Tenaya Peak, Northwest Buttress (15 Sept 2012)

Spark Notes: Northwest Buttress, Tenaya Peak (Guide: Tuolumne Free Climbs by SuperTopo)

Song of the Weekend:  Tribute - Tenacious D (Spotify)

I don't often make daytrips to Tuolumne, but Bennet was looking to extend a daytrip of his, and so I was lured up for a trip up Tenaya Peak. Both of us were afraid the day would be long and that we might take too long on the route. Turns out the pitches go fast when you simul-climb.

The day went something like this:
21:04 - burrito, 1st half
12:03 - arrive porcupine flat
12:15 - fall asleep
6:45 - open eyes
7:15 - get out of the sleeping bag
8:45 - begin hiking
10:00 - begin climbing
14:00 - top out
14:05 - burrito, 2nd half
14:50 - leave summit
16:30 - back at the lake
17:00 - swimming in the lake
18:00 - on the road
22:30 - back in the city
02:00 - burrito in the Mission

(check it out fullscreen)

Overall, I thought the route was a ton of fun.  Bennet led the whole day, while I practiced simul-climbing as a follower.  We started a bit higher than the SuperTopo-described start, and finished on something that felt like a 5.8 variation that finished about 150 feet left of the summit.  Except for the very finish, and a short slab section with thin cracks, the climbing was all easier than 5.4, and I found myself managing large loops of slack. The approach and descent weren't that bad at all (somehow we got lucky), with the notable exception that I had to hike in Wallabees, which proved to be better than the alternative: flip flops).  The other highlight of the day: an ice cold swim and relaxing by the beach of Tenaya Lake.  It seemed every other party on the peak had the same idea, too.

Ticklist:
Northwest Buttress (5.5) - long, easy grade, spectacular position, great intro to trad leading - 14 guidebook pitches, climbed in 3 simul-pitches (highly recommended) + 2 ropelengths (would've simuled if we didn't climb into a bottleneck)