scott

for harder trad leads near my limit, i often rack symmetrically -- if i have a double rack i rack on my harness, say #2 and #1 and 4 draws in the back loop, and smaller cams in the front loop with the smallest in the front. the same on both sides, and each cam with a biner. i rack nuts and a few extra draws on the sling. this way, no matter which hand you have free, you are more likely to find the gear you need on this side of your body. i don't see many people racking this way, but it works well for short trad climbs (less than 5 pitches where time spent reracking at the belay is not an issue)

i;ll buy the static line if you dont mind shipping it to san fran. of course i'll pay for shipping.

dirty sanchez

last week it was mid 90s i guess but didn't feel that bad -- we started early and were 600 feet up by ten am, where we found a nice breeze. we were in the shade until the very last pitch and were comfortable. you can't climb in the sun or near the valley floor. steck salathe, beggars buttress, what else? stay off el cap, it looks like an oven.

thanks dr flash amazing. that is what i am talking about. i did the steck salathe last week and the narrows gave my knees a beating.

i seem to recall seeing neoprene knee pads with sticky rubber on them for sale in some mag. for sporto kneebars and for chimneys. anyone know who makes these, if they exist?

i want to climb dark star on mt temple (v 5.10b/c, 25 pitches) over a three day weekend in august / sept. let me know if you will be down for that.

i;ll be in town for a few days and want to get to index this friday afternoon. send me a pm if you want to go.

thanks. can you be more specific about how to avoid screwing up the traverse or pitch after?

anyone done this? how is the route? i plan on freeing to mid 5.10 and trying it in a day-- any beta. gracias y gracia

jugging with a pack on, and leading and following pendulums. we took 4 liters of water, down jackets and a little food, and one 9.7 rope. we were a little light on water, but i wouldn't bring much more. just drink three liters on the approach. when you can do 11 pitches or so without feeling worked, you are half way there. to do it in a day, go as light as possible. not knowing the route hurt us a little, and we were glad to have down jackets and a little extra water. be fastidious about rope management, don't let it get tangled in flakes-- somewhat difficult when jugging... lead in blocks of 3 to 6 pitches. i wouldn't want to do the next to last pitch in the dark, it is exposed bolted slab with a little bit of mandatory free climbing. also, when you can run a marathon or hike 20+ miles in a day no problem, you are ready. it was this sort of endurance that was the crux. make sure you are comfortable climbing quickly with massive exposure under your feet-- my partner wasn't and this cost us some time.

other than climbing, i suggest doing some long hiking trips.

for many approaches, you can just wear the rack and harness, and not carry it in a pack at all.

one last thing -- just as we were starting the first pitch at dawn, we heard this ripping sound and looked up in horror to see three bodies falling off the top of half dome. base jumpers. one of them almost blew back into the lower slabs, but pulled his chute just in time to steer away.

we had gone up approx half way on the slabs on scouting trip. although the second half of the slabs are more tricky, our recon (find the start of the approach and locate the second major drainage) was enough. for cascade climbers, the death slabs should seem like just another bushwack approach. it has a bad rep because a lot of people are not used to off trail thrashing, i think.

Climb: half dome -reg nw face Date of Climb: 5/3/2004 Trip Report: did this route this weekend. tried for one day from the valley floor, but due to murphy's law and the gumby factor (it was my first grade VI and my partners first wall of any sort) only made it to pitch 17 - big sandy. spent a very cold night sitting there at big sandy and topped out yesterday. the more direct option for the final pitch is very wet, but can be avoided. the first six pitches can be done very quickly - something like 3 hours. once you hit the chimneys, the climbing becomes harder. the pitches above big sandy seemed hard because we we tired. to do it in a day, get to big sandy by 3 pm or so. we woke up at 3 am, hiked the death slabs in the dark, and started climbing at first light.

did this route this weekend. tried for one day from the valley floor, but murphy's law and the gumby factor (it was my first grade VI and my partners first wall of any sort) only made it to pitch 17 - big sandy. spent a very cold night sitting there at big sandy and topped out yesterday. the more direct option for the final pitch is very wet, but can be avoided. the first six pitches can be done very quickly - something like 3 hours. once you hit the chimneys, the climbing becomes harder. the pitches above big sandy seemed hard because we we tired. to do it in a day, get to big sandy by 3 pm or so. we woke up at 3 am, hiked the death slabs in the dark, and started climbing at first light.

we did the offwidth -- second to last pitch is fine but imho the very last pitch (short 5.8 flare/ squeeze topped by loose blocks), like my ex-girlfriend, has no redeming features.

Climb: cathedrals-ne b. higher cathedral / east b. mid. cathedral Date of Climb: 4/28/2004 Trip Report: nothing unusual, climbed northeast buttress higher cathedral sat and east buttress of middle sun. ne buttress beta -- you can escape the final two pitches (one of which has a five inch offwidth that shows up just as you turn a roof) by moving way left. not shown on supertopo. e buttress -- very easy and fun in four hours. very fun cruising.

Climb: el cap-freeblast Date of Climb: 5/10/2004 Trip Report: the first ten pitches of salathe make a good day climb. it is rated 11b free -- we climbed 10b a0 and did it in about 7 hours valley to valley. not very fast but still a good day out. the crux pitch is the 5th pitch or so, following a thin crack that peters out into discontinuous pin scars taking pinky sized offsets. the crack thins out as it goes over a small overlap / roof, and then some easy but very exposed slabby face climbing to the first bolt above. from there it is very exposed slab climbing with well spaced bolts. this is given 5.8 ao or 11b in supertopo and i guess i won't argue, except to say that felt that i was climbing harder than 5.8, but was not climbing 11b either. the chimney behind the half dollar was wet and a bit of a grunt. there are lines fixed from the top of the tenth to the valley floor, but these lines are old and stiff, and are taking up the entire anchor, so that is is not really possible to use your own lines to rap. these fixed lines should be attached to the top of the chains near the bolts, leaving the bottom links for those who want to rap their own lines. in the sun all day. the first and fourth pitches are great mid 5.10.

thanks scottp, i;ll check that out

this is all good beta. if i bivy at the base for the sake of not getting up at 2pm to do the approach (which i have checked out), how do you return to pick up the bivy gear after descending the cables? i only have a weekend. thnx

cool. any pics?

right-o

i would rather not bivy at all... but think that we might end up sitting at big sandy overnight. i just read a report on na classics that said the slabs took 2.5 hrs by a party that had scoped the approach. i am thinking of scoping the approach, going light and just not bringing bivy gear...