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[TR] El Capitan - Triple Direct 5/19/2010


dberdinka

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Trip: El Capitan - Triple Direct

 

Date: 5/19/2010

 

Trip Report:

I basically lack words other than I feel really happy. If you develop some basic aid climbing skills, learn to be efficent and get in shape it's not hard, just a lot of work. Get on it!

 

I spent what climbing time I could muster this spring dialing in the aid climbing while Owen just spent time being Owen, hiking pitches that I can barely follow. The hauling, jugging and leading seemed to take all of a pitch for him to sort out.

 

We knocked this off in 5 days RT from home, our itinerary being...

 

Day 1 (Wednesday, May 12th)

 

Catch a 6 am flight from Seatac into San Fransisco. On the road by 9am. Grab two cases of bottled water in El Portal and pack the piglets just inside the park boundary. Pull into El Cap meadows at 2:30 pm. Immediately walk to the base of The Nose. Look at people scattered everywhere over the first four pitches. Move over to Free Blast which is essentially empty. Start climbing at 3:30 PM. Reach Triangle Ledge at the top of Pitch 6 by 9 PM. Bivi.

 

Day 2 (Thursday, May 13th)

 

Get up early. Start climbing, climb some more, keep climbing, race darkness across some big pendulums into the Grey Bands and a decent bivi at the end of Pitch 18.

 

Day 3 (Friday, May 14th)

 

Sleep in. Climb a nice Pitch of 5.9 into Camp 4. Apparently no one on the Nose has made it past El Cap Tower. Climb the Great Roof. Owen learns to lower out following it. Continue up the Pancake Flake, through Camp 5, up to the Glowering Spot and into Camp 6 by 6 pm. Camp 6 is a shower. Fix the ropes and rap back to a ridiculously exposed 18" wide ledge. Drop the food bag. Laugh. Have a surprisingly good nights sleep hanging in your harness.

 

Day 4 (Saturday, May 15th)

 

Start early. Get wet on the beginning of the Changing Corners pitch. Climb into the sun at a perfect belay stance at the top of Pitch 28. The exposure up here is beyond comprehension. Experience an overwhelming joy. Two short fun pitches, the last an overhanging bolt ladder and we're at the top by 3:30 PM. After a glorious descent, experience culture shock in the Mardi-Gra like atmosphere of Curry Village. Drink to much beer, eat to much pizza and crash out in the forest below El Cap where the constellations in the heavens are joined by a constellation of headlights from other climbers scattered across the wall. Breathe taking.

 

Day 5 (Sunday, May 16th)

 

Coffee and pastries in Curry Village. Then hike up to the base of the most beautiful thing ever. Perfect temps. Back to Curry Village to pilfer through all the cool gear in the Mountain Shop then on to El Cap meadows to repack the bags for the flight home. Leave Yosemite by 1 pm, catch a flight in the evening, stumble in the front door around midnight. Back to work!

 

Enjoy the pics....

 

 

Geared Up

 

geared_up.jpg

 

 

Free Blast, Pitch 5

 

free_blast.jpg

 

 

Into the aid climbing on the Muir Wall

 

p121.jpg

 

 

Racing darkness across the pendulum pitches in the Grey Band

 

muir_wall_traverse.jpg

 

 

Climbing into Camp 4 on The Nose - no one around!?

 

into_Camp4.jpg

 

 

Approaching the Great Roof

 

A_Great_Roof.jpg

 

 

Owen survives the lower-outs under the Great Roof

 

Great_Roof.jpg

 

 

The spectacular Pancake Flake, first of many pitches in the upper dihedrals

 

pancake_flake.jpg

 

 

Unbelievable exposure at the top of Pitch 28

 

p28.jpg

 

 

The end of it all

 

end_of_p30.jpg

 

 

Compulsory Team Picture at the Top-Out Tree

 

top_out_shot.jpg

 

 

The glorious descent down the East Ledges

 

E_Ledges_Descent.jpg

 

 

The Most Beautiful Thing Ever - Yosemite Falls

 

the_most_beautiful_thing.jpg

 

 

Lazy afternoon repacking in El Cap Meadows

 

El_Cap_Meadows.jpg

 

Gear Notes:

As many #7 and #8 al offset nuts as you can bring. Lots of #2 and #3 Camalots for the upper pitches.

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