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drunkenmonkey
Dec 30, 2002, 3:02 PM
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OK so the first trip to Yosemite was a blast and got me totally hooked. Successful ascents fo The Prow, Zodiac and West F of the Leaning Tower under the belt i'm beginning to think a return trip in the autumn of 03 is in order, in fact i'm already looking at flights. Whilst on Zodiac i had the fortune to look across every day to the Nose and began to think about harder routes. anyone got any opinions about a route that would be a sensible next step. i'm after a challenge but not out to totally psyche myself out of the game. Any thoughts?
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passthepitonspete
Dec 30, 2002, 5:32 PM
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Well, meeting you guys on the top of the Zodiac, you didn't seem to have too many problems. You seem ready for the next step.
Before I suggest an itinerary, please tell me your time constraints. How long can you stay in the Valley? Also, any thoughts as to partners?
Note: The Valley is a bitchin' place, and it is a long long way from Blighty. You should make the most of your airplane fare and stay as long as possible! [HINT]
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copperhead
Dec 30, 2002, 6:36 PM
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Shorter:
Ten Days After
Skull Queen
Wet Denim Daydream
LA Direct
Longer:
T Trip
Mescalito
New Dawn
PO
Shield
Dihedral
Muir
Tis-sa-sak (needs re-bolting)
etc.
----
Oh yeah,... and Lurking Fear
[ This Message was edited by: copperhead on 2002-12-31 05:14 ]
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spiffdog
Dec 31, 2002, 3:56 PM
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Yeah Pete, I'm the lucky guy that gets to climb with the Cam dropping Brit! We did the 18 hour car-to-car on W. Face together, and I did Moist Jeans Wandering Thoughts with Smithclimber while you were up on Moon Blockage. Where is the picture of the note we left you by the way? Anyway, I was thinking Shield or Mescalito. Dibbs on the Triple Cracks!
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drunkenmonkey
Dec 31, 2002, 4:13 PM
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Ok ok i know i lobbed what was it now a total of five cams on my first trip but i think that was a cheap price to pay for a good number of routes done. Did i say cheap. i think i may be taking some more of PTPP advice and get myself tethered up next trip.
As for the coming trip i was thinking 3 weeks, 4 max around Sept and Oct.
I have a desperate desire to hit PO but thought it may be too much, not sure though.
As for partners at the mo it's Spiffdog/smithclimber and a couple of my friends as well (oh oh thats five, that sounds too much like a party for me!!)
So Pete any thoughts about what we should do next?
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passthepitonspete
Jan 2, 2003, 9:03 PM
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I'm thinking that you need to get some more experience on the Trade Routes before you hop onto something that is legit A3 like P.O.
I mean, dude - Zodiac is only A1, and pretty darn easy A1 at that.
There is a big difference between Zodiac and P.O! Huge! I wouldn't recommend it unless you have someone with a lot more experience.
Why don't you do another Trade Route first? After that, do what I did - bridge in via Sunkist, which is a little harder than the Trade Routes but a bit easier than the moderates.
If you have ever wondered how *I* did it, you can just go to my profile and look at my ascents, the order of which is listed in chronological order from the bottom up. It's a good logical flow from easier to harder.
El Cap Trade Routes from L to R are LF, TS, M, TT and Z. I would recommend you do the Trip as it is probably the hardest [technically] of the five, yet is fairly short with a not-too-bad approach. Since you only have three weeks to do two walls, you have no time to waste!
Sunkist is a route that for some reason doesn't get the attention it deserves! It's not in Chris Mac's guidebook, but you can find all the beta via my profile. I simply do not have the time to stay on line here long enough to link it. Go to my profile, click on my Ascent of Sunkist, and if the link still works to Tuan's page, you can get a pitch-by-pitch beta and gear from my partner Dave Benton.
Sorry to be abrupt. REALLY frustrating and poor internet connection here!
Sheesh.
[ This Message was edited by: passthepitonspete on 2003-01-02 13:07 ]
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drunkenmonkey
Jan 3, 2003, 12:13 PM
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Pete
thanks for the ideas. TT was on the hit list for last year so it would be nice to get the experience of this steep technical rt possibly followed by Mescalito if were feeling up to it.
take it easy man and thanks for the info about Sunkist
P
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mrhardgrit
Jan 3, 2003, 7:48 PM
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I can definitely recommend Mescalito - It's not very hard (isn't much more difficult than Zodiac) but a really good slog up the wall. Gets some nice traversing stuff in, a little expando (very safe though...) and some very cool ledges. Lots of time on the wall to perfect all your systems as well. Oh, and a nice top out, with great views of all those other routes you aspire to!
Eagles Way is cool too! Haha! Lame hauling for the first 6/7 pitches, but very fast to lead. Rest of the route is not too hard (just a touch harder that Mescalito) and is nice clean climbing. Free hanging hauls as well.
My 2 cents, as those US'ers say.
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passthepitonspete
Jan 6, 2003, 5:35 AM
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Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha!! [DDEL]
He asks for A3, but he REALLY means A2!
Dude!
If you look at the Reid guidebook, Mescalito is still rated "A4"!
It ain't how hard the climb was, it's how stylin' you were while you climbed it!
See yous on the summit, eh?
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copperhead
Jan 6, 2003, 7:12 AM
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Climb to be climbin’, not to be stylin’.
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drunkenmonkey
Jan 8, 2003, 8:45 PM
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Pete
i was wondering about this, you rate Zodiac at A1, is this the new wave grade? in Chris Mac's Supertopos zodiac is A2. i realise all the hard stuff on the route is now bolted but does this really bring it down to A1? Some of the pitch's are C3F and they were thinish at times and as we did it clean and in my humble opinion (oh and how humble, two walls and he's giving grades) i'd say it was A2.
any thoughts
Drunken 'i live to learn' monkey
[ This Message was edited by: drunkenmonkey on 2003-01-09 05:52 ]
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mrhardgrit
Jan 8, 2003, 9:53 PM
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I agree, Zodiac is not just a walk down the garden path. If you completely cocked it on some of the fixed sections you would certainly go further than your average A1 fall.
A2 is probably fair enough - although I would add that a lot of people do this as their first big wall (I know I did) and their nailing may not be that good, hence many placements not as secure as they should be i.e. what should be A1 placements, become A2 due to lack of experience.
If you did it completely clean, you're ready for most of the routes mentioned in this post in my opinion (a few not...).
Tom
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passthepitonspete
Jan 9, 2003, 5:47 PM
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Well, it's been a darn long time since I climbed Zodiac, and when I did it was far from a walk. I certainly didn't mean to sound patronizing. Zodiac was the most clusterf*cked ascent I've ever made. That route beat me up probably more than any route I've ever climbed!
But as my Uncle Harry would have said [like he did when I ground the gears on my stickshift], "it was the fault of the operateur...."
Zodiac still bares its teeth from time to time, most recently with the unfortunate death of Joe Crowe. It might be "easy", but it's still a Grade VI. You can ask the roughly 40% of parties who bail from it.
My comment about Zodiac being "easy" is based on me joining its last few pitches after my solos of The Straw and Lunar Eclipse. After the harder stuff on the aforementioned routes, Zodiac very much felt like the Trade Route it is. I guess the A2 bits are lower down, like the pitch before the White Circle. [I had a good look at it while I was scared on the A1+ of the Straw right next to it]
This is why I prefer the Casual Rating System. I would say Zodiac is NBD.
However you will find a helluva jump from Zodiac to the "NTB A3 moderates" like Pacific Ocean Wall.
But therein lies the adventure, eh?
Have at it, lad.
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drunkenmonkey
Jan 10, 2003, 3:54 PM
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Pete
yeah i can see that jumping straight onto a real A3 like PO could be a real challenge. i think i may cut my teeth some more on the recognised trade rts before embarking on something as solid as PO. Just another excuse to go back to the valley next year!
take it easy guys
P
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