Adventureboy

Fourth pitch of Heavens Gate at UTW, Or Ruttabaga, Squish Saqqitarius Long certainly comes to mind

Where are the geezers When we need them?

Has to be: Separate Reality,Yosemite Freeway Lite, Squish Milk Run, Tantalus wall, Squish Steck salathe, Yosemite Desperado, Pat and jacks yosemite Sentry Box, Squish (close enough) Climax Control, Index Country Perils of Pauline, L Worth Serenity Crack and Sons Of Yesterday, Yosemite Black Catbone, Blusecliff index DHLA, Upper wall, index Crack Agogo, Cookie, yosemite Hardd, Cookie, yosemite The Drive to Anderson River valley (*frosty) We sent that drive good. And a non summiting attempt on Passenger. Did the first 5 pitches and got rained off

i'd heard about steck climbing the route at 68 years of age but dismissed it as just another testament to the old hardmen of the 60's. Truly badass! One could only hope to still be able to climb like that near 70.

so what did you do on those last pitches to the top of the buttress, stay left or right, cause right definatly seemed little travled and quite loose.

yeah, we got some beta from this guy from colorado. "take the 5.8R to the right of the squeeze". It worked out nicely but it was definately a little airy. Nice shot from below the narrows, it's really a telling photo.

Climb: The Sentinel-Steck-Salathe V 5.10b Date of Climb: 10/19/2006 Trip Report: ahhh yes the steck-salathe, classic right of passage for those who feel drawn to that menacing shadow looming over camp 4. You see it every morning, at coffee, hear it when it sheds it's filthy loose bits (of which there are plenty)and feel it when it blocks out the sun again on those cold ass mornings. soooooo.....onward with the description seeing as how the only photos of the route were forgotten whilst shivering away duruing the day, they woulda been lame accept for the one shot of the sphincter that is the narrows swallowing a human, that woulda been good but i was lame and chose to belay. The approach really is no big deal. You gain about 1500 feet from the valley in about a mile+, through some exposed fourth class slabs and a climbers trail that deposits you at the base of the a corner with a wide crack in the back. This first pitch is great and really o barometer for the rest of the climb, being that you actually have to use to some offwidth technique surmount the crux. Not so bad, a little breathing is good in the morning anyway. A little 5.8 laybackin' victory lap ensures that this really is 5.9 and not a horrendus sandbag. Pitch 2- some steep 5.8 thin hand jams leads to a roof that is passed by face climbing on the left really enjoyable nice exposure gear etc. pitch3-4 link, The first of the buisiness sections is reached and takes the form of a polished flair similar to the doctor sniff and the tunaboaters flair, save that you can't just lay it back, insecure moves in some pinscars let your right side in and wonderful back and foot stemming, with some more breathing get you to the base of another flair in this long 70m pitch. pitch 5- avoid the offwitdth via an off balance face move out right of the big ugly gash, and continue right for 25m with a tied off knob as your third piece of protection in 35m and a belay is reached at the plateau at the bottom of the huge chimny/corner. pitch 6- Climb increasingly loose flakes and some cracks on the right side with minimal gear, But the exposure id kept tame at 5.7 or 5.8. I think marc place 7 pieces in about 55m. pitch7. A full ropelength of loose block navigation and rope drag avoidance reaches the top of the flying buttress maybe 5.8 or 9 and dangerously loose over there on the right side, which i am now positive was the wrong way. a belay is reach and you walk through the flying buttress. rap down the left side of the buttress 50 feet or so till bolts are reached and now the buisiness starts for real. As an aside it should be noted that the north facing walls in the vally are FUCKING cold in the fall so the wideness really is a kind of welcome sight after shivering intensely. Pitch8, flakes and some great exposed laybacking reach a steep fist crack with good stems on either side that provide nice stances.5.9 starting to feel a little less like a maddog at this point but hey it's only 5.9 right.? Pitch9- 50 meters two good bolts, a blue green hybrid alien and some two nuts are all you need for this spicy little "5.8" pitch. classic slab stylie, downpalming and a mantel move uncomfortably far about a bunk nut give you the inspiration to wander further onto the slab . pitch10-11 "The Narrows Connecto" pitch. Strenuos and runout in its entirety. The first crux is encountered via and ultra polished slightly overhanging flair much heavy breathing and good mind control are necessary, use a nut to sling an old bent rivet after the crux and the worst is over, well not quite. Protecionless 5.8 chimneying reaches the narrows and you clip the chains of that anchor, place a numbe 4 camalot to protect the writhing and grunting entrance to the narrows. Enter the sphincter of the mountain and navigate the bowels until the light is reached, wich is about 45 feet afetr that bomber number four and move out toward the exposed edge of the the narrows crack. during this little vertical caving adventure i couldn help but think of derek hersey. a solo of this route truly defies imagination. chmney some more moving further and further above that inspiring rusted 1/4 rivet and find the nice new bolt for your belay. Then vomit. at thus point in our trip it was starting to become apparent that we would be climbing some of this thing in the dark. We were psyched we brought headlamps. pitch11- tackles more of the same but only 5.7 and horrendusly runout. chimney up through chokestones and loose flakes and enjoy the new thrutching skills learned in the narrows which actually make this kind of pleasant. it was dark when we were at the top of this pitch getting ready to head out. headlamps on at 7:10 pitch12- tackles one more steep, loose section of 5.9. A couple of grunty moves made more interesting by headlamp, gain the tree that youve been looking at about half of the route, and a euphoric daze caused by exertion and lack of fuel intake take hold as i belayed marc up. pitch13- 5.6 to the top. perfect wandering around the top of this bitch by headlamp. now the decent. Either amke a fire and shiver the night away or make your way meticulously through several sections of what i think were pretty exposed fourth and low fith class down climbing. I couldn't really tell as it was dark and i was really fucked up on endorphines. thye creek though gets louder and louder, and sporadic cairn placement make it easier not to become paranoid about walking off a cliffband. one rappel from a block and more tedious downclimbing reach slabs, followed by more meticulous downclimbing. and then the stream is reached. Sweet baby jesus ididn't really give a shit about ghiardia, my water was gone on pitch 12, like three or four hours earlier. it's basically over after that. Next time i'm gonna take pics. The view from the stance at the top of the narrows is amazing, not really because it's beautiful, but because it seems like to see camp4 again after that exertion was positively joyous. kinda like you know the worst is definately done now, you just gotta get down. Gear Notes: full set of RPs and nuts Doubles from .4 to #2 camalot with a #3 and a #4 with hybrid aliens to yellow red Approach Notes: pimp approach, the slabs are like the granite escalator in darrington

naw tyhe becky guide is more about first ascent spray, not very much in the way of good descriptions

just trying to do a little research. Figured it'd probly be a good idea before tromping off all higlety-piglty. Though your kind right, that might be fun.

I have fantasizing about Cathedral peak as of late and would like to hear more about the area. Hopefully those of you who read this pathetic attempt to find info will firstly, laugh heartily and then point me in the correct direction. Must know the quality (splitterness) of cracks, if there is a serious lichen issue, new routing potential blah blAH BLAH. oH YEAH, whats the deal withy the Black Pyramid and the Professor and Comet, from thw east side???

DAmn i left so much undone this summer. Hyperspace, Narrow Arrow Direct, everything in wa. pass. 'Guess it'll still be there next summer though.

I've heard rumors of that dread' gash. Along with that damn steck salathe. Those are fucking hardman routes!@! Though next time i get down to that part of the world they are definately on my list.

Did you do it back in the 70's

Climb: Yosemite, rostrum-Blind Faith Date of Climb: 10/20/2005 Trip Report: I'd been pining to try that big beautiful piece of stone for a long while and finally had my chance, having met a cat from boulder named brett. We started our partnership rather quickly having linked up at Reeds area in the lower merced. Tyree and frosty and the rest of the gang and i were maxing and relaxing doing laps on lunatic fringe, a beautiful finger and hands crack that splits a slightly overhanging face and this brick shithouse looking guy walks up and says he's looking for a partner. We a knew him from a rest day earlier, where beer and slacklining were the order of the day. So after another lap in lunatic' we picked a slightly spicier fare, two pitches of .10dR and figured eachother out. We sent and the rostrum popped into my noggin. again. sooooo.... The rostrum starts by descending in from the wowona tunnel dropping steeply via trails and a few rappels to the base. the first pitch is the easiest at 10+, through discontinuous flakes and several steep laybacks to the base of a 30' 5.8 chimney. Ahh, just the beginning of the business. runout but secure, it provides the first little glimpse of what is to come. p.2 Starts with a scary traverse down from the top of the flake that makes the chimney to a tenuous stance and a few more delicate moves across a face gain the base of a finger crack. Sadly you have to place gear in the crux of the 11b finger crack to avoid a definite back breaker onto or inside of the big flake. The crux is short though 20 feet or so of painful fingers leads to a good rest and gear. after this, is a section of .10a laybacking then the endless hands begin. a full 115 feet of perfect 10b hands leads to a belay below a roof. p.3 Just out of the belay you pull the roof at .10c, followed by yes, more perfect fucking hands, just plug and go. this pitch really is worth the nastiness up high just to fly through steep perfect hands in perfect geometric dihedral similar to the split pillar. Pull through a bulge via face holds and flaring horizontal crevices .10+ and be stoked you are on a huge ledge where water and Gu can be imbibed. P.4 or the first pitch of blind faith, starts with a traverse from the big ledge out right and up to the obvious splitter. at 11d she ain't no ho. The first 8 feet are the easiest section of the desperate line. great fingers and decent rests can be found in the initial section, it then turns quickly to a desperate race against shitty ring locks, bad feet, rapidly decaying forearms and gently overhanging stone, you are rewarded with the first sinker hand jam in 60 feet. Follow more glorious hands to a bolted belay by a tree. p's 5 and 6 can only be described as this: 6 inches tapering to 4.5 in 80 feet and slowly, 11a BIG! and desperate followed by a 10b roof. and then 6 inches forever,steep,arching and rounded and 11b, followed by an interesting traverse left to the regular west face 6th pitch belay. p7. .11b What can i say, i was worked by this point, and bomber hands felt pumpy. it started off well solid in the 20 degree overhanging thin hands to 3 inches. then the crux presented itself. more goddam steep hands that tapered into tips at the top followed by the classic beached whale maneuver to the cave. I took once on this pitch due to the fact that my forearms were totally and utterly useless from the rest of everything that day. Pumped is not the word for this feeling, there needs to be another word. seeing the moves but not physically being able to do them without a rest, was a bit of a pisser but then again one shouldn't bitch about such petty things on such and amazing route. p8 starts via weirdass traverse under the roof, head down looking at the yawning void below, feet scrunched up smearing on falcon shit, and greased out feet, to the final pitch of "5.8" offwidth to the top All in all, probably the most amazing free route of my life,well worth all of that hard work for every inch of that beautiful column. Go get it boys!!!!! Gear Notes: doubles 3, 4.5, 6 set of offsets set of rp's

It blows me away that one rail car stoppage woudl even come close to necessitating the hosing down of a known recreation area. I've seen a similar occurance in alaska where they(the MAN)Blew up a crag that was close to a railway. Some jacweed tied off to the tracks and almost took a train to the dome. What is there to say but be responsible, you might be the guy to wreck a crag forver.

Not to very long ago a friend and i attempted tooth and claw on Lexington tower. We arrived and found the first pitch after much searching and hopped on. It was a go, very clean sustained slab. Quite enjoyable. From there however each successive pitch became ditier and dirtier until pitch 4. Off the belay we saw a pin under a roof about 30 feet off the belay and noyhing but wide open space in between. And up into the roof was what seemed to be kitty litter plastered violently to the walls of the crack, what would be splitter hands and off fist other wise. We turned back after much deliberation and wondered intently when the last party to do this was. Thusly my question. Has anyone got any idea when the last time a human was up there and, what does the pitch after look like.