jshamster Posted October 30, 2008 Posted October 30, 2008 (edited) Trip: Exfoliation Dome - Dark Rhythm Date: 10/28/2008 Trip Report: I spent the weekend up at 3:00 rock, Sat. with MattP and Sun. with my brother-in-law, and couldn't help but noticing how late the sun stayed on Exfoliation Dome. So, with a bit of kid shuffling, we managed to make it out there on Tuesday. I've been up Jacob's Ladder and Rainman, and have been wanting to check out Dark Rhythm for some time now. The Granite Sidewalk was a bit damp and dirty at the bottom, but the slabs up higher were dry and make for a quick approach. The sun hit us just as my bro finished leading the first pitch. It was great t-shirt weather all day, but cool enough for the excellent friction that makes most D-town routes great. The route itself is really good, but doesn't quite measure up to the other two classics on this dome. Rainman is right next door, but overall more sustained, and Jacob's ladder is in a class by itself, being much steeper. The crux fourth pitch on Dark Rhythm makes the route. A great .10c slab crux followed by super fun arete pulling on "the Flange." All of the other .10a pitches, three I think, were good fun as well. The third pitch has had some rockfall on it, and is a mess of loose rocks and creaking flakes. Not terribly hard, but nerve racking nonetheless. We tossed some of the bigger loose rocks, but tread lightly. Whitelaw's guide describes eight pitches, but the final 5.6 pitch is not worth doing at all. Pretty much walking, no hands, up a dirty slab. Gaining the true summit of Exfo. dome would be the only reason to include this pitch. I have heard numerous opinions on the best decent route from Blueberry Terrace, but we just rappeled Rainman. Rainman and Dark Rhythm share anchors at the top of the sixth pitch, and the raps are all clean on Rainman. From the base of Rainman it is just a short scramble back up to the packs at the base of Dark Rhythm. Our timing was pretty much dead on all day. Reached the packs just as the sun left us, and made it back to the truck right at dusk. Great send off to the D-town season! Cheers. Jimbo p.s. - we took a few pics but none really turned out. Gear Notes: 10-12 q.d.'s blue alien - gold camalot Approach Notes: Granite Sidewalk. Side road to Exfoliation Dome has a great roadbed, but is very narrow. Take a vehicle you can trash the paint on. Some pics: Edited November 6, 2008 by jshamster Quote
jshamster Posted November 6, 2008 Author Posted November 6, 2008 bump. added some pics for yer viewing pleasure. Quote
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