What is this Middle Cathedral Route?

Search
Go

Discussion Topic

Return to Forum List
This thread has been locked
Messages 1 - 20 of total 20 in this topic
NeilF

Trad climber
Tideswell, England
Topic Author's Original Post - Nov 2, 2005 - 04:08am PT
I had my first visit to The Valley in October - unfortunately co-inciding with a very hot spell which sent me scuttling into the shadows!

We did a pitch at the base of Middle Cathedral one day, and wondered what it is - it isn't in any of the guidebooks I have seen.

It follows a line of fixed gear - bolts, the odd peg and some bashies - up a thin wall left of Paradise Lost, before trending right on easier ground to arrive at the second stance on that route.

It seemed very tricky to me - being my first encounter with thin off-vertical Yosemite walls. Indeed I slipped off once from the crux moves at about 30ft, before I spotted an inobvious step left to initiate the sequence.

The next day we went on the magnificent Stoner's Highway - got 7 pitches up before the impending gloom forced a retreat - and my partner commented that without the experience of this mystery pitch the day before, we'd probably not have got up P1 of Stoner's.

I had to agree!

So, can anyone tell me:-

What is the mystery route called?

What grade is it?

Does it continue beyond the first pitch which we did?

Can I get a topo anywhere?

Thanks!

Cheers

Neil
aldude

climber
Nov 2, 2005 - 04:08pm PT
three pitch Jim Beyer route name unknown. He rated it 10d but felt more like11a. How about the funky green hangers and funky heads! First pitch felt like the crux to me. Third pitch traverses left and is a little spooky. Don Ried's complete Yosemite guide coming soon I hope - He's done it also and says there is an unfinished fourth pitch.
Skoal ,Al
Clint Cummins

Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
Nov 2, 2005 - 04:25pm PT
Apparently done around November 2002. Unfortunately it added bolts to pitches 2 and 3 of Paradise Lost. See Melissa's posts:

http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.html?topic_id=19928#msg19994
http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.html?topic_id=19928#msg20045
k-man

Gym climber
SCruz
Nov 2, 2005 - 05:44pm PT
Wow, I can hardly believe that Beyer (if it was he) would do that, considering how he feels about bolts and all. But shucks, there you have it.

An anchor 30' up? strange.

~~_~~_~~_~~

Somewhat associated, anybody know about the diagonal line of
bolts starting near Stoners?

:- kelly

PS. Clint, what's the cool trick you use to link to a specific post?
Russ Walling

Social climber
NOT FOR LOAN™ CC3
Nov 2, 2005 - 05:46pm PT
Where are those damn "Vroom Vroom" guys when you need them?????
Largo

Sport climber
Venice, Ca
Nov 2, 2005 - 05:56pm PT
Placing bolts on Paradise Lost is just wrong, IMO. The climbing is only 5.8/9 on those first few pitches, but exciting--or it once was. Folks hae no shame. And are you saying this route simply stops a few pitchs up??

How come in all this talkabout Middle Cat. there is never any menion of Black Primo, which was the baddest of all. And that was 30 years ago.

JL
scuffy b

climber
S Cruz
Nov 2, 2005 - 06:12pm PT
I've been meaning to ask about this for a long time.
As I recall, the route was first announced as Black
Primo, then soon after became referred to as Black Rose.
I've never understood why, but speculated that it
was out of some sort of prudishness. Without doing
any actual searching, my memory says that even you
(JL) have recently called it Black Rose on this forum.
I would be glad for anything on this.
Also, what can you say about Jigsaw?
Steve m
Largo

Sport climber
Venice, Ca
Nov 2, 2005 - 06:41pm PT
Black Primo was at one time a kind of Hash so though this was the original name --named after a black diorite band running through the route. Meyers changed the name to Black Rose, though I never learned why or what Black Rose was--a black wine, I suspect.

Jigsaw--jeeez, I can't remember. Where is it in relation to Freeheelin' and Black Primo??

Wasn't that close to "Orange Peal?" That was a Meyers/Bruce Hawkins project as I remember. Kauk and I went up and did the pitches (I think I was with Kauk--not positive, though). I don't think they ever finished the route, or maybe it just "ended" nowhere in particular. The only thing I remember is a hard traversing pitch down low.

But Jigsaw? Just can't remember what the heck with that route.

JL
WBraun

climber
Nov 2, 2005 - 06:56pm PT
I went up there Largo on the Black Primo with Kauk once and once with Merry. Ha ha ha I didn't lead the crux pitches as they were way to scary for me. Both times I got dragged up those routes.

They are really good routes up there on Middle. I believe they get done more than you hear about John. People go there and do them.
scuffy b

climber
S Cruz
Nov 2, 2005 - 06:59pm PT
I think Jigsaw was over by Black Primo.
I never heard much about it as far as its
quality. I think when Vern went to do it
he took a fall onto a blade and partially
tore the eye, according to Virginia. He didn't
say anything but he looked kinda subdued.
sm
Melissa

Gym climber
berkeley, ca
Nov 2, 2005 - 07:07pm PT
Werner, indeed they do. Just yesterday the name "Black Primo" came up between two of my friends. I believe they were reminiscing about getting rained on or maybe just getting really cold up there.
Largo

Sport climber
Venice, Ca
Nov 2, 2005 - 07:11pm PT
Hope folks are doing those routes. They can't be that hard by modern standards but I'm sure they're still exciing. On the first ascent, route finding was really a bear on those Middle routes. Often we'd do horrendous climbing and then find an easier way to do the same bit. That was some exciting stuff, and still is I'm sure. If the bolts haen't been replaced on those routes they gotta be deadly.

JL
Clint Cummins

Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
Nov 3, 2005 - 02:09pm PT
Kelly asked:
> what's the cool trick you use to link to a specific post?

1. Click on [Return to Forum List]

2. Use the "Search the forum: [ ] [go]" item on the top of the list, which is the same as:
http://www.supertopo.com/forumsearch.html
For example, put in some text like Paradise Lost (lower/upper case does not matter).

3. This yields a list of links with Date, Thread name (and partial text), and Author. Click on the likely ones until you find the best ones. If one of these direct links is something you want to refer to, Copy/Paste the URL from your "Address" box in your browser to your post, or to a temporary file if you want to Copy/Paste more than one URL.

4. If you find an even better post when you are browsing one of the threads located with the search, to get the direct URL to that post, click on the Author name (on left side of actual post), and then click on "Search for Forum Messages by [author]", and use the posting date to locate the actual link if they post a lot. Or you could look for some unique text in their post and search for that (for example to locate one of Melissa's posts, I searched for "CPoF").

> Somewhat associated, anybody know about the diagonal line of
bolts starting near Stoners?
This sounds like "Pulsating Pustules" in the 1994 and later Reid guides (just right of Stoner's Highway). A bit left is Rainbow Bridge, but that's been in the guides for awhile.
kevin Fosburg

Sport climber
park city,ut
Nov 3, 2005 - 07:48pm PT
Last month we did Quicksilver which gets two stars in the guidebook. The last pitch still has the original bolts. Pretty scary.
k-man

Gym climber
SCruz
Nov 3, 2005 - 08:26pm PT
Thanks Clint! 'preciate that.

Yeah, when I last did Quicksilver I was all excited to clip nice
shinnies on the 2nd pitch. When my buddy said "You lead" for the 3rd, I cooly said "no prob..."

"Hell, these are the original Leeper's" you could soon hear me srceam. Both of 'em were that way.

But just like eatin' Mooseturd Pie, I gotta say "It's good though!"



Anybody know the status of the Freewheelin' bolts? I'd like to repeat that, but I'ma scared.

:- k
Kalimon

Social climber
Ridgway, CO
Aug 12, 2017 - 10:21pm PT
Middle bump . . . lots of good climbing.
Largo

Sport climber
The Big Wide Open Face
Aug 13, 2017 - 01:42am PT
I was up there around the base of Middle this year and saw a party questing up on Stoners and from what I could hear, they faced the same concerns we did when we first did the route as teenagers BITD: Where does this thing go? Find the line of weakness and it's not bad. Stray, and you're up against it. Still looked pretty adventurous even now. And steeper than I remembered.

But Black Primo is another story. Kevin did a great job on-sighting I think it was the 3rd pitch. 5.11 and runout. It's really the on-sighting that makes those routes so exciting - and the ripper you take if you can't dick the thing straight off. As I remember I got the crux 1st try but had to heave pretty hard. And I DO remember that Kevin placed the bolt protecting the crux standing on some mank. Great effort KW. Black Primo was Kevin's idea all along. I just came along as a last-minute recruit.

High times...
hooblie

climber
from out where the anecdotes roam
Aug 13, 2017 - 09:29am PT
^^^ who knew the written word would make me wanna so bad ... in the midst of this damned decrepitude?
mouse from merced

Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
Aug 13, 2017 - 10:08am PT
My olphart friends --

Black Primo was dealt out of the Degnan's Dorms by a certain Flames member who'd spent his $1,000 National Defense Loan on a vacation in Hawaii where he'd made a connection for said hashish.

It was making the rounds of C4 during the time of which you write.

It was some mighty fine smoke -- two hits and you'd likely be felled and nappin' the day away.
Vlad Pricker

Mountain climber
The cliffs of insanitty
Aug 13, 2017 - 10:52am PT
Kilgore: "I love the smell of hash in the morning."

Did I get that right?

Bump for Middle.


EDIT

You could knead that stuff into any shape you wanted, like play dough.

Hah hah

Great flavor, great smell

Kevin, did ya' ever get the stuff laced with opium? Those white streaks were not strychnine, we'll leave the latter for peyote buttons.

And yes Stoner's Highway, a great climb on beautiful rock. Kudos to you guys.
Messages 1 - 20 of total 20 in this topic
Return to Forum List
 
Our Guidebooks
spacerCheck 'em out!
SuperTopo Guidebooks

guidebook icon
Try a free sample topo!

 
SuperTopo on the Web

Recent Route Beta