Adventureboy Posted October 21, 2005 Posted October 21, 2005 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 Quote
RICHARD_CILLEY Posted October 21, 2005 Posted October 21, 2005 Good one.Led every pitch years ago.One of the best in the valley. Quote
Adventureboy Posted October 21, 2005 Author Posted October 21, 2005 Did you do it back in the 70's Quote
RICHARD_CILLEY Posted October 22, 2005 Posted October 22, 2005 I think I led the 11d pitch in the 70s.99.9% of the people who say the've done the route have only done that pitch.I led the whole route in the 80s. Quote
RICHARD_CILLEY Posted October 22, 2005 Posted October 22, 2005 (edited) By the way ,have u done the lost arrow chimney?Thats hard. Edited October 22, 2005 by RICHARD_CILLEY Quote
RICHARD_CILLEY Posted October 22, 2005 Posted October 22, 2005 Hard to talk about climbing with people who've never done anything. Quote
Adventureboy Posted October 24, 2005 Author Posted October 24, 2005 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. Quote
Adventureboy Posted October 24, 2005 Author Posted October 24, 2005 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. Quote
stillcrankin Posted October 29, 2005 Posted October 29, 2005 Hard to talk about climbing with people who've never done anything. Dick, can that really be you out there in cyber land?? Glad to see the old dog has a little bite left. Quote
RICHARD_CILLEY Posted March 30, 2006 Posted March 30, 2006 Don I got so much bite left that at least 1 guy has threatened me with death this month. Quote
colt45 Posted March 30, 2006 Posted March 30, 2006 by the way, does anyone know the status of raptor closures on the rostrum? I know in prior years it has been closed from spring until Aug 1 but have not been able to find current info. Quote
miller Posted May 8, 2006 Posted May 8, 2006 http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.html?topic_id=189883&f=0&b=0 Poop a loop. Quote
colt45 Posted May 10, 2006 Posted May 10, 2006 Thanks Todd! Looks like I'll need to wait a few months. Quote
billcoe Posted May 10, 2006 Posted May 10, 2006 Don I got so much bite left that at least 1 guy has threatened me with death this month. Cilly, I hope this has to do with your job as a Repo man rather than some anonomys asswipe on this site puffing his chest up. If the latter, please share, theres no room for that kind of pussy crap in the world IMO. Wishing all well. Quote
billcoe Posted May 10, 2006 Posted May 10, 2006 I´m no Repoman.I´m a Leisure Baron. No shit? Well sign me up if they're hiring! Quote
RICHARD_CILLEY Posted May 16, 2006 Posted May 16, 2006 Sorry .Leisure barons are a vanishing species.Although at one point there were quite afew ,especially in Yosemite ,Joshua Tree etc.They´ve suffered a severe decline in recent years due to the destruction of their habitat ,trail parking fees etc. Quote
billcoe Posted May 16, 2006 Posted May 16, 2006 Well, I suspect that the Gov't is trying to regulate that industry now as well then. They take all the fun out of things. Back to the grindstone for me. Seriously, if somebody on this site is sending death threats (and this isn't your girlfriends husband just having the usual issues ), give somebody, at least Jon, a heads up and they'll be history. Quote
RICHARD_CILLEY Posted May 22, 2006 Posted May 22, 2006 No, no ,I was refering to real life death threats.Guys with guns ,knives etc.It´s a jungle out there. Quote
billcoe Posted May 22, 2006 Posted May 22, 2006 No, no ,I was refering to real life death threats.Guys with guns ,knives etc.It´s a jungle out there. That's a relief. You might consider relocating to a safer part of the jungle. The only other solution is to quickly and quietly take them out immediatly after reciept of the next documented threat. Self defense, end of story. Good luck. Quote
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