Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
| Messages 1 - 14 of total 14 in this topic |
Chris McNamara
SuperTopo staff member
|
|
|
Topic Author's Original Post - Jan 26, 2006 - 02:36pm PT
|
I want to climb El Cap every month this year. On January 24th, I still hadn’t found anyone to climb with. It looked like I was going to have to solo something… which would probably involve suffering and cold temperatures. Not cool.
Lincoln Else saved me from that fate. At 9pm on the night of the 24th, he said he could climb. However, the very next day was the last sunny looking weather for January. I couldn’t leave San Francisco until 11pm so I got to Yosemite at 2:30am and woke up at 6am.
We pulled got to El Cap just after 7am. As we were ready to walk to the base, I realized I didn’t have a harness. I guess after 3.5 hours of sleep, my brain wasn’t fully on. So on the drive back to Link’s house to get a harness, I drank the equivalent of two Red Bulls on top of the two cups of coffee I had had earlier. I might have had a bad caffeine twitch, but at least I was now awake.
We started climbing just after 8am. The sun hit us on Sickle Ledge and for me it would be t-shirt climbing for most of the route. The lighting on El Cap in winter is exceptional. The sun light is much softer—like its perpetually late-afternoon. There was nobody else on the wall. It was a good place to be.
Lincoln also wants to climb El Cap every month this year. Since I had climbed 6 walls in December and was in better wall shape, I would lead this entire climb. Then in December, Lincoln would lead the whole route and I would jug.
The route was mostly dry for the first half. Occasionally I would put my hand in a dry-looking crack to find water running in the back. But, this was the exception, not the rule.
On the King Swing, we could hear our friends in the meadow cheered us on. Thanks Dov, Brandon, Naomi and crew! Its too bad with the belay location, wasn’t able to watch Link do the main part of the King Swing. But I did get to watch the last crux big were suddenly a hand, then another hand, latched onto an aręte. Next, Links body slowly and carefully did the delicate “horizontal mantel.” I still have not found a cooler pendulum on El Cap… except maybe on the Pacific Ocean Wall.
Me on the King Swing.
At Camp IV, the summer-like conditions on the route ended abruptly. Water from the Muir Wall dripped down on us. The pitch off Camp 4 was partially soaked because water seeped out of every inch of the Great Roof pitch. I was not happy.
Me on the Great Roof
I took my time on the Great Roof. Not only because I was terrified of the tiny alien placements in wet rock: many of the fixed stoppers looked extremely suspect. This fear was confirmed when I clipped into a few only to have them wiggle out in my hands just before stepping on them. Luckily, the increased fear kept me warm or at least distracted me from the fact that my pants were now soaked (from the water on the rock, not because I was scared).
The next pitch, the Pancake Flake, was dry. Unfortunately, my arms were now locking up from cramps. There was still over 1000 feet of the steepest climbing on the route to go. I got a bit nervous. If my arms kept locking up, was I going to fall unexpectedly in a section I usually runnout? Or were we at least going to move so slowly that we might have to climb at night… in January?
To make things worse, the route seemed to be getting wetter and wetter. The crack below Camp 5 involved jamming a mixture of water, slime and mud. The Glowering Spot pitch was mostly soaked, as was the pitch above the Glowering Spot.
The Glowering Spot
Lincoln definitely helped my psyched shouting up encouragements. He also has the cool habbit of yetting out a cheerful “Yahoo!” scream every time I finished a pitch.
He enjoyed the wet conditions in a different but equally special way. The rope was now soaked and we soon learned a new equation: water + nylon rope = bungee cord. For the rest of the route, the rope would stretch in ways that, well, ropes just shouldn’t. The same principle applied to my aiders. Each time I stepped into them, they sunk down a few inches. Nice.
But the true wet climbing wouldn’t come until above Camp VI. Here, the first 30 of face climbing were drenched by a waterspout in the rock. As I approached this mini-waterfall, I imagined how I would quickly and gracefully climb to the dryer rock above. Of course, as soon as I entered the spicket, I fumbled with the climbing and gear and was soaked in seconds. I was still wearing a t-shirt… but not for long.
Blocking the waterspout with my body.
Somehow, the cramps in my arms worked their way out. instead of topping out at 9pm, as I imagined after finishing the Great Roof, we topped out around 3:30, a little under 7.5 hours after starting. The greatest moment of the climb soon followed as we took inventory of the remaining food: 4 cliff bars, raisins, a granola bar and 9 little squares of chocolate. Big smiles and huge props to Lincoln for such foresight.
The food.
Somehow I envisioned that, even in January, a week of sun would have melted all the snow off the slabs at the edge of El Cap. I could not have been more wrong. Snow was everywhere.
Me starting the descent.
I set up the camera on a log to take a shot of Link and myself. But after setting the self timer and starting to run back over to Link, my foot sunk down three feet into a hole and the following shot resulted.
Anyone who has done the East Ledges descent will appreciate this photo of Lincoln on the slabs between The Nose and Zodiac.
Despite the snow, the descent went quickly. Mainly because Link was going so fast and breaking trail. He managed to find all the big sinkholes like the one in the phot above. Thanks Link! We were back at the car at 5pm, about 9 hours after leaving the Valley. Dov achieved superstar status by picking us up and Manure Pile and driving us back to El Cap Meadow. Here is a final shot of Half Dome I took on the rappels.
you can check out all my other trip reports at http://chrismcnamara.com
|
|
healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
|
|
|
Jan 26, 2006 - 02:50pm PT
|
Wow! Another great go at the nose Chris! The contrast between this and my little ass whooping on the same day is beyond, beyond. Again, remarkable what can become "normal" once we simply apply ourselves and become accepting of life on an entirely different scale. Bravo...
|
|
Gunkie
climber
East Coast US
|
|
|
Jan 26, 2006 - 04:28pm PT
|
Looking forward for the February adventure!
|
|
LqdSlvr
Trad climber
Phoenix, AZ
|
|
|
Jan 26, 2006 - 04:36pm PT
|
Wow, Chris! I am always inspired by these TR's. Keep 'em coming.
|
|
WBraun
climber
|
|
|
Jan 26, 2006 - 05:23pm PT
|
I yelled up at you guys when you were about two pitches from the top. It did look very wet,
It's been cold so that snow was obviously going to be there a few meters back from the edge. Nice going guys!
How come no close up shots of Link, Chris? The jugger is 1/2 the Team!
|
|
Jobee
Social climber
El Portal
|
|
|
Jan 26, 2006 - 07:03pm PT
|
Nice work lads and great pics!
Glad your'e getting out, must have been serene. Awesome!
jow
|
|
Fluoride
Trad climber
on a rock or mountain out west
|
|
|
Jan 26, 2006 - 07:26pm PT
|
Heh, funny to see someone needing to break trail in knee deep snow on that part of the slab descent. Looks like you guys were the only ones to have been up there in awhile. Congrats.
BTW - nice coordinated outfits Chris and Link!!!
|
|
hobo
climber
PDX
|
|
|
Jan 26, 2006 - 07:28pm PT
|
Boy, you guys dont look like you just climbed el cap. Frolicking in the snsow w/ matching outfits? Its like "old navy" extreme. Nice work!
|
|
Link
Trad climber
Yosemite, CA
|
|
|
Jan 26, 2006 - 07:29pm PT
|
Chris, you forgot the part about cutting the tag line. Then again, you were a hundred feet above me and somewhat distracted, but it was rather... exhilarating.
We had a piece of six mm for a tag line. Great line, super light, but it snagged on the first lower-out into the stove legs. Crap... I tried to pull myself back over to the anchor to twist it free or repeat the lower, but it was too thin to grab tightly. Bummer.... so I pulled myself as far back toward the anchor as I could, wrapped the tag-line around my arm, carefully pulled out a knife, and... zing.... took quite the nice ride.
As for the rest of the route, it felt somewhat like being tied to a rocket. Nice job Chris!
Chris belayed Tommy up El Cap, then I belayed Chris up El Cap... so now I guess I need to go find a belayer.
East Ledges is definitely interesting this time of year. Wonder what it will be like next month...
Cheers,
-Link
PS: As for the matching outfits... I'll take credit for that dorky blunder, both tops are mine. Guess I like red.
|
|
yo
climber
NOT Fresno
|
|
|
Jan 26, 2006 - 07:35pm PT
|
I want to climb El Cap every year this year.
|
|
susan peplow
climber
area 29
|
|
|
Jan 27, 2006 - 02:01am PT
|
Chris thanks for bringing a smile to your readers. Good job, we can't even rack up in 9 hours!
Susan
|
|
David Nelson
climber
San Francisco
|
|
|
Jan 30, 2006 - 09:32pm PT
|
Here's for more TR's and less politics! Nice report. The East Ledges must have been the scariest part. Easy to slip and take a big drop.
|
|
Mick K
climber
Northern Sierra
|
|
|
Jan 31, 2006 - 07:14pm PT
|
Great to this this TR. It may actually motivate me to get off my ass.
More trip reports and less political bs
|
|
| Messages 1 - 14 of total 14 in this topic |
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!