Steph_Abegg Posted September 15, 2013 Posted September 15, 2013 (edited) Trip: Incredible Hulk - Red Dihedral (5.10b) and Positive Vibrations (5.11a) Date: 9/7-8/2013 Trip Report: This summer (2013) I became somewhat obsessed with a desire to climb the Incredible Hulk. The Incredible Hulk is known for three things: the best rock in the High Sierra, long routes, and incredibly sustained climbing. I just had to climb it. I think part of my obsession resulted from the challenge of just making it happen. In June, I headed to the High Sierra to do some climbing with my Californian friend Mark, where we planned to climb the Hulk after a week in the Palisades. Our time in the Palisades was a grand adventure, but it left too little time and energy to tackle the Hulk afterward. So I flew home, already scheming of how I could squeeze another trip to the High Sierra into my packed summer. Over the next couple of months, I had several great mountain adventures, but the Incredible Hulk continued to hulk in the back of my mind. In late August I returned to California on a climbing roadtrip with Dan, Chad, and Sarah; the Incredible Hulk was the primary objective. But the Hulk was not going to make it easy on us. First there were thundershowers in the northern Sierra; then the skies were clear but accompanied by 30 mph gusts; then the air was calm but a thick layer of wildfire smoke settled in the valleys east of Yosemite (where the Hulk is). Fortunately there is no shortage of rock to climb in the area, so we still enjoyed a successful week of climbing other Sierra classics. But again I returned home to Washington a tad frustrated that yet again my hands had not touched the steep white granite of the Hulk. Now with only about ten days of summer left before school started up again, the Hulk looked unlikely. But I just couldn't get it out of my mind. Then (on a Wednesday) I got an email from Mark from California, about his weekend plans to climb the Hulk with his friend Nic. Mark mentioned that he himself wanted to climb the popular Red Dihedral route but that Nic was more interested in climbing the less crowded and more challenging Positive Vibrations route. A flurry of emails later, and I was throwing climbing gear into my car. The Incredible Hulk, here I come! I climbed Red Dihedral (5.10b, 1200') with Mark on Saturday (Sept 7) and Positive Vibrations (5.11a, 1500') on Sunday (Sept 8) with Nic. These are probably the most popular climbs on the Hulk. The RD-PV pairing makes a great full-on two-day trip with over 2500' of truly incredible climbing. I've posted a full trip report on my website. http://www.stephabegg.com/home/tripreports/california/incrediblehulk Here are a few route overlays (courtesy of Mark) and photos. Red Dihedral (5.10b) Positive Vibrations (5.11a) Climbers on the routes. Looking up at the upper half of Positive Vibrations. Such fun climbing ahead! For more: http://www.stephabegg.com/home/tripreports/california/incrediblehulk Edited September 16, 2013 by Steph_Abegg Quote
Eric T Posted September 16, 2013 Posted September 16, 2013 Hell Yes Steph! Amazing pics and great beta as usual....Thanks. I can't wait to climb the hulk. Did you find the Hulk super ball? Quote
Steph_Abegg Posted September 16, 2013 Author Posted September 16, 2013 (edited) Did you find the Hulk super ball? Yep, it nearly rolled out when I opened the register! I wonder if this is the original, or if there are a several previous Hulk Super Balls filling up the cracks below the summit block... Edited September 16, 2013 by Steph_Abegg Quote
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