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[TR] Yeon Mountain - Yellowjacket Buttress 6/6/2015


Bosterson

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Trip: Yeon Mountain - Yellowjacket Buttress

 

Date: 6/6/2015

 

Trip Report:

For those who like a bit of landscaping, this is one of the sketchier Yeon/Nesmith routes in Tim Olson's Gorge Classic Climbs. Tim told me he and his partner got above the climbing difficulties back in 2000 but had to bail due to weather.

 

Per the guide, you follow Tumalt Creek until near where it forks, then head west up a side gully to a headwall. Traverse into the thin ridge up the left side of the headwall and climb 400-500 ft through downed trees, steep loose slopes, and rotten rock stacks until the ridge meets the side of the mountain.

 

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The rope came out at a short rock step. The likeliest weakness was left of the ridge, above a large tree for a belay. I was able to fit a #13 stopper in a crack, then do a thrashy mantle over some tree branches onto a slope above.

 

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Then up to a little corner, and up the spine to the base of a tall headwall of loose, mossy rock.

 

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We found Tim Olson's 15 year old rap anchor.

 

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Everything was loose and sloped and the moss we were standing on was ripping away from the hillside in the bathmat sized area we were in. I made an anchor off some small, suspect trees and started up the stack - unprotected climbing for about 20 ft until you reach a do-or-go-home mantle on some questionable mossy rock to grab a big, solid tree root - hitch it and continue up to easier ground. We ended up doing a lot of fingertip daggering into the moss. Rope drag was awful on this pitch.

 

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After this the ridge flattened and met the hillside. As more standard scrambling through brush was required, we unroped here. Unknown terrain was ahead, and while the going was intially easy, we quickly hit another headwall.

 

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No pictures, but trending up and right led to a corner where a dead tree and some mossy rock allowed you to do an exposed mantle at a dropoff corner. I was ready to be done with this and didn't rope up, though it would probably have been prudent.

 

After this, we ascended some nice slopes, hit a second headwall that was easily passed via a dirt ramp up its middle, and then we climbed the last few hundred feet up a steep brushy hillside to the top.

 

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We then crossed the Yeon Plateau until we met the Horsetail Creek trail, took it up to Nesmith, and descended the Nesmith trail and walked the frontage road back to the car at the Tumalt pullout.

 

Looking back at the spine of Yellowjacket from up by Nesmith:

 

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Not sure anyone here goes for this sort of thing, but Mr. O asked if I was going to post this info for posterity. We tore up the moss pretty badly in some spots, so it probably will need time to recover (say, another 15 years?) before anyone else should go up there. Realistically, Tim and I agree that it's unlikely that anyone else has any interest in doing something like this. :grin:

 

Gear Notes:

#13 stopper, a dozen slings or lengths of webbing for hitching trees

 

Approach Notes:

Tumalt Creek

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This is a "Gorge Classic Climb"? haha.

 

Well at least I'm not the only crazy asshole to try wandering around that area looking for rock. Back in October I headed up the trail towards Nesmith from Elowa Falls to scout a buttress at the 2,300' level (a bit East from where you were) that had been taunting me all Summer from Beacon. After a long hike and some schwacking across steep slopes, I arrived at the base of 350' of vertical rock! 350' of loose, crumbling pillow basalt! Anyone want directions to the tallest pile of choss in the Gorge?

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SICK! (in the vomiting green pea soup way, not in the youthful "crazy good" version) That's the kind of TR that's best viewed from the luxury of the computer and not firsthand:-) Good photos, made my palms sweat - thanks for sharing.

 

It seems to me that the moss in the gorge repairs itself within 15 min or less. Was out there walking around one day and found a flat spot and a moss covered boulder to sit on to catch my breath. There are trees and thick vegetation everywhere. While resting, I see what looks like a moss arch right by me, a brief exploration and some quick moss peeling revealed that I was on the old highway, but it had been totally reclaimed by nature and invisible. Except for the arch, which rarely occurs like that in nature, I would never have known. Nearly all traces of mankind had been erased just by man not keeping nature at bay. That's why they spray a shitload of 2-4D herbicides on the roadsides twice a year, to keep it at bay for a while.

 

Amazing. People in California have no idea what we do to get a good burn on.

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