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Tuolomne Meadows


miker

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Hey All,

I am going to be in Tuolomne Meadows from July 11th-14th and wanted to see if anyone can help me find the good stuff.

I lead 5.9 trad, but I know that Yosemite can be a little harder in ratings then the Pacific NW.

I want to climb some long easy ones, 5.7-5.9 with minimum runout. I have the standard list from supertopos.com. The current plan is West Crack on Daff Dome and then maybe Darth Vader's revenge for a challenge or off to Stately Pleasure Dome for various Easy climbs.

The big question is, where should I climb if the lines are too long? Which are the hidden classics?

We even thought about Fairview Dome's Regular Route, but talking to a friend who has done it, I think the sustained crack might be a bit much for me at this stage in my climbing. Is it a true crack climb or are there still the various knobs and places to allows for face/crack climbing?

Anyway, extra excited and ready to go, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Mike R

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Third Pillar of Dana and Matthes Crest are great. Fairview didn't seem too sustained. West crack is great, about the only crack on the whole damn formation.

 

Seems like there was an article in one of the rags a couple of years ago called "Sierra Six Pack" or something like that, ahhh it's coming back to me... concentrate, visualize, Rock and Ice I think. Anyway, it's a rundown of some classic moderates if you can find a copy.

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Mike,

I personally think the ratings are pretty close most of the time. Including the Valley as well. Not to say that there is the ocassional sandbag for sure tongue.gif Gotta love it when you whip on one of those smile.gif

As far as the R Route on Fairview it is way cool must do. The crux my partner and I thought was on the 1st low angle greasy pitch. If you can do that pitch you can finish the route easily.

There are knobs but tune up on your crack skills to have a better time if you have not been.

Drop me a line Mike I got some recent photos laying around I can send you. Plus other useful camping info.

-Cpt

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Did Cathedral a couple of weeks ago. Awesome. The rock has a unique teture to it. Kind of like Smith- covered in little protruding pebbles. How about that summit, boys? The scenery is great, total alpine feel.And the chimney......surprisingly pleasent.If you want to knock off another 50 classic, do lost arrow spire. Its not difficult, you're actually only climbing 2 pitches but there are a lot of logistics involved..definetly get some beta.

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All of those suggestions are good climbs. Also try

The Hobbit Book 5.6 adventure

On the Lamb 5.9 - Only if your second climbs 5.9 also. Go sideways young man.

Lunar Leep 5.9- but only a move or two, the first pitch is run out but easy. How often do you get to take a running jump on a climb with no consequenses. Great ledge.

The Yawn 5.9+ Classic crack climb. The chimney is kind of scary but well protected. The dihedral above is one of the best 5.5 cracks in the known universe.

I personaly don't think the ratings there are any harder than here. Most of the climbs are runnout by modern standards. They were put up by climbers who didn't want to spend the time or money drilling by hand on 5.8. Most of the time when the climbing gets hard you'll find protection.

 

Enjoy!

 

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Well Mike,

It seems like you already have "the list". I didn't find the crowds to be all that bad. We were the third out of five parties on Fairview, but it was cool. Everyone was really friendly and we all moved at a good pace. Everyone was way spred out after the third pitch. We did it in nine long pitches. The top three being fun scrambling. Do it... don't worry about the "5.9" or the people. I never put my feet in the crack, but there isn't much else for hands. It takes bomber gear, take doubles and lots 'o slings if you are worried about runouts, the pitches are long!!! Shit pull on a cam or two if you have too. You won't get struck by lightning, but you might get kicked out of the Trad Klan!!!

My recomondation out of all the routes I've done in Toulumne around 5.9 or so:

-Reg. on Fairview, for sure do it midweek and start at the crack of dawn, or afternoon if you are fast.

-SW. Butt. of Cathedral, steller and fun routefinding, go light!

-west crack, south crack, cryin' time

-Lucky streaks is great but it has a couple harder pitches.

Ahh... shit dude there are tons of cool climbs, just go for it!

Drink lots of water, take some rest days in the middle, and use sunscreen! The Forest Service campsites outside the gate are much cheaper than the Toulumne Campground. Stock up on food and gas! Have fun!!

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I just went through Tuolomne last weekend and it was uncrowded (it often is in my experience). The crux on Fairview's trade route is short, and requires more grunt than finesse; go early, and bring doubles of your camming devices to sew it up. Cathedral is a must (that's one to also go early for since the chimney is the bottleneck, and one slow party can put you under a thundercloud). Don't miss the great faceclimbing; Cibola is one of the greatest faceclimbs, IMHO, and there's some sport-style bolted climbs on Medlicott dome (I think that's the one. Or is it Cottage?). Another great climbing option is to hike to North dome from Hwy 120, and do the easy Crest Jewel (only a short parts are 5.10-); Even better is to get a shuttle to the valley, climb both Royal Arches and Crest Jewel, hike to 120, and hitch back to your Tuolomne camp. Rock & Ice #108 had a short article by Greg Couch on Tuolomne that will give you more ideas.

If you want more climbing ideas, there's the whole Sierra Eastside (climbing both Primero and Segundo buttresses at the Whitney trailhead makes for a great day).

Have a great trip,

Will McCarthy

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