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rincon
Trad climber
SoCal
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Tehipite bump!
Wonder if "Wall of Ages" ever got a repeat?
Or any of of the routes out there?, new routes?
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justin01
Trad climber
sacramento
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Since this has been started, I have been in there twice, but neither time for climbing. Thought I would share my experiences on this place.
The first time was on a m. kings kayaking trip from Bishop pass out to pine flat reservoir. Epic to say the least. We spent a night below that beast, and caught countless 12+ in trout on a handline and spinner. Fried em up on a flat rock over a fire…no butter/seasoning, and so delicious. From that trip, that valley climbed my list to one of, if not, my favorite places in the sierras. The Dome is so unbelievably massive; the valley is pristine; the camping is sandy perfection; You will not see another soul; the Gorge of Despair is ominous (with all the drama in the name, it does not do it justice). And yes there are snakes, but just don’t screw with them and you should be good to go. We walked by five on the river bank when we pulled up in our boats, and I didn’t unpack my sleeping bag until bed. Granted my dreams were more tortured with drowning in the bottom 9 (the following day of boating). Snakes seemed benign by comparison.
I hiked back in with my wife the following year from the Rancheria TH. We routinely log big mile days in the sierras, but that hike in was pretty brutal (we did get a bit off trail, the pathetic trail that is there got burned out at one point). The drop into the canyon was more painful going down then the return up. We did it in a day, but we were wiped when we got down to the river. We spent the next day fishing, with poles this time, in the side creeks because the kings was raging. You could catch your limit in an hour, and I am a terrible fisherman (meps all the way). You could subsist on the fish down there. On that trip we did not see a single snake, so go figure, and both were at nearly the same time of year.
I think on a return trip I would like to drop down the gorge of despair into the valley, a sort of high sierra canyoneering adventure.
One more thought, on my Kayak trip, we were forced to carry our 100 lbs of kayak and gear (using jury rigged pack systems) over bishop pass and down into leconte canyon. That was really no big deal especially when I consider the pain in lugging a 100lb haul bag into tehipite valley. This would be an approach most would not quickly recover from.
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nutjob
Gym climber
Berkeley, CA
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Wow Justin, I can't really picture hauling a Kayak over Bishop Pass. That is dedication. The entire trip is pretty far out from my sense of the possible/probable. It sounds like an amazing adventure! I'd love to see a TR of that.
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Radish
Trad climber
SeKi, California
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The ultimate wilderness bigwall climbing trip. Pic shows just the upper half of the dome with the "ledge" at the base.We had a fire up there a few years ago and got some pics from the heli.
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justin01
Trad climber
sacramento
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Nutjob,
Yeah crossing the sierra by boat was definitely a highpoint in my outdoor endeavors, and a low point at the same time. It is wild to get on a river with 150 cfs and take off with 4000cfs. You see the whole drainage and all the majestic canyons along the way.
I sadly did not take a camera on the trip...but this outstanding trip report (written by a really good photographer) was from the week after my buddy and I got off it.
http://www.kayakphoto.com/darinmcquoid/middlekings.html
So it is pretty indicative of our trip, the only difference is we had a touch more water and they skipped the last 10 miles of class V and hiked out of the canyon (not really sure why folks do that). Some pictures of tehipite are on his last page.
Looking at that last one everyday makes me want to climb it so badly. But I think it would be a multiyear expedition of a challenge, and I am not yet up to it. Its good to have goals though. This valley left an indelible mark on me.
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tom woods
Gym climber
Bishop, CA
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In that last shot, Tehipite looks a lot wider than shots from below.
As for Becky saying that there is bad rock, Becky routes always have bad rock. His eye gravitates toward quantity, not necessarily quality. He just wants to get up the thing and get moving to the next 700 climbs he has in mind.
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justin01
Trad climber
sacramento
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Tom, thats how I remember it...but maybe I have been staring at the picture for too long.
That whole canyon has a pretty vertical wall on both sides. Some incuts and gorges here and there, but a lot of vertical granite. I am sure there are countless bigwall lines up and down that valley.
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drljefe
climber
El Presidio San Augustin del Tucson
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Great thread.
Hey, sorry to be a kook but,
How do you pronounce Tehipite?
Teh-hee-pee-teh?
Looks epic.
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justin01
Trad climber
sacramento
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micronut...you are on fire! Great video.
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mojede
Trad climber
Butte, America
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3:05 is pretty cool, too...
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Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
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That video is fantastic!!
FWIW my Gorge of Despair stuff, with Guy Keesee's great photos is now up on Mountainproject here.
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drljefe
climber
El Presidio San Augustin del Tucson
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Thanks skully.
I always thought people where talking about Tehachapi and I was like wtf there's no wall there.
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Captain...or Skully
climber
or some such
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Tiny Tehachapi walls? Hehehe.
Whole 'nuther World, bro. I'd go there. It's fricken worthy.
Badass, even. Cheers!
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justin01
Trad climber
sacramento
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best whitewater in the world...and dare I say, the best mountain range too...
That may piss off the CO posters here, but come on. How can you not be passionate seeing this kind of stuff?
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micronut
Trad climber
fresno, ca
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nice work mojede!
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justin01
Trad climber
sacramento
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yeah...how can you say no to that dome.
This is my favorite thread by far.
I have spent the last 7 years boating all over this naturally blessed state, and now I am only just really getting into climbing full time. Aside from skiing of course.
Looking at that wall everyday makes me think of the possibilities.
I guess I have to climb a big wall first before I am ready for tehipite...
Salathe anyone?
In due time.
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