Bradley Hut Ski Tour (5-6 Jan 2013)

Sparknotes:
Saturday - ski to Bradley hut, 2 laps on nearby knoll
Sunday - started late (~10:30), ski up Silver Peak and back down to the cars.

I was itching to get back into the mountains after a long winter break.  Of course, spending time with friends and family was great, but with only one day of resort skiing, it was hardly how I usually try to take advantage of time away from work.

Knowing that Rusty's usually good for an adventure, I talked my way onto a large group trip to the Bradley Hut.  The idea was to ski in and do some shorter laps on Saturday, then hit Silver Peak and ski out on Sunday.  I think if we had been a smaller group, we would have suffered less from large-group inertia and gotten in more skiing.  It's tough to complain though...the hut was cozy, I enjoyed hanging out with new and old friends, I got my fix of the mountains (at least until it got me thinking of all the other places I want to ski in Tahoe this season), and I skiied past dark both days, so I think I got the most of it.

ROYGB(I)V in front of the hut. (photo by Rusty)

Silver Peak seems like a great place to head back to next time I'm in the area, and has me thinking of more hut to hut touring. There are plenty of skiiable aspects and varied terrain (bowl, ridge, glades, etc), and very much doable in a day with time for a few laps of the best stuff, not to mention easy access parking.  There are several trip reports showing good tours (here's one and another). I didn't log the track we took, but helpfully Anthony did.

Red on the way in, green laps, and blue on Sunday. (track by Anthony)

Next up...Freel Peak, Tallac, Pyramid Peak, or something else that I haven't even thought of yet...

Open Books (27-28 Oct 2012)

Ticklist:
Munginella (5.6) - crowded, but great fun! 3 pitches, linked to 2
Hanging Teeth (5.8) - Fun lay backing with a sustained and runout 2nd pitch. 3rd pitch wasn't terrible, but the loose, overhanging blocks up top do require some care.
Highway Star (5.10a+) - variations offer several very fun options. great for toprope laps, look forward to going back on lead

Trip Highlight: camping in Tommy Caldwell's site while he slept in his van

Once again upon returning from China, I decided to push my luck against jetlag and head for a Yosemite climbing weekend.  This trip went a bit better than last time around, but still "the mind is primary, and today the mind was weak." But I'm getting ahead of myself, and being negative: there was good climbing this weekend!

Kat, Nina, and I all climbed Munginella (in the Five Open Books area to the west of Yosemite Falls). I led the first pitch, Nina took the second, and Kat floated the whole climb.  We came down and had a leisurely lunch. At 3:30, Nina and I hurried back for a second Book.  We were aiming for the Caverns. After making it up two pitches, and looking at the time, we determined we didn't have enough time to make it to the top of the climb by sunset. Nina had stopped at the first tree (our topo said the pitch ended after two), and there were still two pitches to go.  Too far! But wait...something wasn't sitting right. It should've been easy to make it to the second tree before running out of rope.  Another look at the topo revealed that we were actually two pitches up Hanging Teeth.  On the plus side, only one pitch to go! Unfortunately it was labeled "loose, dirty, overhanging 5.8 blocks" of "rapidly decreasing quality." Tempted as we were to back off, I was happy that I made the decision to take the rack and head up.  Some good steps of liebacking, and a finish of the promised poor quality, and we were at the top and heading down the by now familiar descent in the twilight.

Sunday morning we determined we wanted some good crack practice, and so we headed over to Highway Star. On toprope, we each got in several good runs on each of the many variations of 5.9 hands and off-hands, and 10a and 10b fingers.  Really fun climbing and definitely recommended for what it is!

Kat heading up .10a fingers. A tough intro to liebacking!

Alltogether not a bad weekend for climbing (I was able to step up and lead some relatively easy trad pitches), I guess I'm disappointed that I didn't push harder. Why not go for it and get moving from camp earlier in the morning? Try to do 3 Books instead of just two? Couldn't I have tried to lead Highway Star? Or we could've climbed in an area with more options? Like I said, not a bad weekend (really, no weekend in the Valley is bad), but excellence is a habit and serious jetlag or not, I wasn't practicing that this weekend.

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)

Mt St. Helena, The Far Side (9 Sept 2012)

Spark Notes:
Sunday: cragging at the Bubble and the Far Side, Mt St Helena (Robert Louis Stevenson State Park, Calistoga CA

Song of the Weekend: Beautiful Day - U2 (Spotify)

Not much to write here...just a day out cragging with friends.  Campo just got to town, and Eddie was in town for work.  Galina also came out, as did Bennett, Maia, Dan and a few others that I was meeting for the first time.  I think Mt. St Helena's a great place to climb, but the funky pockets, occasionally sharp rock, and sometimes difficult to solve sequences make the place a little harder on beginners.  This is offset by the fact that it's a beautiful setting in the hills above wine country.

So, make your own choice, definitely better to climb than just sit around for a day right? The lower toproping area also might be more friendly.

The only actually useful beta from the day:
- if you're a hang glider, this is apparently a popular launch spot (driving up the fire road)
- watch out for poison oak on the trail from the Bubble to the Far Side
- there are several routes not mentioned in the SuperTopo at the Far Side, they were somewhere between 5.9 and 5.10b and were fun.

We'll see if I can stay current on my posts, and maybe even work back to posting a bit about the (surprisingly active) summer trips.

Ticklist:

Guidebook: Bay Area Topropes (Supertopo)
Shute-Mills (5.9) - very fun
New Tradition (5.7) - okay, little cruxy at the 2nd or 3rd move
Mystery Hole (5.9R) - manageable runout, on easy ground
Feelin' Your Oats (5.10aR) - manageable runout, not too bad
...and 2 5.9-10b routes not identified in my guidebook

Luther Spires, 90 Foot Wall (7-8 July 2012)

I kept my streak of climbing weekends alive by heading up to South Lake last weekend.  Saturday was spent at Luther Spires.  I led every route I climbed, including a .10a mixed route which led to my only fall of the day, and my first fall on gear ever.  The gear held, which was a relief.  I'll head back and try to lead it clean another time, but the way B and I climbed it definitely felt strenuous.  I thought this crack was the crux, not the bolted section at the top.

Rattly fingers in the shadow.

For what it's worth, the SuperTopo seems to have some confusion in the Mixed Emotions area.  The .8 OW is easy to find, as is Mixed Emotions.  The bolts for Ringlock are nowhere to be found, though it's possible they're actually right of the OW. I wonder if a ring lock is the key to Mixed Emotions...

Day 2 was a day of top roping at the 90 Foot Wall.  Slippery rock, but some of the harder climbing I've done in a while (.10c I think). Worth a visit, especially for the nice lake views, but avoid the sun. I'm looking forward to getting a little stronger and trying Mayhem Cove in the same area.

Ticklist:
Dog and Gri Gri, Two Bucks (5.9)
Beer and a Hot Dog, Two Bucks (5.8)
Unknown, 2 bolts (5.9?)
Just Jerry (5.9)
Jacko (5.10b)
Jane Spy (5.7)
Mixed Emotions (5.10a)
Many topropes 5.8-10c

Royal Arches and Starr King (16-17 June 2012)

Spark Notes:
Saturday: Royal Arches
Sunday: Star King

Song of the Weekend: Peaches - The Presidents of the United States of America (Spotify)

Maybe there are more fans of the Presidents of the United States of America than I think, but those seem to be the unifying songs this year. I've belted out verses about the little boll weevil while winding over Carson Pass and sang along to Peaches (which I guess everyone knows) while swerving past Hardin Flat towards the valley.  I guess those will be some of my memories this year.

I once again managed to get myself along on a trip with Luke, Chris and Manit.  This time they were three and Luke was trying to figure out the most efficient way to get them up the long Royal Arches route.  I offered that maybe two teams of two would work well, which I guess everyone was okay with, so I was in.

We headed out of camp very early, parked at the Ahwahnee, and were the first folks on the route.  In fact, the only people we saw all day were hauling bags up the 5th pitch at 3pm. I have absolutely no idea what they were doing. Luke grabbed the rack and headed up the first pitch, a very slippery chimney.  After that, he let me lead the way and he followed as we simul-climbed.  Every gear exchange or two, we waited for Chris and Manit to catch up.  Overall, it was really quite a relaxing experience.  I felt pretty good climbing the whole day, except that I wasn't sure where to find the beginning of the rap route and stopped a bit early.

Luke enjoying the valley view before the sun hit.

The climb was pretty uneventful, just good fun.  Highly recommended, especially with an early start to beat the crowds and as much sun as possible.

Luke had plans for a long run on Sunday, Chris was in the valley with his in-laws, wife and little girl (chillest family ever, by the way, but they're Hawaiian so not exactly a surprise), and Manit wasn't psyched on climbing. So, after checking out Hans and Honnold in the meadow, I took another trip to Mt. Starr King (though I haven't written about the first one yet...oops).

While this I had my head together a bit better, I still wasn't really interested in soloing the slab without really knowing where to go.  So, I down climbed after climbing half the first pitch.  It's funny, with a belayer, even without pro, I would have been fine, but there's a time and place for soloing, and that wasn't for me that day.  Was I disappointed in myself? Yes, but it was still the right choice. Another time perhaps, or maybe not, time will tell.  In any case, still a great hike to a beautiful part of Yosemite with plenty of wildlife (7 deer and plenty of birds and marmots).

Ticklist:
Royal Arches (5.7 A0) - 17 guidebook pitches, climbed in a short chimney pitch and 5 simul-ed pitches

Matthes Crest (1 July 2012)

Song of the Weekend: The Presidents Of The United States Of America – Kick Out the Jams (Spotify)

Wooohoooo! That's really all I have to say about that....but I guess I'll go on anyway.

Traverse the skyline from right to left, rappel from the highpoint

After a day of hanging out with friends (E and G were passing through on the PCT), and actually climbing the last few weeks, I was actually excited about climbing and about leading.  Bennet was psyched too, though, so I let him take the first pitch.  I led off from there, taking one of the "many options" in the SuperTopo to get around other parties on the route. I climbed quickly, I climbed well, I placed little gear.  I was psyched, all was well.

B strolling along the Crest.

The day was sunny, the temps were great, and I was having a good day.  The exposure was enough to keep me on my toes mentally, but in most places the climbing was mellow and fun (with a step or two to think about here and there).  We were one of five parties on the ridge, but never really ran into them once we got on the ridge.

We descended from the south summit and debated hitting the north summit. We were tight on time, but figured  we'd go anyway...might as well, right?  Just climb fast so that Kat wouldn't worry. I wanted to lead the last pitch, but I saw that Bennett kind of did but wasn't going to without a push.  There are no friends on a powder day, but this wasn't a powder day.  Pushing him to lead, and seeing him push and crush it was great.

Cathedral Peak...next time...

For some reason, the only time I was gripped all day was while following on top rope.  I guess there's something about seeing that loop of slack in front of me that makes me nervous (even though I know I'm facing a much, much bigger fall after not placing gear for 20 feet.  Something to work on I guess.

Anyway, after following B as fast as I could, and barely stopping for a breath on the north summit, I started setting up rappels.  We hiked fast back from the base, then at the lake a couple miles from the trailhead B stopped for a refreshing swim and I started running (in case Kat hadn't gotten my text).  Turns out, she had and I ended up getting a good work out and bruised toes from running in approach shoes for a few miles.  At least the extra speed got me car to car in in under 12 hours (including the 1.5 hour wait to start the route).

Ticklist:
Matthes Crest (5.7) - small rack, as many or as few pitches as you want, we roped up for the first 3, the crux in the middle and the last pitch.