bolts and hangars are in great condition, there are mussies at the top of the majority of the climbs and the best part is, your surrounded by beautiful scenery.

Mark Hudon warming up on Into The Light 5.10c

Lloyd and I arrived at the entrance to the PG&E service road at about 10am. (The area is a mix of PG&E and forest service land) We made the easy and mild approach to the base of Kudos Cliff. Feeling bold, I decided to warm up on Into The Light 5.10c. I have climbed this route before and it was fairly easy, but boy was I wrong. As a warmup, it was fucking hard. I hadn’t climbed at all but once before this for about a two week period due to a pulled tendon. I eventually trashed my way up the climbed and topped out. Lloyd went up it as well and set up a top rope where we both ran a couple laps on it. By my second lap, I was feeling good. We cleaned the route and made the short walk over to Fast Food Wall.

Alex Lloyd putting his shoes on the Secret Sauce Ledge

Fast Food Wall hosts some of my favorite climbs in The Emeralds. You walk to the base of the wall and then scramble 10 or so feet up easy 5.5 to a very long 2-3 foot wide ledge. The climbs go above the ledge and the belayer belays exposed on the ledge. (Don’t worry, there are bolts to belay from) The wall has a bunch of climbs varying from 5.10c-5.11d. My previous trips, I have attempted Please Pull Forward 5.10d and have fallen in the middle every time. For months if not years, it has been eating away at me and finally I came back to finish it off. I started up the route and felt strong and clear minded. I made my way through the middle and took a good rest and shook out. I knew what was next, the crux for me. I looked up, planned out my next few moves and executed them perfectly. I topped out at the mussies and was so stoked. Ive never really had a project outside before, so accomplishing this climb was a great feeling. It reminded me that climbing is about accomplishing these goals you set for your self. Lloyd climbed the route next and cruised through it too. I was stoked we both just crushed this climb. Once he lowered off, I decided to throw my self on All Beef Patty 5.11b.

Lloyd rapping Wheres The Beef 5.10c

Ive never done a 5.11b outside before so it was something new for me. I know I preach about how climbing isn’t about the grade, but lets be honest, without the grade how are we to distinguish difficulty of climbs from one to another? Its a great system to benchmark your ability and just to know what difficulty the route is. Climbing shouldn’t be all about who climbs the hardest grade, it should be about the feeling you get when you walk away from the route. Sorry for the rant, back to the climbing,

So I start up All Beef Patty and instantly realize this is gonna be challenging. I make it past the second bolt to a gnarly knee bar and barley clip the third. I tried to work my back to the left to a side pull and crimp/nub thing but fell. I was just stoked to have made it to the third bolt, but I wasn’t going to give up so I took a quick rest and pushed forward. I cruised through the remainder of the climb and as I was lowering off, I realized I could totally send this route today. I got down and Lloyd started to make his way up. He couldn’t figure out the sequence after the second bolt and his shoulder was giving him trouble, he decided to lower off. With quickdraws still on the route, I had to climb it to clean it. I was psyched to have another chance on this route. I fell getting to the third bolt a couple times and decided to lower off each time to start clean. On the third try, I stuck the knee bar and went to clip the third bolt when I missed the clip and went to clip again with a bunch of slack when the knee bar slipped and I came with in inches of decking. After that little fall, I took a quick rest, gave it another chance and fell again after clipping the third bolt. I eventually topped out and lowered off. I was a little bummed I didn’t get the send but I have a new project to work for!

The Yuba River raging from the bridge

I was pretty burnt after my runs of All Beef Patty, I decided to call it a day. Lloyd had some gas left in the tank and burnt out on Wheres The Beef 5.10c. He rappelled down and I packed up my gear. We headed off back to the car both feeling satisfied with our climbing. Our climbing session at The Emeralds reminded me of why I love climbing. The walk back to the car, wanting to turn back to try one more time but knowing your body will fail. The thoughts that run through your head as you walk back, planning your next trip.

Yosemite 4/21- big wall or bust

4/24/2017

Finally, a weather window. Alex Lloyd and I spent the prior week going back and forth making sure we have the gear we need to send South Face of Washington Column. One of the easier Grade IV big walls in Yosemite. With that being said, we were not prepared for what was to come. (That sounded a bit drastic, it went pretty well)

Lloyd and I slept in the back of my pick up Thursday night right outside of the entrance to the park in preparation of an alpine start up the wall. We woke up at 6:30 Friday morning, and had a good start entering the park at around 7. We parked our car at the hotel, made a quick breakfast as we scrambled to organize our gear. Downing our coffee as we depart from the parking lot, 9am rolled around.

Getting all of our gear organized in the parking lot.

It took about an hour or so for the approach and it was heinous with our heavy haul bag. (We only hauled to pitch 3, so we decided to splurge a little) We get to the base of the climb and there was another group starting. We scramble our way to a ledge to wait while their first climber started up. It took a little longer than we expected but by noon, they finally cleared the first pitch.

Lloyd on Dinner Ledge.

Lloyd took the first pitch with a mix of free climbing and aid. He blasted through that relatively quick and I jugged up after following the haul bag and moving it about. (The first pitch is fucked for hauling, straight slab) We get to the top and the group before us let us pass. We made our way across the big downward slopping ledge to the second pitch. Theres two variations of it, a 10b on the left corner and a 11a on the right.

I jumped on the 10b to aid it and it took me longer than id like to admit. Granted it was my first time aiding on gear (not much trad experience either), but I tried my best to go as fast as I could. I eventually topped out and had an easy haul up the pitch. Lloyd jugged up ready for the third pitch. Lloyd free climbed the third pitch pretty easily and I jugged up after maneuvering the haul bag through the pitch. (Kind of slabby but the haul bag gets stuck pretty easily on this pitch) We walked around dinner ledge, looking for our spots to sleep for the night. We took a quick water/snack break and I started up pitch 4.

Lloyd at the anchors on pitch 4 as the sun was setting.

Pitch 4 was a great surprise to me in terms of aiding after the first three pitches. Like I said, I have never aided before this so doing a roof pitch to a traversing crack above was wild. I easily free climbed up to the roof and after a reachy top step I clipped the first roof bolt. I made my way bolt-to-bolt (with the help of a fixed sling) to the end of the roof. There was another fixed sling on the crack which made the transition very easy. I threw gear in to my right and slowly traveled while my aiders intertwined with one another. I got to the anchors and Lloyd started jumaring up. It took him a good amount of time cleaning and following on the traverse but I couldn’t complain due to the beautiful view I had. I was comfortably hunkered down under a roof hundreds of feet above the valley watching the sun set on half dome.

It was absolutely beautiful. By the time Lloyd made it to the anchors, the sun has already set. Our original plan was to fix pitches 4 & 5 and jug up them in the morning but decided against climbing 5. We fixed our rope at the top of four and did a crazy rappel in to the dark down in complete openness. At a certain point you were just floating in the dark watching the rope bend over the corner of the roof. It was a little unsettling to watch your rope bend over a corner like that when you can’t see anything below you and your just watching it, knowing nothing is going to happen but waiting for something to.

We both made it down and the group that let us pass earlier was there to accompany us. We wasted no time in dumping our gear, taking off our harnesses, rolling out our sleeping bags and starting dinner. We had some dehydrated meals and some Jamerson to wash it down. I traded some whisky for some gummy bears and they were some damn good gummy bears. I laid awake in my sleeping bag looking at the hundreds of visible stars and the lights on the valley floor reflecting on my day. I was pretty stoked to have sent Kor roof and happy I was on a big wall finally.

We woke up at 6am to half dome and all its glory. Our new Canadian friends decided to bail. The sun started to rise above half down warming the wall with its rays. I jugged up our fixed rope after breakfast and it was a little bit of a challenge jugging in an open space and over the ledge. It was a new experience but it was insane to be there, hanging in an open space with the sun rising over half dome. As Lloyd started his ascent up, a new group rushed over the ledge on to Dinner Ledge. There were looking like Nascar with the way they exchanged their gear. They were moving quick. Lloyd and I thought about letting them pass but we saw them fall on Kor roof and we decided to just send pitch 5 and go fast. Lloyd crushed pitch 5 and the swinging pendulum went smooth. I followed pretty easily and lowered out and that went smooth as well. By the time I was starting to send pitch 6, the new group was almost done with pitch 4. Cool, we weren’t gonna hold these guys back.

Waking up to Half Dome.

I started up pitch 6 and it was going smooth. I was placing some micro nuts and cruising up through the middle of the pitch. I get to the top and the crack goes left. I remember Lloyd telling me I should go right. I didn’t take the topo with me (we only had one copy) so i yelled down to Lloyd. He tells me theres a crack that goes right. I tell him theres no crack but theres a deep pocket on a bulge. The pocket flares out and I was only able to fit a Metolious 00 in it and it was way over cammed. I aided off of it and looked over the bulge and was unable to see any sort of crack. (If I were to top step off of that piece, I would of totally seen the anchors) I go up the gnarly crack system to the left. Its a little wet and ate up the rest of my small cams.

Alec Jugging up pitch 5.

At the middle of the crack, I see the anchors and look further I see which way I should of went and I kicked my self. Well fuck, Im on the wrong crack and its gonna be a little dicy to get back over. I get to the end of the crack and theres a fixed nut in another crack system way up there. I place a green alien in the crack and it is way under cammed AND the crack was wet. I topped step off that and reached out to the wire on the nut and couldn’t clip it. It was such a far reach, I came back down, breathed and tried super hard and barely clipped it. The nose of my carabiner got in and I pushed it through. Nice, Im not totally fucked. I reach over the ledge and feel jugs on jugs on jugs. I pull my self over and scramble down to the anchors. Finally, I finished the pitch. It took a lot longer than expected. Lloyd eventually made his was up.

The Canadian Crew and Lloyd getting ready for the day.

It was about 2pm on top of pitch 6, Lloyd and I decided to bail. We came to a conclusion that we were going to slow and would have to make a rappel and descent in the dark. We weren’t that prepared for it and decided it would be better if we just bailed now. We lowered down an got to the anchors of pitch 5. The group below us was almost done cleaning, but they shared the anchors with us and we bullshitted for a bit. They were a super sick group of guys that eventually got our rope unstuck. We lowered off pitch 5 to the anchors, gathered our things and made another couple of rappels down to the base. We hiked back to the car feeling satisfied with our experience. Even though we didn’t send our climb, we got within 4 pitches of the top, but we still felt satisfied. It wasn’t really about topping out, it was just fun being on the wall, hundreds of feet up with the exposure and just doing your thing, climbing. It was an amazing experience.

With all that being said, Lloyd and I are already planning another attempt on the wall. Were coming back with a stronger game plan and more time.

The Grotto 4/15

4/16/2017

The Pit with Ort Wall on the left & The Grotto on the right.

I met up with Alex Lloyd, Alex Lotti and Diane. We jumped in the the gigantic Suburban and drove out to Table Mountain. Lloyds Suburban cruised through the dirt road and dropped us promptly at the main trail head of Table Mountain. We did a quick assortment of gear, gathered our belongings and embarked down the trail. We eventually turned left up a climbers trail and followed it as it snaked through the hillside.The trail spat us out into a field of small boulders. Upon crossing it, your atop The Pit. The Pit contains some very interesting sport climbs while hosting many aesthetic, beautiful cracks.

Our group scrambled down to an almost empty Pit and instantly jumped on some nice 5.8 & 5.9 warmups. Lotti and I (Alec) jumped on Bandito (5.8) for a warm up climb while Lloyd and Diane cruised up Granted (5.9) After Lotti finished his nice lead, we lowered off our warm ups and hopped on some other routes. Diane and Lloyd climbed up Go With The Flow (5.9) and I started up AC Devil Dog (5.10d sport). Lloyd topped out and lowered then Diane was cruising back up to clean and rap off. I was getting thrown off AC Devil Dog slipping off the first sequence to the second bolt. (Ive done this route before but there are some hidden holds that are vital.) Once I topped out after a couple falls I lowered off and sat down and rested.

Me on AC Devil Dog (5.10d)

Lloyd jumped on Raw Hide (5.10d) while i belayed him. Lloyd absolutely cruised through Rawhide. He confidently placed every cam with ease and smoothly worked his way up. As he was lowering off through the mussys, a huge group came in from Planet Granite out in San Francisco. They instantly rolled up and started climbing. I got psyched by everyone climbing and crushing, I sent AC Devil Dog on my second go. It went super smooth and even had time to slam a beer on the no hands rest. I lowered off and Diane decided to go climb Cowboy Up (5.9R sport) and she crushed it. She lowered off and a nice gentleman from the Planet Granite crew belayed me on Color Coded Quick Draws (5.10b sport). Through pumpy moves and sloppy holds, the short 30 foot route was soaked on the top. With wet feet, I lowered off and ate my lunch.

Alex Lloyd cruising though Snakebite (5.11a) on gear.

Lloyd and Lotti were on Go With The Flow (5.9). Lotti crushed his lead while Lloyd followed. While Lotti was climbing it again, i snagged some of their gear and cruised up Bandito (5.8) again so Diane could practice leading with pre placed gear. I climbed up placing 3 pieces of protection so as I was lowering, I stitched up the climb with nuts so Diane could get a good lead in. She was slowly working up to her first lead on gear (actually placing the cams/nuts) and not just climbing on fixed gear. As she was leading Bandito, Lloyd gave a run Snakebite (5.11a). It was sick watching Lloyd get down and send some serious crack. Even though he fell and took a couple times, Lloyd killed it. Once Diane lowered off I ran up Table Manners on a top rope solo to swing around and get some pictures of Lloyd on the climb. None of them turned out that cool but in the moment I thought it was sick.

Once Lloyd lowered off, we hung out for a bit. I tried motivating Diane to get her first lead on gear. After some convincing and motivation from the newly formed climbing community in The Pit, Diane sent up Bandito. She absolutely crushed it with only six placements and one of the most fucked up drop knee/toe hook rest for literally two minutes (trust me, it was gnarly), she topped out. Once lowered everyone threw around high-fives for Diane just sending her first climb on gear. She even shot-gunned a beer with the nut-tool. After, we all gathered our things and headed off into the sun set.

A pretty view of the lake standing upon the field of boulders.

Diane killing her first lead on gear, sending Bandito (5.8).

With good vibes and a sick community, The Pit was the place to be. It was filled with support and good times. It was a solid session of just climbing sick lines and hanging out with each other. I met a bunch of people and saw a familiar face but it was a great reminder on how climbing isn’t serious. It was a good time crushing with a bunch of new people.

Joshua Tree- 4/10

4/10/2017

Doug & I have been checking the weather for Yosemite everyday for the past week. We had plans to climb our first big wall, South Face of Washington Column. We spent the previous month compiling all our of gear, route beta and other logistics. It was all figured out. As each day passed, our big wall was slowly slipping away. Over the course of the week, 30% precipitation showers turned into 70% rain then turned 100% rain and snow and as the days passed we soon had to resort to Plan B.

The funky looking Joshua Trees.

Our sleeping/cooking set up.

A number 3 cam accompanied by a hula girl.

Jug-Master Cue

Thursday night at 7pm we departed from the Bay Area on our 8 1/2 hour drive down to Joshua Tree. I had just gotten done working 10 hours so I took the first half of the drive down. We stopped for food and switched and I instantly passed out. I soon woke up in the town of Joshua Tree eager to climb. We rolled into the park at about 4am due to food, gas and bathroom stops. I have a sleeping set up in the back of my truck so we had the luxury of pulling over at Hidden Valley Campground to sleep in the truck.

We woke up at 8am very weary from our drive down. We made some breakfast burritos and jumped on our first route of the day, North Overhang. The first pitch is an alright 5.7 warm up. The actual climbing is just easy crack climbing serving no real warm up but at least something to get you going. I set up my anchor in the cave and Doug followed me up. Doug took the 5.9 second pitch. The real climbing is in the second pitch. You walk up the cave to a ledge and from there you can clip the first two bolts. I recommend using an alpine draw for the second bolt. Once you clip those you then work your way out of the cave to the left and once you reach out there is a hidden hand jam that is bomber. You throw the hand jam in, place a .75 and from there,you send to the top. Doug and I topped out, rappelled down Intersection Rock and found our selves in the parking lot minutes later. With one of the most classic climbs now under our belt we were feeling pretty good.

We hung-out at the car for a bit and eventually made our way to The Real Hidden Valley (directly across the road from Hidden Valley). There, we decided to climb Tumbling Rainbow. From the trail head, the rock formation looks wild. It is a giant crack that sits high and mighty upon the valley. We scrambled our way to the base and Doug took the lead. The crack starts out big and soon you find your right arm and leg in the crack while your left hand and leg are looking for something to hold onto. You awkwardly make your way up the diagonal crack to where it becomes vertical. Your then able to work your way up the vertical crack with hand jams and stemming your legs between the corner. We both topped out and began our rappel down.

Tumbling Rainbow from an awful perspective.

We both felt exhausted from our lack of sleep and the awkward climbing we just did. We decided to head over to Gunsmoke. Probably the most classic boulder problem in J-Tree. Its a 75 foot traverse that goes V3. No move is harder than V1 and at the highest point in the problem, your no more than 3 feet of the ground. So the low commitment factor and sheer fun of this problem makes it a great place to burn out at the end of the day. Plus you have a beautiful view for the sunset. Doug crushed the problem on his third try while I kept getting shut down at tbe crux half way through the problem. We left Gunsmoke after an hour sesh and headed back to camp for the night.

Doug and I woke up Saturday feeling like a million bucks. My full size mattress in the back of my truck gave us the perfect night of sleep to send the following day. Doug and I drank some climbers coffee put on by Access Fund and the lovely rangers of Joshua Tree. We eventually made our way to Conan’s Corridor at Jumbo Rocks. We decided to hop of Colorado Crack (5.9) and a shit storm ensued. I lead the crack and through countless takes i made it half way and just got frustrated and decided to lower off to let Doug give it a try. Half way up the crack completely flares out and we couldn’t figure out the style needed to send it. We both can climb 5.10a on gear but our inexperience of the varieties of styles got the better of us. After Doug took a 10 foot fall on a .75,we both got frustrated we couldn’t figure out how to climb this thing. We resorted on pulling on gear through the crux so we could at least top out.

After we got shut down by this “easy” 5.9 route, our morals were a tad low. We decided to scramble to the right to set a top rope up on Boulderado (5.11a sport). This climb was absolutely beautiful. It starts out as a frictiony 5.9 slab up the first 20 feet or so. Once you get to the third bolt you start the real climbing. The whole crux of the climb is a 30 foot lie-back section where at one point you have to switch sides on the lie-back. The feet are just smearing on whatever little chip you can find and hoping the friction holds. The rest of the climb after that section is just slopey pockets. I ended up lapping this climb due to the lie back section. You don’t really find 30 feet of awesome lie-backs on a sport route so this one was an awesome find. Doug gave a run on it too and by the end of our sesh we had plans to meet up with friends at gun smoke.

Doug squeezing through the walls in Conan's Corridor.

At the start of Gunsmoke, there is a V5 called High Noon. It starts with a big move to a jug then you throw a hand in the crack and top out. Simple enough, but the crack proves real heady and the top out doesn’t help much either. We messed around on that for a bit, each bailing at the crack. Soon the sun was setting and we burned out on a V2 and that was that. We finished our final night off at Joshua Tree with Jamerson and a run through the Chasms of Doom (no beta allowed).

Hidden Valley Campground in an early morning sunrise.