Jump to content

[TR] Incredible Hulk - Red Dihedral and Positive Vibrations 9/8/2013


Steph_Abegg

Recommended Posts

Trip: Incredible Hulk - Red Dihedral (5.10b) and Positive Vibrations (5.11a)

 

Date: 9/7-8/2013

 

Trip Report:

9716835168_8624e1d986_c.jpg

 

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)

2013-09-07%2520-%2520060a%2520-%2520IH%2520Red%2520Dihedral%2520-%2520P1000321%2520-%2520Nic%25202%2520-%2520annotated.jpg

 

Positive Vibrations (5.11a)

2013-09-07%2520-%2520053a%2520-%2520IH%2520Red%2520Dihedral%2520-%2520P1000302%2520-%2520Version%25202%2520-%2520Nic%2520-%2520Annotated.jpg

 

Climbers on the routes.

866101.jpg

 

Looking up at the upper half of Positive Vibrations. Such fun climbing ahead!

9711527907_40f76f7ddf_c.jpg

 

For more: http://www.stephabegg.com/home/tripreports/california/incrediblehulk

Edited by Steph_Abegg
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 2
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




×
×
  • Create New...