[TR] Yosemite - Tuolumne - Some Classics 7/24/2010

[mountainmatt]

Trip: Yosemite - Tuolumne - Some Classics

 

Date: 7/24/2010

 

Trip Report:

Summary:

Evan and I just returned from a weeklong trip down to Yosemite. Normally we end up in the valley, but due to the high levels of snow, we decided to postpone climbing our projects there and investigate the runout domes and alpine climbs of Tuolumne. Since neither of us had ever been there before, we decided to not focus on ratings, and rather just try to get on as many new and old classics as we could in a week. Big thanks to Courtney and Deana for helping us out with getting a campsite ☺ All the notes on the routes below are based on the Super Topo guide to Tuloumne.

 

The list of routes:

Great White Book, Stately Pleasure Dome, 5.6 R, 5 pitches

Northwest Buttress, Teneya Peak, 5.5, 14 pitches

West Country, Stately Pleasure Dome, 5.7, 4 pitches

South Crack Splitter, Stately Pleasure Dome, 5.8 R, 6 pitches

Zee Tree, Pywiak Dome, 5.7, 6 pitches

Regular route, Fairview Dome, 5.9, 12 pitches

West Crack, Daff Dome, 5.9, 5 pitches

South to North, Matthes Crest, 5.7, 18 pitches

Southeast Buttress, Cathedral Peak, 5.6, 5 pitches

On the Lamb, Lamb Dome, 5.9, 5 pitches

West Ridge, Mt.Conness, 5.6, 12 pitches

Shagadellic, Medlicott Dome, 5.8, 4 pitches

Holdless Horror, Dozier Dome, 5.6, 4 pitches

 

 

Day 1:

Great White Book, Stately Pleasure Dome, 5.6, 5 pitches

We only had an afternoon available for climbing, so Stately Pleasure Dome fit the bill perfectly (1 minute approach). This was one of the best routes we did the entire trip, a great way to start for sure! The route has a reputation since it suggests you rack 2 X #4, 2 X #5, and 1 X #6 on your rack. Although we didn’t intend on doing the Great White Book right away, it was the only route that didn’t have 10 teams of beginners on it. The crux is well protected and comes on pitch 1, with the runout pitch 3 climbing fairly easy for ~40 feet before you can place a #6 and walk it with you for the next 40 feet or so. The remainder of the offwidth climbing is fairly easy involving more slab technique and laybacking than any offwidth climbing. The descent involves a single rappel and a long slab down climb/walk.

 

Day 2:

Northwest Buttress, Teneya Peak, 5.5, 14 pitches

This was one of the easiest routes we did, very straight forward once you are at the base of the route. We climbed the route quickly as a thunderstorm was brewing over our head all morning (it started raining just 30 minutes after we finished the route at 10:30 AM). For the approach, walk to the end of the lake, go left for 300-500 meters, and then follow one of many climber/deer trails to the base of the route. The entire route can be simul-climbed, with dozens of route options the entire way up (the topo is more confusing than helpful, just climb what looks fun!). The guidebook makes the descent sound hard and scary, but really its fairly straight forward.

 

Day 3:

West Country, Stately Pleasure Dome, 5.7, 4 pitches

South Crack Splitter, Stately Pleasure Dome, 5.8 R, 6 pitches

Zee Tree, Pywiak Dome, 5.7, 6 pitches

We started early on West Country to avoid the crowds. The route is nothing particularly interesting, pitch 2 is an awkward mix between slab and laybacking. South crack splitter was a good route overall. Pitch 4 has 5.7 R, but the climbing is straightforward and the runouts were only ~30 feet. Pitch 5 has a 130 foot runout, but the climbing is only 5.3. We ended the day on Zee tree which was going to be a warmup for the classic dike route later in the week. The rock was quality, but the route was not particularly memorable. The bolts are nearly impossible to see on lead (we ended up missing a few as we went). The best pitch of the route was the final 5.7 layback/OW section to the top.

 

Day 4:

Regular route, Fairview Dome, 5.9, 12 pitches

West Crack, Daff Dome, 5.9, 5 pitches

We got up early to be the first party on the regular route since it’s a 50 classic of North America and seems to always have a line on it. We were successful in being first on the route, but a team showed up shortly after us already racked to go so we begrudgingly let them go first (they turned out to move fairly fast so we didn’t get slowed down too much). Note: if it rained in the last couple of days, expect to find several of the cracks still running with water making the polished rock on pitch 1 spicy for sure. Can link pitch 1 and most of pitch 2 together, then after a short pitch, you can link pitches 3 and 4 (just save that small gear for the whole pitch). Pitches 8-12 can be simul-climbed fairly easily as well.

We originally intended on getting on Lucky Streaks after this (5.10d, 6 pitches) but there were 3 teams on it already moving painfully slow. We opted for plan B and moved to Daff Dome to climb West Crack. Pitch 1 opens with a tough slab move above a bolt, followed by a long and sustained crack. Pitch 2 was particularly memorable involving a chimney/jug/overhanging pitch. It reminded me a little of the final pitch of the west face of Colchuck Balanced Rock.

 

Day 5:

South to North, Matthes Crest, 5.7, 18 pitches

Southeast Buttress, Cathedral Peak, 5.6, 5 pitches

We left the trailhead early to do the long hike out to Matthes Crest. One note from the start is that you want to leave the trail after 15 minutes (not 8), and counting granite steps as a marker for when to leave the trail is useless (there is a large carin anyways). The cross-country portion of the approach is easy and there were water sources everywhere on the approach. This route was a great deal of fun and the views were fantastic. We pitched out the first two pitches of the route, and then simul-climbed the remainder of the route looking for the easiest route on the knife-edge. From the top of the north summit, you can descend using a single rope by doing 3 rappels from three trees. The ridge keeps going, but Super Topo does not describe the route.

After this we hiked back towards the car and decided we had enough time to try and get on Cathedral peak to end the day. Easy cross-country hiking takes you straight to the base of the route. There were a couple of parties still on route (on pitch 4 and 5) that we later learned had been on route since early in the morning (eek! note to start early if doing just this route) Pitches 1 and 2 were easy and straightforward. Pitch 3 wandered some and required a lot of long slings. Pitch 4 was one of the best pitches of the week, involving a fun chimney that you start by laybacking and squeezing into, finally going inside the chimney where you are inside a small tunnel of sorts. Evan led the pitch and didn’t place any gear in it since it would be nearly impossible to fall out of it. From the top you can scramble down 3rd and 4th class to get to the trail at the notch (there are roughly 1,000,000 carins on the way down incase you get lost).

 

Day 6: (“Rest day”)

On the Lamb, Lamb Dome, 5.9, 5 pitches

We were fairly exhausted from climbing 23 pitches the day before and doing and climbing for 5 days straight so far. We decided to have a “rest day” allowing ourselves to sleep into about 8, make a pot of coffee, and relax in our camp chairs for a few hours. By the early afternoon, we were both antsy and decided to go and climb the classic route, “On the Lamb”. This was one of my favorite routes of the trip, but Evan did not like it as much. The crux of the route is finding the start. Once that is complete, you climb 250 feet of easy fifth to a ledge; traverse another 100 feet right to the start of the crack feature. From here, the route traverses straight to the right for about 600 feet, following a crack/dike feature with a knobby slab for your feet. For the pebble wrestlers out there, you can think of it as a 500 foot V0 traverse that is about 200-300 feet above the ground (you might want a big crash pad). Chris Mac suggests bringing a double set of nuts for the route, but you may as well leave them in the car. The crack gobbles up cams the entire way.

 

Day 7:

West Ridge, Mt.Conness, 5.6, 12 pitches

This route was really not high on our original list, but after talking to several people, we pushed it up to the top. The approach is classic PNW style: long, loose scrambling, exposed positions, trails that are partial waterfalls, and lots of mosquitoes. We hiked in and treated some water at the bench above the high lake. We scrambled up about 400 feet below the summit only to hike down to a notch on the south side of the summit and drop ~800 feet vertical through a mix of loose class 3/4 and talus. This route was fantastic, full value climb for sure. Pitches 1-3 were harder than any pitch on Cathedral Peak. The remainder of the route can be simul-climbed with the most exciting climbing right on the ridge proper (you can always escape to the left for easier 3rd/4th class climbing). The climb had yellow-bellied marmots everywhere, which offered fun surprises on route and on the summit.

 

Day 8:

Shagadellic, Medlicott Dome, 5.8, 4 pitches

Holdless Horror, Dozier Dome, 5.6, 4 pitches

We only had a partial last day before we needed to start the long drive back to Seattle, but we also realized that we were close to actually climbing 100 pitches for the week, so we decided to add in two more new routes. Shagadellic was up first, and provided fun slab/knob climbing on pitches 2 and 3. Most people rap from here, but we completed pitch 4 to top out on Medlicott dome. The views from the top are fantastic, including views of the Cathedral Lakes and the backside of Cathedral Peak. From here, we climbed down and around to Dozier dome which was supposed to have a horrible approach and terrible mosquitoes. Neither of these facts were true, and instead we were greeted by ~10 parties of new climbers. We dropped our rope in line and rested in the shade for the next 4 hours waiting for a 3 teams to climb the four-pitch route Holdless Horror. Although the route name makes the route sound terrifying, its really well protected with a large off-width going most of the way and knobs everywhere.

 

The Great White Book (right) West country (left)

 

Lines galore on West Country

 

Great White Book, pitch 3

 

Teneya Peak from Teneya lake

 

The dozens of possible starts and lines up Teneya Peak

 

Heading up the second simul-lead of Teneya Peak

 

Summit of Teneya Peak

 

Thunderstorms galore on day 2

 

Looking down at Pywaik dome

 

Pywiak dome, Zee tree goes up the center, passing the single tree on the slab

 

Fairview dome,

 

Evan rocking out on Fairview Dome, the regular route goes roughly up the center

 

Four days straight and I was exhausted! (top of Fairview)

 

Daff dome, west crack goes up the center of the slab on the left side

 

Lamb dome, On the lamb traverses the horizontal crack in the middle of the face

 

Matthes Crest, start on the right side, head towards the left, staying on the ridge

 

Simul-climbing Matthes Crest

 

Summit of the north peak of Matthes Crest

 

Great views on the way to Cathedral Peak

 

Cathedral peak, Eichorn pinnacle on the left

 

Evan exiting the chimney on pitch 4 of Cathedral Peak

 

Looking down from the summit of Cathedral Peak

 

Route for the west ridge of Mt.Conness

 

False summit of Mt.Conness

 

Descent gully down to the west ridge of Mt.Conness

 

Start of the West Ridge of Mt.Conness

 

Simul-climbing the ridge of Mt.Conness

 

If you want to lead Peace (5.13c/d) or the Bachar Yerian (5.11c R) they are on Medlicott dome

 

Shagadellic

 

Great views from the summit of Medlicott dome (half dome in the background)

 

Evan works on his pebble pinching and slab technique

 

Holdless Horror, pitch 3

 

 

[Tyson.g]

What a fantastic looking trip!

Thanks for sharing all those stoke inducing, quality photos!

 

[webnick2007]

Quality beta! Thanks for posting the inspiring shots! ....I'm going; don't tell anyone!!

[Sherri]

Sweet!

[curtveld]

Man, that's some serious mileage! Did you do Cathedral after the full-length Matthes?

[sobo]

100 Yosemite/Tuolumne pitches in a week!! Holy shite, guys!

Was there any time left at all for drinking beer??

 

That looks like that was a freak'n fantastic trip!

[Rad]

Fantabulous! Good thing you were acclimatized before doing Conness. With a topout around 12,400 that thing can get your sea lungs pumping.

[molly]

Looks like a great trip! Nice job Matt and Evan!

[mountainmatt]

 

Thanks y'all, it was a great trip. Definitely not a relaxing vacation, but I feel like we both know the Tuolumne area pretty well now. Next time I think we will have to get on some of the harder lines and decrease the overall pitch count.

 

Did you do Cathedral after the full-length Matthes?

Yuppers. We had thought of the idea the day before, but figured it was a long shot. We finished Matthes crest faster than we thought we would and got to the base of Cathedral at about 3:30 or so. Since there were no crowds and the sky was clear we went for it. Definitely an enjoyable way to end the day.

[wbk]

nice work out there!

[OlympicMtnBoy]

Super job guys! Too bad we missed crossing paths! You guys got on some of the super classics, it's taken me three trips down there to tick most of those. I'm not going to let Matt have any more rest days on our trips since I know he can climb for a week straight now!

 

Curt, it sounds like they did the full Matthes Crest as described in the Supertopo guide, but not the entire ridge. I believe the full ridge goes at like 5.8R or something but doesn't require any rappels to get off. I don't think many folks go all the way since the pro gets kinda crappy after the north summit.

[jonesy]

sick dudes I just got back from there last week... didn't get half the climbs you did, but super stoked to go back, little overwhelmed for my first time there...looks like you went big! thanks for the pics got me all nostalgic for last week!

[therunningdog]

On which of these routes did you use a pour-ta-ledge?

[curtveld]

I believe the full ridge goes at like 5.8R or something but doesn't require any rappels to get off. I don't think many folks go all the way since the pro gets kinda crappy after the north summit.

Right, that would be the version in Croft's book - funny how Croft never has much to say about pro Still a lot of white granite covered a day!