telemarker Posted July 2, 2006 Share Posted July 2, 2006 (edited) Climb: Half Dome, Yosemite-Regular NW Face Date of Climb: 6/21/2006 Trip Report: After a failed attempt on The Nose due to a number of reasons, principal of which was our glacial pace (too much time in aiders on the lower pitches to Dolt Tower, our high point) and lack of water, we reverted to plan "B": Half Dome, RNWF. We took the long approach, literally and figuratively. Most parties treat this route as a long day outing, and rightly so. The next time I climb it, it will be in a day. Not us. We took 2 1/2 days, hiking in via Mist Trail and fixing the first 4 pitches the first day, then a bivy on Big Sandy the 2nd day. Flick, Tift and myself were three first-timers to the valley, ever, and felt this strategy the best option. Looking back, selectively forgetting the tangled mess of ropes at each belay and the heavy packs (2)and the frustration of waiting at each belay to untangle said tangles, it was an excellent experience in Big Walling not quite on the scale of El Cap. Of course no hauling and a scaled down rack was a huge difference. Overall we felt it was a successful trip despite the humbling experience on The Nose. Maybe Kyle can add a few pics once he gets around to it. Billable time... A few pictures of the route: Evening glow on the face the first night Kyle jugging and Steve following Pitch 4, which went French Free, since the bolts are closely spaced Steve's rejuvenated Fires Tift Not the hands of a lawyer Flick dropping down for a few lateral moves. One cool pitch. Kyle jugging Pitch 22 Final summit scramble Unfinished Business Gear Notes: Doubles of most cams up to #3.5 Approach Notes: Mist Trail, long but easy. Edited July 2, 2006 by telemarker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olyclimber Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 Wow...awesome pictures. Sounds like you guys picked up some good experience for the next trip down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottgg Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 Looks like Liberty Bell helped get you guys ready! Nice pics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telemarker Posted July 4, 2006 Author Share Posted July 4, 2006 (edited) More random photos from Kyle Flick's new digi camera: Edited July 4, 2006 by telemarker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondontherocks Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 glad you guys got to pull it off - i was there a couple summers ago & we had to bail off the wall from thunder & lightening - with everything soaked by the time we got down. regardless it is a beautiful climb from the base on up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telemarker Posted July 5, 2006 Author Share Posted July 5, 2006 glad you guys got to pull it off - i was there a couple summers ago & we had to bail off the wall from thunder & lightening - with everything soaked by the time we got down. regardless it is a beautiful climb from the base on up. At what pitch did you have to bail? We were wondering if it were possible to bail after the Robbins Traverse if one needed to. One surprising aspect about the route too was the belays. I was erroneously expecting the belays to be nicely bolted like The Nose, considering the traffic RNWF receives. To the contrary, the first belay has a smashed over 3/8" bolt backed up by three rusty pins. The rest of the belays usually had one bolt with pins. Every belay needed supplemental gear, no big deal really, just surprising and refresing actually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gosolo Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 Way to regroup and snag another classic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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