Salathe wall

[tinsley]

This may be a long shot. I want to climb el cap with someone who has done it before. I've never done it, so I'm looking for a partner or two who know what they're doing. If anyone is willing, send me a pm and I'll tell you a little more about myself. Salathe is the route I'm most interested in right now, but I just want to climb el cap once before I start getting picky.

 

-spray away

[Dru]

Sounds like you are looking for a guide or do you have experience on other walls just not El Cap?

[texplorer]

When are you headed down to the Valley?

[COL._Von_Spanker]

When are you headed down to the Valley?

 

When are you headed down to the valley tex?

[tinsley]

I have experience aiding, just not on more than 5 pitch routes. I've seen some poor quality yosemite guides on the higher spire and I'd rather pull one of my friends up the wall than do that. I'm planning on heading down to try el cap may 16-19 and if that doesn't work, after june first. I grew up in cypress texas.

[bigwalling]

you can climb el cap... even if you havne't done a wall. Trust me!

[wildbillc]

Isn't the Salathe a bit of a stretch for ones first big wall, seems more reasonalbe to get on something like the west face of leaning tower and earn your badge prior to the real deal.

[specialed]

Isn't there lots of free climbing on the Salathe? Lots of wide cracks and shit.

 

If you want to do a straight aid line and haven't done one on El Cap yet I'd reccomend Zodiac. Fun, straight forward, and relatively short.

[MATT_B]

I'm planning on heading down to try el cap may 16-19 and if that doesn't work, after june first.

 

Are you planning on doing it in 4 days (16-19)? If you have never done a wall and have limited aid experience I would highly recomend planning on taking longer than that unless you find a good rope gun. I'm not saying you can't do it in 4 days but most people end up taking longer than expected. My first wall was the nose. My partner had done several walls before including the nose. we thougth it would take 4 days. We where off late on day 5. Wish I had the time, I would love to get back to the valley. Have fun!

[texplorer]

Excellent feedback.

 

Here's my take. The Salathe was my first el cap wall. My previous experience included spaceshot, touchstone, and Moonlight buttress in Zion and the S. face of Washington's Column in the valley.

 

We climbed Freeblast (the first 11 pitches of the Salathe) on day one and got off at around dark. Rousted by the Rangers at 2:30 in the morning we hiked to the base and started hauling. That morning (on 2 hrs sleep) we began climbing but got stuck behind a party of germans. They let us pass later in the day but we still had to push on until 1:30 in the morning to reach el cap spire. Two days later we topped out as the sun was going down.

 

The Salathe is a great and historic route. Here's my recommendations if your heart is set on the Salathe. Do freeblast and DO NOT HAUL on it. There are fixed lines to heart ledges that are much easier to haul up. From there expect 3-4 long days (I'm talking sun up to sunset). A portaledge is nice but we didn't have one on our ascent which meant we had to make it to ledges. There are several wide cracks/chimneys but we did everything with only one 4.5 camalot. There is also the hollow flake which pretty much everyone solos - just be mentally ready.

 

Von Spanker- I think I'll be down there toward the end of June or early July. That time of year is usually too hot to freeclimb so I'm hoping to maybe get some aid on el cap or half dome in.

[tinsley]

Thanks for the advice. I think my best bet for finding a partner will be to go down in June when I have a month to climb, find a worthy partner and take enough food up el cap for six days.

 

I took a friend of mine who had never climbed on my first aid adventure up the Lost Arrow Spire. Though we started and finished in the dark of camp 4, we still had a good time. I think it's time for el cap.

[gosolo]

One bit of advice: practice the art of "french-free". On the Salathe there are only 7 pitches you need to break the aiders out on (Pitches harder than 11d). When you jump into aiders your speed is about 10 times slower. You can cover a lot of ground by grabbing and pulling on some pro. Texplorer is also correct: be ready to climb the Hollowflake sans pro. Get psyched, when climbed as a wall it is the crux. Retreat above there may be a bit tricky. The Nose is easier and is also an awesome climb. It is also much easier to retreat. I rapped from the great roof in a snow storm one time and while initially frightening, the rapps were set up quite well. Read one of the latest issues about last falls storm on El Cap so you know what you are getting into.

[gosolo]

One other thing: I used to just grab partners for various crag routes, but I would definitely be familiar with the person you are going to climb with. I would rather solo El Cap than be up there with someone you can't depend on. Good Luck!