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chrismcnamara
Dec 22, 2003, 8:49 AM
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Registered: Apr 20, 2003
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There is a quicktime slide show of this climb at the following link:
http://www.supertopo.com/forumphotos/keeler1003.mov
Any climber who sees Keeler Needle wants to climb it. it's perfect symmetry and massive size make it probably the most striking feature in the high sierra. i waited until now to climb it because i heard from peter croft that the rock wasn't that great. but my buddy eric volz and i had both seen enough photos and heard enough rumors that we had to find out for ourselves.
http://www.supertopo.com/...iwh_frroad_cmcn3.jpg
PHOTO 1 - the view from Whitney Portal Rd. Lone Pine Peak dominates the photo with whitney and keeler needle right.
The adventure started the night before. Around midnight i woke up when something was patting me on the head. I looked up and watched a little bear run off to it's mom and brother/sister.
The bears in the portal are every bit as talented at breaking into cars as Yosemite bears. they also are relatively fearless of humans. i took this photo around 8pm of a bear that walked up within 4 feet of me. i think this is the bear that pawed/sniffed/tried to make a move on me later in the night.
http://www.supertopo.com/...elerneedle/2bear.jpg
Eric and i started hiking at 3:50am. at 5:30 we were Upper Boy Scout where took a long break. At 6:30 we we got this awesome view just as the sun hit hit the Keeler Needle (center) and whitney (right)
http://www.supertopo.com/...hiwh_form15_cmcn.jpg
At the base, what is snow during the summer had condensed to bullet proof ice in late october. The only way to get to the start of the route was to jam the crack formed by where the ice meets the wall. This was mostly easy but there was a "5.8 ice-fists" move and a "5.8 ice chimney" move. Below is a shot of looking up at the route from the top of the ice and the start of the climbing. In this photo you only see 8 of the 13 pitches. its a big wall!
http://www.supertopo.com/.../4hike_frbase_cm.jpg
The climbing started out a little loose, rotten, and dirty then mostly stayed that way to the summit. From a distance the Keeler Needle looks like it has the same high quality white granite as the Incredible Hulk buts it's actually kinda chossy. However, there were a couple cool sections to the climb. Below erick is following the steep and only mildly-loose and rotten pitch 3 (5.10b double cracks).
http://www.supertopo.com/...hard_p3_volz3_cm.jpg
The next pitch, p4 was the first offwidth crux. We didn't want to carry the weight of a #4 camalot so Eric got to run-it-out a fair bit. We also saved weight by leading on a single 8.2mm lead line which i justified because it was brand new. Eric and i both liked the thin rope but decided that next time 9mm rope would inspire a little more confidence while on the sharp end.
http://www.supertopo.com/...hard_p4_volz1_cm.jpg
One pitch later the route went into the shade and temperatures went from feeling like 70 degrees to 40. As a result we tried to climb fast and didn't stop to take photos. Ill give a quick summary: The Red Dihedral (pitch 7) was the best on the route and involved sustained and overhanging 5.10a hands. the 5.10c upper offwidth crux was really strenuous-I felt like i was sumo wrestling--but well protected. after the crux, we had trouble following the route. we ended up climbing a fair number of cracks that didn't look like they had been traveled before. on the final 20 feet to the summit i managed to get on overhanging 5.11 cracks and face that were clearly off route but pretty fun.
OK, so Croft was right. the rock quality was poor and out of 13 pitches only 3 were really fun. however, by the time you sit on the INSANE summit prow/pillar/spire you start to forget about the less than amazing pitches that got you there. Here i am on the right and eric on the left doing a little summit posing. somehow, at 3pm on a late october day the temperatures felt in the low 70's.
http://www.supertopo.com/.../7hike_sum_volz1.jpg
So would i recommend the route? Keeler Needle is one those few climbs where even though the route isn't that great, the overall experience is worth it to climbers who want a big adventure don't mind a fair amount of low quality rock.
At this point, i don't know whether to include it in the next edition of High Sierra book.... any ideas?
On the descent, i snapped this photo of Mt. Russell
http://www.supertopo.com/...e/8_124-2420_IMG.jpg
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epic_ed
Dec 23, 2003, 8:35 AM
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Nice photos, Chris! And an excellent report. I'd a crapped my pants after an encounter that close with Smokey. Wild...
Ed
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roughster
Dec 23, 2003, 1:08 PM
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Registered: Apr 3, 2002
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Great addition Chris!
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noshoesnoshirt
Dec 23, 2003, 1:18 PM
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nice presentation man. i'd have to say that all the pitches were a blast. not really that chossy, and hey, it's all part of the adventure.
btw, we got off route about the same place you guys did. little mo' adventure.
you are right. i think any climber who sees the formation will get the jones.
(moans with unrequited lust) russel's on top of my to do list
kerry
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climboard
Dec 23, 2003, 2:16 PM
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Registered: Apr 10, 2001
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Absolutely include it!
We did Whitney the year before and when we saw Keeler on the hike in we knew we had to climb it. At the time there wasn't much information available for it. I guess it adds to the adventure but it would have been nice to have a supertopo for it.
That sounds just like our experience- including getting off-route at the end.
I enjoyed most of the pitches and didn't find the rock quality to be too bad- except for the crux pitch maybe (that pitch is a grunt!).
I think it's worth it alone for the 13th pitch traverse- when you flip around the prow, talk about exposure.
All in all an excellent adventure!
Nice presentation, BTW, it really took me back to the Whitney/Keeler experience. So much for getting any work done now.
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chrismcnamara
Dec 23, 2003, 5:52 PM
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Registered: Apr 20, 2003
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glad you guys enjoyed it!
well, i guess the definition of "chossy rock" is all relative. I took three trips to the Incredible Hulk this year. The rock is soooooo good on the Hulk that i am now a rock quality snob. it's not like rock on keeler is all decomposing kitty litter, but it's not nearly as good as the quality of rock on Incredible Hulk, Russel, Third Pillar, or Conness. I guess the disappointing thing is that Keeler looks like it should have perfect rock from a distance. Then you get to it and find it doesn't live up to your expectations. Sorta the opposite of Temple Crag that, from a distance looks like an ominous fortress of miserable climbing but is actually really fun and surprisingly solid.
my snobbery aside, the Keeler Needle IS a great adventure. Of course it's hard not to have an adventure on 1500 feet of climbing at 14,000 feet!
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chrismcnamara
Dec 23, 2003, 5:56 PM
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Oh, i forgot to mention that the quicktime slide show is about 3mb big. so once you click on the link below you will probably get a new window with a blank screen. you will then have a wait a little while for the file to download (10 seconds with a fast connection and much longer with dial-up). oh, and make sure the sound on you computer is on
http://www.supertopo.com/forumphotos/keeler1003.mov
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johnr9q
Dec 23, 2003, 6:59 PM
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Registered: Oct 5, 2001
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Chris: I attempted to do Keeler last year but couldn't find the start. Went up two places 2 pitches that ended in dead ends. The picture that you took standing at the top of the ice, there are two obvious left facing shallow dihedrals starting from the bottom of the picture. The dihedral on the left is tending left and the one on the right appears to go straight up. Are one of thoes dihedrals the actual route?
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chrismcnamara
Dec 24, 2003, 4:42 AM
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you take the left system. on the photo, look at the left skyline then move your eyes right to the first system you see. that is the route. i have to admit, when i first got the base i had no idea which system to take. I asked "What would harding do?" No answer came. so i just took the route that looked easier... and luckily it was!
i drew a pretty detailed topo and i think i will include in the next edition of my High Sierra SuperTopo book:
http://www.supertopo.com/packs/highsierra.html
This book will be out in may and be a print book as well as an updated eBook. the print book should be about twice as big as the current eBook.
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maculated
Jan 12, 2004, 2:14 AM
Post #10 of 10
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Registered: Dec 23, 2001
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Damn, those ARE good photos.
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