[TR] Sierra - Evolution Traverse 7/14/2012

[zeedub]

Trip: Sierra - Evolution Traverse

 

Date: 7/14/2012

 

Trip Report:

Two weeks ago, Mac and I put a bid on the famed Evolution Traverse in the high Sierra. We lucked out and nabbed a brilliant weather day to help pull off a on-sight push in 18 hours on this 8-mile ridge. It proved to be just as stellar as everyone says and quite fitting for Croft to have picked it for his entry into Kroese's 50 Favorite Climbs book -- this line is an über classic.

 

With it's length and complexity we looked to a few key sources on the inter-webs in order to get as prepared as possible with the handful of nuances involved with the route. We were a bit surprised that CascadeSprayers didn't have an trip report entry in it's Cali section and we felt compelled to submit this one in hopes to fuel the stoke for more NorthWest'ies to make the trip to Cali for this gem (amongst many other stellar lines in the high Sierra).

 

The Evolution Basin is an amazing location; it'd be like if the Enchantment Plateau smoked some PCP and then snorted five lines of coke. The relief is vastly larger; while on the ridge you remain at an average of 13k for bulk of the route. Sa'hick!

 

If it is the uncertainty that draws you into your mountain adventures, then you should stop reading this post here, grab a copy of Croft's perfectly vague description from The Good, The Great, The Awesome, and have yourself one fantastic time up there. Consider that our spoiler alert for those not interested in the beta spray down we are about to unleash.

 

For others of us okay with (or seek out) beta in hopes for a successful execution out of the gates, we aim to offer a quick Reader's Digest version of what we learned in our experience and how we would have done it differently to give a bigger guarantee on getting through this grade VI in a day on the initial go (which was a first for the both of us).

 

First off, we used a handful of sources, but three descriptions were primary in our research:

Croft's The Good, The Great, The Awesome

Pull Harder's robust Evoultion Traverse Post with a great set of photos.

And HariHari's Mountain Project entry.

 

Props to these sources, they were a great help. And respect to Horne, Har-Noy, and Stoletov on their recent first winter ascent of the route. That's super proud to have pulled off. Brrr.

 

As many sources mention, a more traditional rock topo's won't help prep for this route. It's just too long, and it would quickly prove useless. Instead we printed a map out (we used RyanB's hillmap.com for pulling custom sized topo prints -- super helpful tool if you're not familiar) and jotted down all the beta from the sources above to break things down in sections. When on route, we made a few of our own notes and tweaked a few things that we felt were different from three combine sources. They are mostly minor additions/edits, but it was helpful for us to know exactly what was coming up, hence these tweaks.

 

We combine all this info on a couple page topo-beta-map, here a link: zacwest.net/topos/EvoTraverseBeta-July2012.pdf

 

If you are looking at this in a few seasons and the link is broken, then PM me. (Not able to upload a PDF to CC, the .Jpeg exports were too big as well, hence the FTP alternative).

 

These 3 pages outline all the info we wanted with us for getting to and when on the route. We added in a theoretical time chart to understand progress planning while on route to gauge scope and daylight hours -- though keep in mind this is just theoretical as there are a lot of variables at play with one's own exact timing. Our timing %'ages matched closely to what Horne @ PullHarder asserts, though ours is a slightly more granular. File is letter format with 0.5" margins, but print scale isn't crucial so long as things are legible.

 

Here are some tips'n'tricks from our experience for folks interested in trying a single push bid:

 

• Don't Freak Out on the Length. The route is indeed large, but no one section is super daunting. We agree with Horne that the route is well worth the effort even if you only get through a portion, or choose to exit with Spencer's summit for the Evo Half traverse. Just traversing from Gould to 13,332' would be a fantastic day. Bailing gets easier and easier the farther you get through the route -- which can give a nice piece of mind if the timing isn't coming together for the full push. It is substantially easier after 13,332', as it might require some raps before that point depending on your bail gully.

 

• Acclimatize. A rest day for acclimatization can be incredibly helpful, esp'ly for our own sea level lungs. Croft cites doing this on his solo FA of the route, and we were very happy to have the day before to walk the JMT for the return section of the route, scout the snow conditions, look at possible water options, and enjoy Evolution Basin. Not to mention let the rain and lighting pass by on that Friday.

 

• Understand how you preform on rock up high. 5.9 at 13k is much more adult grade than your umpteenth hike up Godzilla. Having familiarity with your own performance at elevation on the rock grades will greatly help you prepare. We'd caution anyone against this route as your first visit to the high sierra, even for the cardio'suffer'badasses among us. Go do two grade IV routes in a day on the hulk, temple crag, or mt. russell. There are many other tall objectives (and other shorter but still great sierra traverses) that make for a great education on how you'll preform up high as well as getting used to Sierra's nuances (e.g. "4th class" there can sometimes mean pulling 5.8).

 

• Dial in the timing. On a normal to low snow year, July is a great time to do the route. Daylight is in your advantage, which is crucial for navigation on the slightly tricky sections in the beginning (getting off Gould) and the end of the route (up and down Huxley). Many parties go later in the season, but we were quite happy to be up there earlier in the year. That said, also bring a 100-200 lumen headlamp.

 

• Snow Gear is best when you don't have to use it. We each brought a light weight axe and 'poons in, but were quite happy to leave them at camp with our assessment on our acclimatization day. Those tools may prove imperative in earlier season conditions, but hopefully you'll go when you don't need them.

 

• Plan your water wisely. We had moderate temps with some hot hours in the sun, but mostly upper 70's for the bulk of the day, and went through 7 quarts of water a piece. We both could have done 10 easily. Water is an issue with lower snow. The recommended lake to drop down to just past point 13,332 is a perfectly placed and only 500 vert off the ridge crest. We took 3 liters of capacity on route, filled at the lake while having lunch, and then filled at the evo creek just before the JMT when returning to camp.

 

• Don't bring rock shoes. We brought them as we thought we would need them from other solo experiences at the grade. While rock shoes can be crucial for comfort with security (relative term) for more common PNW solo objectives (like N ridge of Stuart or Outerspace), this ridge line is fairly broken and most of the hard moves are bouldery in nature and the exposed terrain is usually more moderate (5.7 and below). There are a few spots where you are pulling/down-climbing 5.8 with exposure. Hence we thought we would transition into rock shoes there. We never put them on as we got comfy with the terrain and then focused on keeping ourselves moving efficiently.

 

• Keep the trad gear minimal. We took four cams (#0.5 - #2), a handful of burn nuts, couple of slow-draws, and some tat. It was too much for the route. But it does make a good insurance policy if things were to go wrong and you needed to bail before point 13,332' -- which you may need some bail gear to make a few raps down one of the steeper gullies.

 

• Short Rap Line. 100' is all you need, but you want to make sure to have not much less than that length as 1 or 2 instances we had free hanging raps that stretched it right to a ledge. We are fans of dyno cord as there are more safe options for use. We took a cut 7.8 mm twin that was 85', but 15' more would have been nice in the couple of cases. You could take a 6mm tag line, but if you end up really needing to use your rope for climbing/simo/rescue then you are a bit limited. We also debated on swami's versus full harnesses, but were very glad to have the leg loops for the couple free hang rap sections. Those were short, but having done a few free hanging raps with a swami on prior objectives, the leg loops sure do help.

 

• Minimize the Simo'ing. We saw some reports about simo'ing between Darwin and 13,332'. It is obviously a great way to move efficiently with a rope, but not as fast as just free soloing presuming you are comfortable with the grades and exposure. We tried to simo one area we thought looked insecure. But it turned out to be more straight forward than anticipated and we put the rope away after 150' of climbing.

 

• Ditch the back up bivy insulation. We took light weight puffies for just-in-case thinking, but then vetted how easy this route would be to bail on the last half. For folks going in for a push it helps to avoid any extras and have your back up be hiking down the 3rd class scree/talus gullies back into the Evo basin. Less stable weather might be a factor -- but you might be bailing then as well. This isn't the ten essentials thinking you learned in your Mounties basic course, but then again this style of climbing with a compressed timeline likely wasn't discussed either. This would obviously be different for earlier or later season attempts that incur colder temps.

 

• Keep the lids. Helmets were great to have as a few spots that are slightly chossy. We were happy to have them, esp'ly on a few of the gully crossings and raps where there were loose blocks. Well worth the weight in our view.

 

• Scope the descent and de'pproach back to camp. Huxley would be a tricky peak to navigate efficiently in the dark, both up and off of it. The second gully is key to getting down with no raps. Enter it on it's north edge where cairns help lead the way. But it very helpful to understand how to best hit the JMT, and the turn off the trail back up to Darwin bench is good to know as it is likely you'll be here in the dark. While traveling cross country in the Sierra alpine at night can be easier than being on Cascades trail in the day, this short cross country climb up can feel Herculean after 15-20 hours on route.

 

• Not rapping can be heads up. Yeah, that's pretty obvious. But for the most part, you can get through much of the route with out rapping and opting to down climb. In many cases, we think this would be slower (though arguably a prouder style), and there are a few sections where you need to be obviously more game on than what you ascend. Clearly the down climbing (and the route finding for rapping) crux is getting off Darwin. Croft's suggested line does not look pleasant, nor did HariHari's experience sound fun. It may be worth exploring the raps close to the crest as decent descent path initially, but you'd need to deviate into the gullies before the free hanging raps lower down that rap route.

 

Here is how our timing went which might help with planning depending on daylight hours:

 

It then took us about 2 additional hours to back to camp on the JMT and up to Darwin Bench.

 

And here are a photos of while on route.

 

Descending from the summit of Mendal (second peak) just after 7am, headed toward Darwin:

 

The book is just barely surviving atop Darwin:

 

Looking down route's crux, it's a bit complex getting into it, but goes smooth if you keep your wits about you (don't rush this section):

 

The commonly photographed golden triangle (this marks about 40%):

 

Fiske's sub ridge:

 

Looking downward on moves up to Huxley's second col:

 

Half way up Huxley with alpenglow's stop watch ticking hard:

 

Topping out on Huxley around 8:25pm:

 

 

Gear Notes:

As noted above, keep weight and bulk as honed as possible.

 

Approach Notes:

High Sierras take a bit of travel energy to get to from the PNW, but SAC + RNO make good sense for flying. Or better yet, include this in a long road trip!

[OlympicMtnBoy]

Sweet! Nice job in a day!

[Rad]

Inspiring. Your topo suggests there are only a few fifth class sections on the traverse, and only a few are 5.8 or 5.9 (assuming one stays on the easiest path). True?

[zeedub]

Rad: Indeed, this is true. The climbing, as most also post on other forums, remains consistently 4th class with intermittent sections of 5th. There are a few sections of where you have consistent mid-fifth climbing, and spots with 5.8 and 5.9. This is in part the nature of ridge traverses, though certainly they can differ from range to range. It's less about the consistency at a technical grade and more the scope of pulling it off in a day and efficiency at altitude that pose the greater aspects of the route's challenge.

 

Certainly, don't take the beta as exact points on the ridge, but more as comments on each section noted between peaks. And it goes without saying this is just our experience.... so much can depend on micro-routefinding choices as to weather folks experience the same.

 

Go get 'er!

Edited August 1, 2012 by zeedub

[John Frieh]

Crushing. Route and write up. Well done duders

[zeedub]

Very sad and strange timing to post this TR today.... just learned of the news of Horne's death in Peru a couple days ago, who is one of the sources we cited above. Wishing the best to all the friends and family affected by both of these losses in our greater community. His stoke for the mtns was evident in his robust write up.

 

http://www.alpinist.com/doc/_print/web12x/newswire-horne-weiss-dead

[Rad]

Rad: Indeed, this is true. The climbing, as most also post on other forums, remains consistently 4th class with intermittent sections of 5th. There are a few sections of where you have consistent mid-fifth climbing, and spots with 5.8 and 5.9. This is in part the nature of ridge traverses, though certainly they can differ from range to range. It's less about the consistency at a technical grade and more the scope of pulling it off in a day and efficiency at altitude that pose the greater aspects of the route's challenge.

 

Certainly, don't take the beta as exact points on the ridge, but more as comments on each section noted between peaks. And it goes without saying this is just our experience.... so much can depend on micro-routefinding choices as to weather folks experience the same.

 

Go get 'er!

 

Thanks. I was mainly asking because while I'm probably willing to free solo mid fifth, I'm unlikely to be willing to free solo exposed 5.9 for a variety of reasons. I have done some climbing in the high Sierras, though nothing hard anywhere close to 13k.

[burchey]

Nice report - love the pics and insight. This is on the list.