Staff Blog
Weekend of 2/3/12
Yosemite
By: Ryan Kempf
This was going to be my first time in the valley. Leaving Friday, coming back Sunday, driving solo. Going to meet Pat at camp 4. He has plans to climb Serenity Crack, with a grading of 10d I expect to lower him off a nut somewhere on pitch one. The drive was long, doing it in the dark made it harder to stay awake. When I arrived Pat jumps out of his car and big hugs are exchanged. We hop in the back of the truck and traded stories for hours over some drinks and Cheese-Its. Then we planned the next morning. Going to climb on the Royal Arches Wall. 1st Super Slide, 5.9 only at the top of the 5th (last pitch). Then we see if Pat pulls up on Serenity Crack. We joke about how the day will go, then Pat goes back to his car and we turn in for the night.
Last night was cold; weather report says it was 25, I believe it. Rolled to the Ahwahnee Hotel and ate breakfast, trying to let it warm up a bit. Breakfast consisted of oatmeal, banana and coffee; that’ll cost you fifteen bucks. Grabbed the packs and made the grueling 5 minute approach. Linked 1 and 2, and 3 and 4, finish is on 5. Good warm up climb, lower pitches are low quality but fun to fly up fast. I found A #2 Camelot on pitch 1, so stoked, think the valley likes me. 3 and 4 are nice 5.6/5.7 climbing. Top of 5 is the only section of 5.9, and it’s short, good finger locks in solid granite. We were up and off that thing in 2:15, not bad.
Then we were over to Serenity. At the base Pat racked up kind of slowly, but he walked right up to the blank seam and pulled up to the first pin scar. From there he proceeded probably 15 ft before placing any protection. There he pulls a cam off his harness, plugs it, gives it a tug and reaches for the rope; I throw out slack and he pauses, doesn’t grab the rope but tugs on the cam again, hard. The cam blows and almost barn doors Pat of the route, I throw the packs under the climb knowing I can’t catch him. He stays on. Elvis foot and all, he puts the cam back on his harness and climbs to the next set of bigger pin scars, there he gets a good piece and I call out “On belay fool!” After his seconds piece he cries “Take,” no love lost, he made it to the anchors. Pat climbing 10a in the valley? This is sick!
Second pitch is harder than the first, angle was steeper and the difficulty was more sustained. Hardest part is the step across, looks intimidating but there’s a good foot. P3 is the crux, 10d. Starts off on vertical flakes (super fun), and then tips back to a lower angle. The short pitch is ended with a final bulge, #2 size finger locks with your feet out from under you on varnished granite. Plugged a yellow Metolius cam and pulled the moves gaining the top of the pedestal. We were losing light, so instead of linking Sons of Yesterday we raped off. We promised next trip we would link the routes. Being in the valley is incredibly humbling and inspiring at the same time. I feel like this style of climbing suits me. It is not about grabbing holds and pulling, it’s a lot of balance and technique driven climbing trying to create friction. Driving out I can’t stop thinking “you are only given so much time. I want to spend mine with these mountains.”
Holcomb Valley
In-between seasons can limit, and overcrowd, the local climbing spots that are weather tolerant. This hot, rainy Labor Day weekend was no exception. I picked a climbing location with several hundred climbs-Holcomb Valley Pinnacles. Within those climbs, I looked for the lesser known walls. A little research and then I was hooked on the idea of Voodoo Garden. And it did not disappoint. The area is was not crowded and offered a variety of weather friendly options (direct sunlight, all-day shade, wind protection, etc.). The short climbs in this area are worth their stars, although the grading remains soft, similar to the rest of the immediate area. My favorite for the day had to be Mardi Gras, which offered face climbing with a little bit of an arete and a little slab at the top, were it became exposed and I got to enjoy a beautiful view across the area.
SLO is home of Bishop Peak, a climbing site offering multipitch, trad, sport, andbouldering in a descent variety of crack and slab. In terms of rock quality, I have tosay that this site does not take the cake, although it is not nearly as dirty as some localplaces like Mission Gorge and early season 8,000 Foot Crag. In fact, many of the routesranging from 5.7 to 5.9 appeared cleaner due to more regular use. Although many sportroutes are easy to identify, I would still recommend a little prior research as several ofeven the lower grad routes have R rating. Helpful hint, Mountain Project had a wealthof information, including maps, on this particular site. In all, the various trails werewonderful, moderate level hikes and atop every ascent was a magnificent view. Thisplace definitely added fun to my weekend drive up the central coast.
Mammoth Lakes Trip — Melissa
In the summer, there is still a reason for boulderers to take to the 395 and it is Mammoth. Everyone knows about the terrific biking opportunities offered throughout the North Eastern Sierras, but few people make Mammoth’s unique rock formations, on easily accessible roads, a destination for bouldering.
My recent weekend visit included, for example, the Banchar Boulders, a five-star climbing area which offers 50 problems on volcanic tuff. In my visits, I have found that the area stays vacant throughout the day, until about early evening, when a few local climbers come out to train. They make quick work of the area’s finger cracks and pockets and are friendly in sharing locations for lesser known projects. After some advice from one such local, my next trip will also include Casa Diablo Mountain, an underdeveloped area with lots of potential, but I am mostly interested in the vistas that the White and Glass Mountains would offer.
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Sierra Caving By Melissa Gibson
7-12-11
Pulling on oversized elbow pads, I am thinking, “Is this really necessary?” I
watch a caver hang his body off a picnic table in demonstration of how we will
transfer from a narrow tube to one directly under it. And then we are off to
explore remote sections of the marble cave, known as Crystal Cave, in Sequoia National Park.
I love the Sierras but could have never expected all the beauty that this
rock and water formed underground-delicate new soda straws and ancient
stalactites, no plant life and small insects, and a perfectly clear and mysterious lake. These most beautiful and pristine formations are protected by a maze of belly crawling and body squeezing-like the secret passageways we dreamed about as kids.
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Keyhole Canyon Descent: Zion National Park
Youssef Saliba
Waking to the sound of the Virgin River and to the sight of cottonwood seeds flurrying through the air I shook off the sleep and made some green tea. I waited until the sunlight broke through the trees to wake up Alen. We sat drinking tea in silence. The truth was we were both nervous about the canyon. Him because it was his first descent, and me because It was the first canyon I had done where I was the leader.
After getting the weather report and purchasing permits, we headed into Zion National Park. As time passed, the landscape grew increasingly magnificent. Sheer rock faces thousands of feet high and as old as time seemed to loom around every bend. I knew the waters that had carved these walls above us were the same freezing waters that were still carving the walls of Keyhole Canyon. Keyhole Canyon is a slot canyon, which as the name implies, is merely a deep slot in the ground that twists and turns its way through the sandstone hills of the park. Since these canyons can get extremely cold, I was relieved when the sun started to bake down on us.
The descent through the canyon was amazing to say the least. Our wetsuits kept enough of the cold out so we could move slowly in order to enjoy the sights. As we got deeper into the canyon, our nervous giddiness faded away into awe struck silence. It felt like time had stopped for the moment. No words could begin to describe how beautiful and mysterious the canyon seemed. I felt lucky to be able to look at something that most people will never see in person. I may never be back to Zion National Park, but if I do come back I would love to navigate the walls of this canyon again.
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With a new week upon us, I simply could not help but reflect on the weekend. With the temperatures acting slightly off for the past few weeks I have jumped on the opportunity to spend as many of my free days as possible at everyones favorite place…Joshua Tree! Every time I enter the park a sudden calmness fills my body and I truly feel as if I have left civilization behind. The amount of climbing is overwhelming, but I decided to focus on some of the classics these past few trips and pay my dues at the legendary J Tree. I completed some fun problems like slab-master, roof romp and igneous ambiance. I also found myself barely able to lift myself off the ground on other problems. Either way I left with a smile on my face, and a brand new list of projects. To anyone who hasn’t been to Joshua Tree, I highly recommend the short trek ( depending on where you live) because I guarantee you won’t forget it.
Best
Mowgli
Sunday at the Tram:
Well as the title says I woke up at 7 a.m to pick my good friend Kevin Maldonado, so that we could head to the all mighty Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. I say all mighty because as most southern California climbers know, Tram is home to some pretty awesome climbing. With that being said Kevin and I got there around 9:20 and got the 9:30 tram up! We were greeted with some of the best weather a climber could ask for. Blue skies and a slight breeze were upon us, as we headed to the popular “Cube boulder” where we did a nice little warm up on that gem. After getting used to the 8,000 ft altitude we headed to a fun problem called “The Outcast”, after getting psyched me and Kevin quickly found ourselves at the top of this free standing boulder. We packed up the pads and headed to “Blue Flame.” Kevin sent, I did not, but it was a beautiful boulder indeed. We met up with some good friends and headed to “Byrons Roof”. We had a good time trying to piece it together maybe at the end of summer we will finish the climb. After that I realized I had some actual things to do in the real world and sadly left Tram. It was bittersweet because even though I was leaving granite heaven I had just purchased a summer pass so I was probably going to go the next day. I hope to see all you guys out there having a good time and sending your projects!
Best,
Mowgli
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