Crack of Doom!

[salbrecher]

Anybody else done this route? I'd love to hear your story; I don't think you can do this route and not have a story! It's 4 pitches of chuck pratt 1960's 10b crack, bombay chimneys, and squeeze! I've never been so worked on ANY route before! I backed off pitch 1 which is layback flake and crack. Pitch 2 is the crux with an unprotected squeeze (you can get the # 6 in a few ft above the belay WAY back in the chimney) and finishes with a body belay on a chockstone backed up with 1 alien behind a flake. I was stuffed in the crack seconding and actually wondering what we would do if I couldn't climb this thing. there was no anchor to rap off if we the leader had to come down if i couldn't make it. It took ALL my strength the make it up that squeeze. Pitch 3 is a bombay chimney that you have to turn around in, then mantle and friction onto a slab. The leader is looking at a fall onto the belayer and chockstone from 10m up. I've never been sick to my stomach from watching someone lead before! The first 3 pitches are .8-.9 but are by far the crux. Pitch 4 is a 10b but at least you can pull on gear . Dave (the guy who took the collar off a dead bear we found on the approach) told me it was an .8 and I headed up glad to be able to at least lead a pitch. Needless to say I decked on a ledge from 15ft after ripping an alien! I tried another way and made it up after pulling on some gear. This was such a spectacular route despite following all but one pitch. The crack on the right is called crack of despair and is the same grade but more chimneying. 90% of this route has almost no gear even with our #5 friend. The route topo says bring gear to 3 inches! I bootied a nut a dave talked to the guy who left it... over a year before we climbed it. Surprising for Yosemite, unless you've climbed it.

[skyclimb]

That is a hellova story!

Gotta love those O/W for full value and effect...

thanks

[W]

Good times.

I haven't tried Crack of Doom, but I did try to do Entrance Exam once...Pitch 1 is reasonable, but pitches 2 and 3 are a more or less unprotected chimney.

 

We got an 'F' on our Exam.

[stillcrankin]

Went up on COD quite some time ago. Mid 70's actually. Made it to a tree/bush on the first pitch. When I herfed on a branch, ants started to pour down my arm. Thousands. I was in a fairly precarious position and it took me a minute or so to pull up enough rope to rap down. By the time I started down I was covered head to foot. Kind of freaky. They were pouring down the rope after me. Had something similar happen to me on the left side of the Slack. Maybe it was just offwitdths. Maybe the ants were trying to tell me I was in the wrong place.

[tlinn]

The look says it all.

[salbrecher]

The ant's are still there, not nearly as many.