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iamthewallress
Feb 28, 2003, 6:03 AM
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Registered: Jan 2, 2003
Posts: 2463
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...this summer, what routes would you do? Let's here what you'd do, then tell me what you'd do if you were me. I'd especially like to here from folks who have climbed a lot of the routes... Here are my restrictions... 1. I've already climbed Lurking Fear so that's out. 2. I've got a date to climb the Nose w/ my boyfriend for my 30th birthday, so that's out. 3. I want to solo or at least share leads on the cruxes so anything harder than A3 is out.
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copperhead
Feb 28, 2003, 5:51 PM
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Registered: Nov 26, 2002
Posts: 668
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How about Mescalito. That part of the wall is way-cool. Nothing too dicey.
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russwalling
Feb 28, 2003, 8:09 PM
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Registered: Jun 12, 2002
Posts: 239
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Shield and Mescalito
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moeman
Feb 28, 2003, 8:30 PM
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Registered: Nov 1, 2002
Posts: 1417
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Shield is an all time classic. Exposure to boot. And check out http://www.supertopo.com/routebeta/bigwalls.html for overviews of major El Cap routes.
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cantwinifyoudontplay2003
Mar 1, 2003, 9:52 AM
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Registered: Feb 24, 2003
Posts: 75
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hey you might think twice about the nose.....It's dirty and crowds..... I have done a few and the shield was wayyyyyyy cool. nothing like being on the head-wall. the a-3 tripple cracks were great. on a sea of rock. You can't see anything but smooth rock both ways. So cool. Also North American wall was verrrrry good. coming out of the black cave a great picture. The thing I remember most about the nose was camping at camp 4 or 5. It was a small triangle ledge that reeked from piss & other bad things..... Might be a neet route but not worth the b.s.
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apollodorus
Mar 1, 2003, 10:22 AM
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Registered: Feb 18, 2002
Posts: 2157
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The ultimate El Cap 'No Body Else On The Wall' is the Excalibur. It's around a corner from Salathe, and you won't see anybody until you summit. OK, well, you can see the Headwall from Excal for about two pitches near the top, but that's about it. A very private wall. Oh, and you'll need some big-O-cams for that one. Privacy has its cost. Shim your Camlot #5s with plywood (bring 3/4" and glued 1.5"), use duct tape to keep the shims on the cams, and you'll be stylin'. The awesome 8 and 9 pitches will get you thinking: "How in the schnell did Steve Schneider free THIS????" That crack is so underappreciated, you won't believe it. Reid says P6 is A4, but McTopo says A3. Haul the last two pitches to the summit from the bolt belay below the big traverse slab. From the top, you best/guess where to go down (from the top of the last pitch, it's toward the tree, but just before a minor headwall halfway there). It's a free-air rap to a big slabby ledge, then more free air to the bolt station. It's a full 60m, or 60m+ ropelength from P26 to the summit. It's a very clean, mostly free-air haul, compared to following the last two pitches across a slab traverse, and then up a corner, then a squeeze chimney. then up more relatively low angle corners. Above the slabby ledge below the summit, toward the Salathe, is a developed sport wall (bolts and all) that has some amazing grey knobs in the white granite. You'd want to rap down to the start of that from closer to the tree, and probably anchored to it.
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brutusofwyde
Mar 4, 2003, 3:47 AM
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Registered: Nov 3, 2002
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Can't speak for Excalibur (it's high on my list) but the most enjoyable wall I've done on El Cap was Muir Wall. I should point out that I dislike crowds, so Shield has no interest for me. Once you leave the Shield and Triple Direct behind, the Muir becomes very much the wild, isolated experience it was when it was first climbed.
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