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uasunflower
May 8, 2007, 10:29 AM
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Registered: Aug 11, 2003
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Hey, a friend of mine is looking to do this route on El Cap this June. Does anyone have a decent topo or further beta about it?
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kobaz
May 8, 2007, 11:19 AM
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Registered: Sep 19, 2004
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Definitely get the supertopo guide. I haven't done anything on El Cap yet so other than that I can't tell you much... but supertopo definitely has good info. A good place to ask for specific beta would be the supertopo.com messageboard. Edited to fix early morning spelling.
(This post was edited by kobaz on May 8, 2007, 11:20 AM)
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kristoffer
May 9, 2007, 1:09 AM
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Registered: Feb 1, 2005
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yo, i soloed south seas to pacific ocean wall last june as my first el cap route... its a good climb that pretty casual and not really burly. South seas joins the P.O. wall at pitch 13, so I no nothing about the lower pitches of the route. Like the other bro said, get the Yosemite big walls topo book by supertopo (C mac.) The rack suggestions in the book are a bit off... you don’t need 20-25 copperheads nor do you need all of the angles suggested. Bring more beaks than the topo suggests (you can place them where alot of the head use to be). i liked the shit out of pitches on the P.O. wall, doing this might be a problem if your climbing with a partner due to rope drag. the Illusion chain was the crux of the wall for me.. i had to do some thin hooking to an expando flake that poured sand from behind it as i climbed it(I think I went the harder way)... the hooking shouldn’t be all that bad anymore, some dudes enhanced the hook moves when they were up there… I guess the crystals I hooked on where “time bombs” or something. I was able to do a lot of the route clean and its all straight forward climbing with safe falls. The highbrow bivouac SUCKS, if your going to bivi around there, go one pitch higher, there is a nice ledge. The island in the sky is cool, I just kicked it on that ledge for a day and ˝. Pitch 24 belongs in a museum, all kinds of weird and old fixed gear. Pitch 16 has sick exposure.. its all heads and a few bolts.. if you were to rip it on this pitch you would go for a kick ass ride. There is no longer a bolt at the start of 17, you can easily climb past were it use to be with a cam hook. If you want in-depth info e-mail me… but I think getting massive beta will kill some of the experience and adventure. Cheers! the zypher
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uasunflower
May 9, 2007, 11:29 AM
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Registered: Aug 11, 2003
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awesome, thx for the info man! edited to add the funny coincidence stuff - my friend - tim - has actually met you (kristoffer) in the valley last year and you suggested that climb to him
(This post was edited by uasunflower on May 9, 2007, 2:18 PM)
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kristoffer
May 13, 2007, 3:44 PM
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uasunflower, i am quite familiar with Tim... He’s a solid dude that has some big plans from some big stones, there is no doubt that the bro is going to send! Hey, who knows maybe i'll meet you face to face in the valley someday.
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lambone
May 15, 2007, 6:13 PM
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kristoffer wrote: the Illusion chain was the crux of the wall for me.. i had to do some thin hooking to an expando flake that poured sand from behind it as i climbed it(I think I went the harder way)... the hooking shouldn’t be all that bad anymore, some dudes enhanced the hook moves when they were up there… I guess the crystals I hooked on where “time bombs” or something. the zypher Kristopher, we tried but couldn't even see the flakes you hooked right off the belay. My partner decided to enance one hook where the old flake had obviously departed from the wall. Sometimes this is nescesary on a wall, when features rip off. At least we didn't place a bolt there. I've done 7 El Cap routes and never drilled a hole, or chisled a hook, but in that case it seemed appropriote since the feature is gone....my partner agreed. You seem like a cool guy in person, when we met before and after the wall. Not sure why you see the need to trash talk our ascent on the web anytime the PO wal comes up. Maybe soloing it gave you a bit of an ego? You are obviously a better aid climber then either of us... Nice job smashing the chicken bolt on p19 into the wall with your hammer, now it likely can never be removed properly. You left your mark too bro. Matt
(This post was edited by lambone on May 15, 2007, 8:16 PM)
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kristoffer
May 15, 2007, 9:10 PM
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You know Matt, I really don’t have any problem with you nor do i have one with your climbing partner (beg my pardon Brooke correct?). My comments were fueled due to that fact that the elusion chain was absolutely the highlight of the ENTIRE route for me, and what made that short pitch so good was the uncertainty of those first few moves fallowed by the flake that was absolutely anything but trust worthy. For me problem solving is a big part of why i enjoy aid climbing... i hung there at that belay for more than an hour trying to figure out how i was going to overcome that obstacle placed in front of me.... I pretty much gave up for a good amount of time, just absolutely so scared to commit that all I wanted to do was bail. When i finally snapped out of it, and just did it and was I ever shitting bricks, sweating bullets and overcome by uncertainty... I made it across that short section to only be greeted by some expando that scared the living daylight out of this gumbys world... by the time i made it to the anchor i yelled and screamed so loud... absolute fear had been transformed into absolute bliss. That short section of time has by far been the best memory i have of climbing all together. i was totally bumbed when i learned that no one climbing that route could ever again experience the same thing i had. So maybe my comments come across to you and your partner as an elitist’s ego driven slander fest. It goes to show that you just never know how you look through other people’s eyes. But in the end I guess who really cares? The monkeys keep climbing. I’ll leave my comments unspoken from this point on. Bashing in that rivet was pretty poor style I do agree. I worked on removing it and was almost done when I smashed my finger and dropped the tool I was working with, I was left with a heavily damaged rivet and I didn’t want any future climbers to clip into it, have it fail and send them falling to the anchor… so I just smashed it in to keep that from happening… but maybe I should have done otherwise and left it. i guess that goes to show that both you and I have skeletons in our ethical closet. The Zephyr
(This post was edited by kristoffer on May 15, 2007, 9:13 PM)
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lambone
May 16, 2007, 1:13 AM
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I'm glad you had that experience and wish we could have recreated it. The Illusion Chain flake itself was plenty heady enough for my partner Brook to get the full on lead rush going. The way I see it is if someone doesn't agree with an enhanced hole where a flake pulled off, then it's their choice not to use it or patch it with filler, which is very easy. Keep in Mind that the PO has gone clean, so it that respect both of our ascents were in poor style. Personally I don't care because i had a great time with a friend and stayed safe to climb another day. In Bridwells interview in Alpinist Mag he complains about how every single one of his routes that has been repeated has been chipped or drilled on, with subsequent bolts added. I can see how this frustrates him...but when he choses routes that connect loose flakes like ZM, sometimes they pull off and holes need to be added. it's just the way it is. Cheers, Matt
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