Yak Check TR w/Dru Beta Update

[layton]

Did Yak Check w/Necro yesterday. Awesome route!

Dru provided some fantastic beta on Bivouc.com which was a great resource for some ways of speeding up the route. I agree w/everything Dru posted on his "opinionated description" execept for:

 

1. The approach can take a little longer than 20min if you've never been there before, and is legnthened by parking at the outhouses. It is a miserable walk down the hwy, smelling of emptied cans of urine, and drainage from the restroom w/semis roaring past. There is room to park right where the On Ramp splits from the highway (those coming from hope should drive up the shoulder, i think the next exit to turn around is miles further)

 

2.Dru mentions soloing to the base of the tower (after the traverse). We didn't do this. We simuled below the traverse, did a 5.6/5.7 pitch up the lower corner, then traversed to below the route past one anchor (rope drag).

 

3.From the slung block in the chimney lower down, it is one pitch to the top of what Dru calls pitch 5. This combines Dru's pitch 3+4. Dru says from the top of lunch ledge it is 10 feet higher to bolts and that this pitch is 50m, when in fact this pitch (p3.) is only 30-40m and then next is much shorter. Fine w/a 60m rope.

 

4.On Dru's p.6, he says move left from the belay and climb a left facing corner for 10m before stepping around the arete. You move RIGHT from the belay and don't climb the corner, stepping right around the arete about the same elevation as the belay. Much easier, good solid holds and jams.

 

5.The last 4th class pitch can prove catastrophic if the leader falls. You don't have to go straight up to the trees. You can go about 30m then head left into a break in the trees. No bushwacking is involved through the trees. There is another pitch of 3rd to the top from here.

 

Thank you Dru for the helpful beta, you were right about the grades, and your ascent/desent time was close to ours. The "cave" beta was great, and although probably more technically harder, saves you from a shitty belay and a grovel. Your gear beta was good to, although most of the cracks are pretty wide. I'd be sure to bring two #2 camalots, especially for the roof traverse. I thought that traverse was much more pumpy than the one on Snake.

 

As for when to go, it is S.Facing so the evil sun will try and kill you. A good way to do it (like we did) is to start early when the forecast calls for morning cloud clearing by afternoon. It was fun climbing in the mist, and by the time the solar devil beat down upon us, we were on top.

 

Someone left a dog at the base w/a puny water dish (looked like a torn plastic bag). The dog was very very scared when we came by, and was barking like crazy and growling. Poor guy! We gave him the rest of our water, but it looked like his/her masters were 1/2 way up, and the sun was in it's most violent stage of torture at this time. I know dogs are animals and animals come from the woods, etc..., but they depend on you and feel neglected just like children would. I think it was cruel to leave your dog at the base of this route, but I'm sure your opionion is much different.

 

[ 08-22-2002, 01:09 PM: Message edited by: michael_layton ]

[Dru]

Leaving a dog at the base of Yak is a good way to get a dead dog, if youve ever seen people dropping the shit down from up there like water bottles, cams, huge rocks....

 

Duh like wouldn't your dog have been safer at home? RETARDS

 

Thanks for the beta refinements, Mike, I will update if'n I think you are correct. Like that right and left thing I probably led that pitch and wrote the description looking at it from above

[Dru]

As for the traverse to the cave we had Friends and a doubleset of TCUs, not Camalots, so you can put in the #2.5 and #3 Friend on that traverse. Maybe it was because i was seconding but i found it easier than Snake - better footholds and more postive hand jams. But longer!