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rja
Trad climber
somewhere between LA and Baja
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Topic Author's Original Post - Nov 28, 2005 - 02:41pm PT
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OK...I'm light. I climb 5.10 and below. That's it. I'm preparing a to-do list for next season and I'm asking all the vets for your favorite eastern Sierra routes that you've done. I like a backcountry feel so a long approach is not an issue.
Here's a list of some routes I've done: Sun Ribbon, Moon Goddess, Goode, Fishhook, Humphreys, W and NW Ridge of Lone Pine, Picture Peak, Eichorn Pinnacle, Cathedral, Crystal Crag, Thor Peak, Banner. Any others that you'd recommend?
Please tell me your favorites and be sure to keep them at 5.10 and below. 3rd class qualifies if it's a great route with good exposure.
Thanks....Bob
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ThomasKeefer
Trad climber
Monterey, CA
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Nov 28, 2005 - 03:34pm PT
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If you can get through the 5.9 pitch on Red Dihedral on the Incredible Hulk that leads to the routes crux, you will cruise the crux section and that route is pretty incredible.
You can't beat Third Pillar of Dana Regular Route for the entire experience (approach is really nice walk and you descend to the start so descent is very mellow after route. The climbing is spectacular but the route fairly short
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caughtinside
Social climber
Davis, CA
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Nov 28, 2005 - 03:53pm PT
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I'd have to recommend Matthes Crest. Sure, there's only a couple sections of 5.7, but you get to climb forever! Fabulous exposure on the entire route as well.
Also, I'd recommend doing the entire traverse. I think the ST beta mentions that most parties rap from the north summit. Don't really understand that, there's another 1/2 mile of great climbing if you keep going!
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Fat Dad
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Nov 28, 2005 - 04:29pm PT
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Just to make you feel a little better, if you're climbing trad 5.10 at altitude, you're not that light.
My recs are as follows:
The Third Pillar--although I did this quite a while ago, I remember it being as good as all the hype. Super clean rock and the last pitch alone is worth the long but scenic hike in. The Dana Plateau is really an amazing place.
Cylde Minaret, SW Face--I did the regular rather than the 5.9+ direct start, which looks nice. A great route on real interesting rock. Even though it's not that hard, you feel like you've accomplished something after you've done it.
Matthes Crest
Bear Creek Spire, N. Arete--I didn't find this as classic as everyone says, but definintely a fun route, good rock and nice summit that you could tag in a day from the road.
If I actually had time to climb trad in the Sierras and all my ex partners weren't equally busy or flaky:
Mt. Russell, Startrekkin' or Mithral Dihedral
Mt. Merriam, N. Butt.
Incredible Hulk, Red Dihedral
What's Picture Peak like? I've never been able to find any beta on that.
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Ksolem
Trad climber
LA, Ca
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Nov 28, 2005 - 04:30pm PT
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The "Long Twisting Rib" on the north side of Mt Williamson is pretty good. Very soloable easy fifth class, mostly great rock. Very airy. On the upper part approaching the west horn summit, you hand traverse along and up a knifeblade fin of granite way up in the sky. Good fun.
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rja
Trad climber
somewhere between LA and Baja
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 28, 2005 - 04:41pm PT
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Fat Dad,
Cool climb. It's in the Moyner Fiddler 100 classic guide (1993). FA Gary Colliver and Steve Thompson 1967. 5.9, Picture Peak is 13,120. It's approached from Lake Sabrina.
From Lake Sabrina, follow the trail past Blue Lake to Hungry Packer Lake, located at the base of the Peak. From this Lake, scramble up to the base of the east face. Moderate cracks and chimneys lead to a smooth face capped by twin flakes. Climb the face and continue between the flakes (5.7). The crux is a steep corner (5.9), followed by a difficult move onto the buttress. Steep ramps lead to easier climbing and eventually the top
Could need ice axe and or crampons for the approach to the base.
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matty
Big Wall climber
Valencia, CA
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Nov 28, 2005 - 08:42pm PT
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Bob- with lone pine peak did you mean to refer the EAST ridge/northEAST ridge? Also the whitney classics are good (E face and E buttress)and you can get the E ridge of russell on your way down from Fishook.
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rja
Trad climber
somewhere between LA and Baja
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 28, 2005 - 09:25pm PT
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matty,
yeah....sometime's i'm a bit light in the head too. the n ridge (on the way to Meysan Lake) and the ne ridge from the floor. 3rd classed both of them. ne ridge was a grunt.
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matty
Big Wall climber
Valencia, CA
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Nov 28, 2005 - 09:58pm PT
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Bob- I thought there was 2 pitches of 5.6 or something like that as you pass the towers higher on the route. Did you go around these somehow?
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WBraun
climber
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Nov 28, 2005 - 10:01pm PT
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The regular route on th Keeler Needle is one of the nicest climbs I thought. Is this route to hard for this thread?
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aldude
climber
Monument Manor
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Nov 29, 2005 - 01:08am PT
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Sounds like a troll from CMac. These select books blow. My fifth Maxim - Never repeat a route in the backcountry - Always do a new route. There is so much potential out there and the effort is the same - just don't bolt!
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Norman Clydesdale
climber
Mule capital of the world
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Nov 30, 2005 - 01:44am PT
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The Rowell route on Mt. Barnard.
Amazing location. Great rock. Only a bit of 5.9+.
Seems to get climbed once every few seasons. Way better than many of the routes on the standard list of Sierra classics.
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August West
Trad climber
Where the wind blows strange
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Nov 30, 2005 - 11:44am PT
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If you have done Sun Ribbon and Moon Goddes, you might as well finish it off by doing Dark Star. It is a grade V, but the butress has most of the good climbing and is a grade IV. Since you've already topped out on the mountain, you can rap from the top of the butress for a much easier day.
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Michael Hjorth
Trad climber
Copenhagen, Denmark
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Nov 30, 2005 - 12:33pm PT
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www.fivenineclimber.com
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10b4me
Trad climber
On that V2 problem at the Happies
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Nov 30, 2005 - 04:39pm PT
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North Arete(5.7), Matterhorn Peak
and if you want something real easy, but with great views, NW Arete(5.2), North Peak.
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de eee
Mountain climber
Tustin
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Nov 30, 2005 - 05:46pm PT
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Here are a couple.
W. Ridge Conness-very worthy
N. Ridge Conness- good
Ghostrider (?)10b, up center of Whitney Portal Butt., super good,crux pitch is the 5.9 handcrack leading up to the face pitches
Whitney-E. Butt.
Every Arete on Temple Crag
The Diamond-Two Eagle Peak (rated 5.6 but one part 5.9)
Carl Heller Pk.-E. Butt. class 3- disregard the rating, this is an XL route!
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atchafalaya
Trad climber
California
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Nov 30, 2005 - 05:55pm PT
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theres a sierra link-up that me and a partner did years ago that has been one of the best sierra "routes" I have done... start at the cathedral lakes trailhead to cathedral peak, solo unicorn, head to the echo summits (9 seperate peaks up to 5.9 ), then the cockscomb, then hit cathedral and eichorns pinnacle. I forgot a few of the summits... The day involved around 14 or 15 summits all below 5.9. We skipped Mathess Crest (we've done it since)and it alone is one of the most awesome features in the sierras. A really long day, a ton of climbing, great views, a really great day of "routes"... and a great sierra "route" under 5.10 with alot of mileage.
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rja
Trad climber
somewhere between LA and Baja
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 1, 2005 - 02:28am PT
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matty,
sheesh....there's so many ways you can do those routes, I forget. I do know i 3rd classsed both routes in approach shoes (guide tennies or something like that). brough a short rope, a couple of cams, some nuts, and some climbing shoes but I never took them out of the pack. as i remember, there was one place that i had to do a pretty scary (for me) friction move with lots of exposure and then there was that weird crumbly ledge that is at towards the top of the route. I remember taking some eaiser ways on the side of the ridge a couple of times because of snow/ice, so I could have very well avoided some cruxes...my memory just doesn't serve me that well. Trust me, I'm an expert at finding the lightest way to the top.
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Alan Doak
climber
boulder, co
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Charlotte's Dome was fun, as well as linking up Swiss Arete over to Thunderbolt.
Better yet, come out to Colorado and spend some time in Rocky Mountain NP:
Petite Grepon, Pervertical or Casual on the Diamond, Birds of Fire on Chief's Head, Spearhead.... check out climbingboulder.com for beta.
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clustiere
Trad climber
Durango, CO
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Red Dihedral
Dana Pillar
Startrekkin (soooooooooooooo sweet and relatively unclimbed)
Venutian Blind
E Butt Whitney (in a day is much more fun)
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Brutus of Wyde
climber
Old Climbers' Home, Oakland CA
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Milktoast Chimney on S, Face Lone Pine Peak. (note: photos show the wrong location in Moynier, the route is further up canyon)
Zigzag Dihedral on S. Face Lone Pine Peak.
Twin Cracks on E. Face of the Turret
Twilight Pillar on Clyde Peak
Piper at the Gates of Dawn on Starlight Peak
Great Book on Mt. Whitney
Direct Southwest Buttress Mt. Russell
East Face Middle Palisade
Southeast Buttress North Palisade
Hechtel Route on Columbia Finger
North Peak, couloirs.
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G Murphy
Trad climber
Oakland CA
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Here are some notes on a Sierra 5.10 that I thought was full value - The Edge of Time Arete on the Citidel:
On Saturday, Peter Coward and I climbed the “Edge of Time Arete”, IV, 5.10 on The Citadal in the High Sierra. The most noteworthy aspect of this climb is its 16 mile approach, which unfortunately translates to a 16 mile hike back to the car once you’ve completed the climb.
Peter and I drove out Friday night stopping in Livermore to buy a new harness after I realized I forgot mine at home. We got to the trailhead outside of Bishop at around midnight and enjoyed a three hour snooze waking at 3:15 am to get the coffee going. The 16 mile approach is incredible with lots of great scenery and spectacular views into LeConte Canyon, Langille Peak, and our objective The Citadel. Somewhere along the way I realized I forgot a significant portion of our food supplies. We did the approach in about 6 hours, the crux being the final bushwack up 2,000 feet to the base of the route. Despite some difficulties negotiating the snow and ice guarding the start of the route, we began climbing at 11:30 am. To avoid the bergschrund, we added the 2 pitch indirect start (5.4 X) that traverses into the climb above the snow.
The climb went smoothly with lots of variety making our way up the amazing NE Arete. We topped out around 5:40 after 6 hours of climbing. The descent is not for the faint of heart and involved complex, somewhat psycho, downclimbing, on steep loose shattered rock, with insane exposure. Now that we’re done it, I highly recommend the route for the descent alone.
With the climb and descent under our belts it was only a matter of finding our cached pack, fording the Middle Fork of the Kings River, hiking the 7 or 8 miles up 3,500 feet to Bishop Pass and descending 5 miles to the car. We started our return hike fairly strongly, grinding up about 2,000 feet in about an hour and a half. But at around 11 pm, we hit the wall. Maybe it was all that lunch food I forgot to pack. We carried on at a pathetic pace to Bishop Pass. Between hallucinations, I would turn off my headlamp and enjoy the stars and the ¾ moon lighting up the miles of exposed rock. We got to the pass and continued each in his own zombie-like fashion to the car; the final 2 miles being particularly brutal, yet somehow satisfying. The car to car time was 23.5 hours. After a 2 hours of sleep, we began our drive home.
Final tally:
650 miles and 14 hours driving
32 miles of hiking, bushwacking
13 pitches of climbing
8,660 feet of elevation gain
14 Powerbars
6 Powergels
 Peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches
1 bear sighting
2 llama sightings
many deer
and a partridge in a pear tree!
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Norman Clydesdale
climber
Mule capital of the world
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Greg Murphy-You need to read the initial post.
Bob is looking for a memorable backcountry experience with a nice hike and a good backcountry vibe. I got the impression he was looking for something off the beaten path.
While it sounds like you enjoyed your day trip to the mountains, Where was the adventure? Where was the commitment? 24 hours does not a backcountry experience make.
Now that the word is out on this trailside crag and the lack of commitment reqquired for the route, future ascentionists are sure to find themselves standing in line.
Looks like it will be a toss up between Pinnacles, the Valley, Tahoe, or LeConte Canyon for day trips for the Nor Cal set.
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Old&InTheWay
Trad climber
NC
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Sun Ribbon Arete on Temple Crag - It's the gift that keeps on giving - opps you've already done it.
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aldude
climber
Monument Manor
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I know this sounds self serving but the Northeast Face of the Southeast Tooth of the Three Teeth - Sawtooth Ridge is a goody. Long Name ( we called it Zigzag Direct ) but five quality 5.10 pitches,bitchen summit and adventuresome descent with sinle rope raps make for a nice day.
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aldude
climber
Monument Manor
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SM - FA with Bruce Runnals,87'
You must be thinking of the other Al - Bartlett
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