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Captain...or Skully
climber
or some such
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Sep 10, 2011 - 02:41am PT
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Have fun, you guys!
I like Starr King a lot. Amazing locale. Cool climbing.
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GDavis
Social climber
SOL CAL
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May 25, 2013 - 03:50pm PT
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Sierra bump!
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Random shots from Jim Shirley's and my trip to the Starr in the eighties in October.
Light snowfall a day or so earlier...nobody around but us mice.A real humdinger of a trip.
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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I only climbed Starr King once, in 1971 in a day from Mono Meadow, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, and the summit register was a gem. Norman Clyde, John Salathe, et al., signed in. And I, too, noticed all the other FA possibilities on or near the trail from Merced Pass. If only I weren't so slothful, but there was even lower hanging fruit near Fresno in those days.
John
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Alois
Trad climber
Idyllwild, California
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My wife Penelope and I climbed the East Face (5.7) route on Mt.Star King in summer of 2011. We combined the NW Arete of Mt. Clark, a wonderful scramble with the Mt. Star King route on the East (The hidden) Face. It was a really nice trip.
The area is full of domes and granite outcroppings, there are few if any people there. The place is a gem to visit.
Sorry for introducing another web site TR into Supertopo, but this was a really good trip for us. See the photos...
http://www.summitpost.org/mount-starr-king-east-face-ii-5-7/740303
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paul roehl
Boulder climber
california
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Everyone should check out B. Amborn's documentation of the register... great fun to look through if you love the peak.
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Alois, really nice report. Looks like you and Pen had a great time. It's so beautiful back there.
We rapped off the to the SE saddle and took our rock shoes off. Dave G then started hiking directly down that slab. I put my shoes back on!
We are all so fortunate.
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Alois
Trad climber
Idyllwild, California
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Apr 10, 2015 - 09:17am PT
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Hi Gary
How right you are. We are totally lucky to be able to enjoy this wonderful activity at this stage of our lives.
What a place Southern Yosemite is. Just wishing we were 25 years younger...
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Sep 12, 2016 - 12:40pm PT
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Jerome and I did the Mount Starr King route Nuts and Bolts ten days ago. Here's a description of the route:
Mount Starr King - Nuts and Bolts 5.8 R *
This nearly 1,400 foot climb follows a fairly straight line up Mount Starr King’s west side. It is a traditional and very serious route - the hardest climbing is adequately protected but there are mandatory, massive run-outs on easier ground.
Pitch 1 (130 feet, 5.7): Finding the start of this pitch (and of the route) is fairly easy. A large pillar dominates the base of the formation’s west side (there is a large pine at the top of the pillar). Start about 100 feet left of this pillar in a straight-up crack/seam (this crack/seam is also 25 feet left of a more prominent, right-facing, flake/crack). Third class becomes easy fifth class until the crack ends 20 feet below a bolt. The bolt protects 10 feet of 5.7 slab climbing. Forty more feet of easier, but unprotected slab follow (move up and slightly right) ending at a stance with a two-bolt anchor.
Pitch 2 (110 feet, 5.8): Move straight up 25 feet to a bolt (5.7). Easier climbing leads up and slightly right, 30 feet, to a prominent, three-foot wide roof (small gear). Move left along the roof until it is possible to move over it (5.8). Easier climbing leads up and right 15 feet to another bolt. Continue another 35 feet (unprotected) to a two-bolt anchor.
Pitch 3 (110 feet, 5.5): Move straight up, staying just left of a blunt arete. After 30 feet (5.5), move onto the arete. Continue 30 more feet (5.4, then 5.3), to a bolt. Another 50 feet of 5.3 climbing on the blunt arete leads to a two-bolt anchor.
Pitch 4 (100 feet, 5.3): Continue up the blunt arete before moving left to a ledge and a bolt. Move up and left on easy terrain to another bolt 100 feet from the start. It appears that this single bolt is at the end of the pitch (it is the anchor).
Pitch 5 (100 feet, 5.1): Very easy climbing leads up and right and then right to a noticeable ledge in a water streak. Use a vertical crack at the back of the ledge to make an anchor.
Additional Pitches: From this fifth pitch belay ledge it is 750 feet to class three terrain (on which one can walk to Mount Starr King’s summit). It appears that there is no more fixed protection in this distance (and no more fixed belays). Instead, careful route finding and excellent protection-placing skills are needed to continue along the “line-of-least-resistance.” The first 400 feet of this climbing is on masses of gorgeous patina plates. This climbing is never harder than 5.2, but protection is hard to find; occasional stoppers can be used and slings can be laid over incut knobs. Make belays where the best possible protection allows. Above the patina flakes are another 350 feet of slabs and corner/flakes (with climbing up to 5.5). Several larger pieces of gear are needed in this part of the climb.
Protection (for the first half of the route): Bolts, many runners and gear from small to 1½ inch (as of September 2016, all lead and anchor bolts to the top of the second pitch were 3/8” stainless; above that, all bolts were 1970-vintage quarter inch).
Protection (for the second half of the route): Gear from small to three inches and many runners.
Note: The word “apparently” is used in two passages above for a reason. It is very hard to tell if the first ascent party belayed from one bolt 100 feet up on the fourth pitch. It seems so though; their ropes were probably 150 feet long and there are no significant protection possibilities within 50 feet of that bolt. With regard to the presence or absence of bolts above this pitch, there is more than one “line-of-least-resistance” above this point. The ascent that led to this description went up and slightly left from the top of the fifth pitch and topped out about 150 feet left of the obvious pine near the top of the dome. This looked like the easiest climbing from below, and there were no bolts on this portion of the climb. However, it would also possible to stay to the right of the prominent pine in this last 750 feet; the first ascent party may have done this (and left fixed protection there).
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Sep 12, 2016 - 12:56pm PT
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Thanks for the full description, Brad!
Roger and I replaced the bolts on the first 2 pitches,
but it was getting late and I didn't see any bolts above,
and none were mentioned in the route description at the time
(from the Spencer Southern Yosemite guide).
So we bailed and we spent the last day of our trip looking for the NW Face route (did not find it).
splitclimber did post this description of bolts on the upper pitches in 2012:
Oct 22, 2012 - 02:17pm PT
Thx Clint and Roger for your hard work.
had the pleasure to clip the new bolts (and skip the one above the roof, yikes) on the first two pitches of nuts n bolts on starr king this weekend. Looks like you guys stopped there.
The third pitch has a single lead bolt and two bolts at top of p3, then way up on the climb a couple more lead bolts here and there, then anchors on the top of pitch 7?. One super sketchy,, but unnecessary, bolt above p7 anchors.
http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=1492905&tn=60
So the anchors on top of p7 and sketchy bolt may be on the alternative line to the right which you mentioned.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Sep 12, 2016 - 01:08pm PT
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Clint,
The replacement bolts looked good (a few years later). Thanks as always for those!!
Splitclimber's description makes me think that we missed our way on the upper part of the route? Maybe Ken will see this and add from his memory? Or splitclimber could comment regarding where they went up higher?
BTW, we did the Northeast Face route too the same day. I was almost giggling while we climbed as I matched the climbing we did with the 1876 first ascent date. What an adventure that must have been!
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splitclimber
climber
Sonoma County
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Sep 12, 2016 - 01:42pm PT
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don't remember posting that Clint and I think I was mistaken after re-reading it.
I only recall 2 old lead bolts on pitch 3 and remember a gear anchor on a nice ledge for the top of pitch 3, which was left and just above the large slanted roof.
pic of top of pitch 3 on ledge, left of slanted roof.
Don't know why I said 2 bolts at top of pitch 3. But it is weird that Brad reported pitch 3 anchor bolts. hmmm. Maybe I missed them. I have a feeling that I blew right past them and linked two pitches with a 70m rope. I don't remember stopping after only 110 feet on my pitch 3.
I did post this in the starr king bolt replacement thread and I think is accurate -
"the 3rd pitch up the rib is really good and ends above that roof at a nice small bench with a good crack for a gear anchor. The adventure was high going up and not seeing any bolts and no gear placements.
I think there was only 2 bolts on pitch 3 then a random one a pitch below the tree. The rest is just 5 fun. :)"
For pitch 4 and beyond I remember just finding the best line and looking for features that could take gear. we climbed a little left and went left of the obvious tree in the pic below
I think Clint's overlay had the route going up and right of the tree.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Sep 12, 2016 - 02:21pm PT
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Thanks for chiming in splitclimber.
Your first photo is unmistakably the ledge and crack belay that I describe as the end of our fifth (yes 5th) pitch. You call this the end of of your third pitch. You likely ran longer rope-lengths than we did; I was thinking shorter pitches when we were on it, consistent with the length of rope they had back then. Glad to know we both found our way to that same spot.
If you got to that point in three pitches, then I suspect that you clipped and then climbed right by the two bolt anchor that I describe at the end of our third pitch. This was a semi-hanging belay and (if I recall) the quarter inch bolts had one SMC hanger and one Leeper hanger. I warned Jerome at that anchor not to hang off/lean back on these two 46 year old rusties.
I think from looking at your second photo that we were 80 to 100 feet left of you at that same height on the route. And we found no other bolts. The one you found up high means that we may have been farther left than the first ascent party (although we found adequate pro up high by going that way). You stayed truer to the original ascent.
Fun route. And even if we weren't on the exact climb up higher, I'm still marking it off as done in my book ;)
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splitclimber
climber
Sonoma County
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Sep 12, 2016 - 02:28pm PT
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it is a great climb. glad you got on it.
I could easily be forgetting a third belay on the rib/arête before the ledge. i'll have to see if I have any pics that could jog my memory.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Sep 12, 2016 - 02:47pm PT
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This is the most recent version of the West Face routes overlay.
I'll try to draw in the bolts and correct the line above p2, based on your descriptions.
Is the "blue" bolt between the red 4 and 5 one that you saw (single belay bolt at 100')?
It might be from the original Illilouette Face route (only one bolt was placed on the climb).
The upper pine tree is in this photo - right of the red nine; there is a purple dot on it.
QITNL has a much nicer photo, so I might try using that for a new overlay.
The NW (not NE) Face route is the one I tried to find but didn't.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Sep 12, 2016 - 03:00pm PT
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Is the "blue" bolt between the red 4 and 5 one that you saw (single belay bolt at 100')?
Clint, the height of that one "blue" bolt is correct for the last bolt we found when we did the route (I called that one bolt the top of the fourth pitch). But it seems significantly too far to the left in your overlay (too close to the Illouette Face route).
Your overlay of Nuts and Bolts actually seems just about right, up to the purple dot that is one lower than the one even with that "blue" bolt. Then it should go up and little right to the ledge that both splitclimber and I belayed on.
Mostly though, you're right, the angle of the photo isn't the best for depicting this particular route (but it's a great photo for showing the general location of most of the routes).
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Sep 12, 2016 - 03:05pm PT
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Looking it over again, maybe the one "blue" bolt shown on the current overlay it too high and too far left? Maybe move it down to the height of the purple dot one lower (and further right).
It's hard with that photo.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Sep 13, 2016 - 03:10pm PT
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Here are my new "overlay guesses", hopefully on somewhat better photos.
Getting closer?
splitclimber, where is "a gear anchor on a nice ledge for the top of pitch 3, which was left and just above the large slanted roof."? Is this just slightly above where I have 3?
Or is it close to 4?
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Sep 13, 2016 - 03:29pm PT
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Clint,
Using my route description, both photos are perfect up to the top of pitch two. From there the purple depicts the pitches as too long. For example, the purple shows the top of pitch three too high. Also, the route moves left to a bolt well below the roof on the fourth pitch, and then up and left to the "one bolt" fourth belay.
I printed out your first photo and marked on it where we went (and where the bolts an pledge belay are). I'll either email that to you or post it where as soon as I get a chance.
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