Bay Area Daytrips (11-12 May 2013)

I meant to post this when I actually did the climbing a few weeks back, that way reports like "it was way hot at Pinnacles, but the shade was survivable" may have been relevant on the off chance that someone I know around here actually reads this stuff. Oh well, good for next year I suppose, though it would have been better if I had actually noted temperatures.

Anyway, enough of that. I was psyched to climb for most of the day for two days in a row, almost all leading, and pushed myself a bit with Bennett on Sunday at Castle Rock.

Saturday Pinnacles, The Flumes Northeast Face
Good late spring/early summer cragging, showed up at 10:30 just as the face was coming into shade. early morning showed machete ridge (and the Citadel) in shade. the whole area was bolts, no gear.
Kibbles and Bits (9) - lead
Bits 'n' Pieces, Extension (9) - lead - straightforward for the most part, better protected than Kibbles and Bits
Wet Paranoia (9) - TR - loose in spots, more fun than the first two
Jumangi (10a) - lead, TR - cruxy at top and bottom, good clipping stances exist if you look around
Cool Daze (8) - lead - big holds, fun moves
Adam's Apple (9) - lead - bring extendable runners to limit drag
Rebeca's Sailing (9) - mostly 5.7/8 except for crux final move (fun!)
Nipples and Knobs (10a) - sustained, good holds and rests, best route of the day

Castle Rock
Too hot in the sun, too buggy at the Underworld, spent the day chasing shade and running from too many bugs. Again, pretty much all bolts, only placed a couple of cams. We used the new Thornburg guide "Bay Area Rock", which has beautiful photos and great descriptions of these areas.
Chew Tooth Rock
Uncle Fred's Vacation Plan (10a or 11a if using direct start) - lead
Hand Crack (8) - gear (3 pieces 1" to 3") - lead
Left (11b) - led through 2 bolts, maybe done if mossy holds on left count
Platypus Rock
Rat-A-Puss (10a) - lead
Al Mohammed aka Al Hussein left start (10d or 11a) - lead - fun start leads to easier climbing
Jelly Fish (11b) - booted off of crux before 2nd bolt
Moss Man (10a) - lead - fun, not described by its name
Play-A-Pussy (10a) - lead - left rope through first bolt when lower off Moss Man
Embryo (11c) - TR - cool slopers and thin crimp
Shady Rock (nearby) holds lots of (short, wild) promise, bring a bouldering pad
California Ridge
Mullah (10a) - lead
Guilty as Charged (10d) - lead - discrepancy between guides, but felt a little soft for the grade

Tioga Road Scrambles (15-16 June 2013)

Spark Notes: Mount Hoffman to Tuolumne Peak, and Unicorn Peak

I landed at SFO on a flight from Hong Kong at 10:30pm on Friday. After a couple hours more work, my jetlag was still fully in effect and I very much felt like an escape. I had (apparently) planned well two weeks previously because the car was already packed for any weekend camping/climbing. So, at 1:00am on Saturday I hit the road and headed west, stopping at about 4:00 to bivy in the back of the Forester at the Hardin Flat turnoff.

Since I had no partner, and my head for climbing is usually poor when jetlagged, I looked forward to a weekend of hiking and scrambling. My itinerary on Saturday was a little like this trip report from legendary Sierra scrambler Bob Burd. I took a slightly different route up Mount Hoffman, closer to the South Face, but with a detour up a short cliff band and then slabs that made the route closer to a 4+/5- scramble, but with solid holds and only a little wetness. I did find the same ridge between Hoffman and Tuolumne, though, which was the high point of the day. The views all around were fantastic, and the rock was mostly clear. North facing gullies still had snow, but there was plenty of dry rock to stick to.

May Lake and the southern Yosemite high country

Using the non-climbing weekend for exploration, I visited the "9000 ft bivy" outside the park's east entrance for the first time on Saturday night. Definitely recommended if the Tuolumne campground is full or you prefer to drive 20 minutes rather than pay $20 for camping. A full day, and lack of rest, let me fall asleep by 10, but I was still up for sunrise on Sunday.

The plan was a quick hike and then back to SF for the afternoon. Unicorn Peak was a perfect objective, and only took me 3.5 hours car-to-car. The bugs around Lake Elizabeth ate me alive, but once away from the water the weather was perfect: sunny with still a slight chill in the air. The summit ridge had breathtaking exposure that got my heart rate going. Described by Secor as class 4, it definitely felt more like easy class 5, but I guess that's what old school ratings mean. Definitely fun climbing and mostly solid holds, again with great views of the high country to the north and south.

I'll be back to China in just a couple more weeks, so I hope to get at least a day, maybe two, of climbing in before then.