Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
Gunkie
climber
I don't get mad, I get stabby -- Fat Tony
|
|
|
Nov 18, 2004 - 01:34pm PT
|
My vote is for Big Sandy Ledge on Half Dome. We were all by ourselves on the wall in early May (1992), the moon was full and the air was clear. The view was incredible.
I'd say the same thing about El Cap Towers, but we shared the ledge(s) with 8 people (us 2 on the Nose, a party of 3 on the Nose, and a party of 3 on Tribal Rite). Cool spot, but more crowded than a summer Saturday night in Camp 4/Sunnyside with the toilets way too close.
When it gets right down to it, any ledge on any wall is better than sleeping in the valley or on an airport floor. I'd say all wall climbers are a bit jaded when it comes down to bivy locations.
|
|
'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Oakville, Ontario, Canada, eh?
|
|
|
Nov 18, 2004 - 01:46pm PT
|
What an awesome and fantastic reply by funkness!
Funkness! Can you please email me at peterzabrok@cogeco.ca and show me how the heck you did the coding for your post?? It is absolutely amazing! I can't figure out the coding round this place, and would greatly appreciate your help.
I would love to put together in this thread a similar post on "off the beaten path" bivi ledges on El Cap. I've done quite a few routes that are rarely climbed, and I'd love to share some photos. Places like Timbuktu Towers and Lay Lady Ledge, the Round Table and Frosty's Claustrophobic Bivi.
I don't have any webspace at the moment, so if someone could volunteer to host a few photos for me, I'll scan up some slides that you've never seen before, in two different sizes like funkness has done, and write a post. Please contact me at the email above.
Funkness' post is PRECISELY the kind of high-quality stuff we need round this place! There has been too much other crap around here lately. Let's return Supertopo to a great source of big wall climbing information. Start me up! I'm psyched!
|
|
andy@climbingmoab
Big Wall climber
Salt Lake City
|
|
|
Nov 18, 2004 - 01:52pm PT
|
i like the fixed grill near desert shield in zion(disco inferno?). i want to go back up there and have a cookout.
|
|
More Air
Big Wall climber
S.L.C.
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Nov 18, 2004 - 08:31pm PT
|
Yeah, I agree your photos are awesome!
Thanks Funkness
|
|
Reverend Jim
Trad climber
Iowa
|
|
|
Nov 19, 2004 - 12:27pm PT
|
Poncho's Villa on El Gran Trono Blanco, the Giraffe.
|
|
crotch
climber
|
|
|
Nov 19, 2004 - 02:03pm PT
|
You've outed yourself Reverend! ;-?
|
|
atchafalaya
Trad climber
California
|
|
|
Nov 19, 2004 - 02:31pm PT
|
the huge ledge at the top of the tower, before the exit moves... great bivy site. Also, Wino Tower, Big Sandy, and, come to think of it... anywhere my portaledge is hanging
|
|
Jay
Trad climber
Fort Mill, SC
|
|
|
Nov 19, 2004 - 09:31pm PT
|
Only been on a few walls and hardly any without a nilon porto but the Ahwannee ledge has got to be the coolest natural bunkbeds ever. Comfy and clean with a nice guard rail on the upper bunk. Could have used some room service up there but the mother birds weren't delivering that night.
|
|
funkness
climber
So,Ca.
|
|
|
Nov 19, 2004 - 11:38pm PT
|
Here's a couple more..
Big Sur on the N.A.
Better view of the Bismark..
|
|
'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Oakville, Ontario, Canada, eh?
|
|
|
Nov 20, 2004 - 11:23am PT
|
Big Sur is a superb ledge, and unfortunately that photo doesn't do the place justice. There is a really swell place to sit about where the photo was taken from. There is also a "basement apartment" down and behind, a perfect spot to hang another ledge or two. Big Sur rocks! We stayed there three nights while fixing pitches on the Sea, we loved it so much. I remember Nick and I took turns fixing solo, so we could each have a day off. One night we opened this bottle of cabernet that we had rigorously chosen from the Yosemite grocery store [it was the cheapest brand!] and were delighted to discover that it was actually good stuff. Ya gotta love California, eh?
I remember when we left Big Sur, I solo linked P17 and P18 while Nick hauled. At one point you have to make ten hook moves in a row! Woo-hoo! NTB but DFU! No doubt I prusiked down some hooks on Screamers for pro, which you can only do while soloing.
The highlight of our holiday on Big Sur had to be our Big Wall Keg Party which we shared with three other Yosemite characters you'd probably all know - one of whom jugged from the ground, and two of whom penji'd in from a neighbouring route. We dressed up as pirates and said, "ARRRR!" We duct taped Captain Hooks to our arms and said, "Arrr!" Even Wee-Wee had a Cliffhanger taped to his claw, and I made him an eyepatch out of duct tape. It was the full moon, and the Green Dragon came by beneath us each night. We shouted back and forth: "one, two, three - HELLO GREEN DRAGON!" I was practically in tears when one of those buggers grabbed my big wall crab, and threatened to throw him off the wall! Poor little guy, what an ignominious end THAT would have been. However he is made of fluff [like father like son] and might well have survived the plummet to live and climb another day. Fortunately he made it to the summit, complete with eyepatch, though I had to remove his hook for personal use.
It was desperately hot up there, the hottest temps I have ever experienced in May. Fortunately it cooled down after three days. I have nothing but happy memories from Big Sur. {burp}
For some stupid reason, I had bought an airplane ticket with a thirty-day limit, and when I phoned my travel agent, she told me I'd best make the time limit or I'd have to spend about a thousand bucks for a one-way ticket! Holy! There was no way we could finish in time, or so it appeared. So Nick pulled an all-nighter leading P24, and we radio'd up to one of the "pirates" - who had just topped out on the route next door - to fix us a rope to the top on the last two pitches!
Nick jugged up and fell asleep on the summit, and I solo Far End Hauled our pigs four hundred feet up the final two pitches. Nick ditched his stuff on the summit under his camo Rambo tarp [he was well-equipped with various Rambo accoutrements] and helped me carry down mine, and I made my airplane by the skin of my teeth - thirty days to the hour. I later mailed a money order to my pirate friend for helping us out, because of the time and inconvenience of leaving his ropes up there.
Sea of Dreams was one of my favourite walls ever, not just because the climbing is so superb, but because of the great times we shared.
Cheers,
Pete
P.S. "Ahwahnee bunk bed." {snicker x 2}
|
|
Dapper Dan
climber
an 89' honda accord
|
|
|
Jan 19, 2006 - 03:58am PT
|
i hope to sleep on an El Cap ledge this season ya'll are lucky....
|
|
TradIsGood
Trad climber
Gunks end of country
|
|
|
Jan 19, 2006 - 07:02am PT
|
Well all I get is the famous red-x on the funkness posts. But his discovery is a very nice trick. An extension of a Rajmit discovery (at least he is the first one I know of who posted clickable images on ST.)
For clickable images, you put the img tags inside the url tags:
[ url=" "][ img]url of image[ /img][ /url]. -- Rajmit's discovery, note nothing inside the url quotes.
Funkness puts the url of the large image in the url tag and the url of the small image inside the img tags.
Very clever and a useful technique!
|
|
Chris W
Social climber
Eldo
|
|
|
Jan 19, 2006 - 09:53am PT
|
Sickle, Dolt Tower, El Cap Tower, Camp 5, Camp 6. Peanut Ledge, First ledge you come to on Lost in America. I heard the ledge before the Bismark rocks.
|
|
junior
Trad climber
Modesto. CA
|
|
|
Jan 19, 2006 - 10:08am PT
|
The ledge in the middle of the harding bolt ladder between Mescalito and the Dawn, Big Sandy and The Contiental shelf.
|
|
T2
climber
Cardiff by the sea
|
|
|
Jan 19, 2006 - 10:27am PT
|
Some of my Fav's
Peanut on the Zodiac
Continental shelf P.O. (I like the way you can get behind it a lay on a flat sandy area)
Island in the sky P.O. (Killer location)
The top of the Leaning Tower
Big Sandy
Oh yea, my Fish double wide is always a favorite.
|
|
Patrick Sawyer
climber
Originally California now Ireland
|
|
|
Jan 19, 2006 - 10:31am PT
|
Ahwahnee was my first bivvy ledge and I turned 19 on it, so I guess it's number one.
|
|
MSmith
Mountain climber
Portland, Oregon
|
|
|
Jan 19, 2006 - 03:37pm PT
|
Hard to beat Ahwahnee for a flat ledge undercut by an overhanging wall, but not enough room for two to sleep in comfort. The ultimate in comfort might be Thanksgiving with its flat, sandy, weather protected alcove/cave. Anyone been to the "100 man bivy" on Watkins?
|
|
Texplorer
Trad climber
Las Vegas
|
|
|
Jan 19, 2006 - 04:46pm PT
|
1) Bismark Ledge - a nice with even a little rib to keep your water bottles from rolling off (when I was there a few summers back there was a small tupperware with a glass pipe and other important stuff for using it)
2) Island in the Sky -finally a ledge on that wall that you could unrope on
3) El Cap Spire - the delux, I always wanted to haul a rocking chair up there
|
|
pc
climber
Eastside
|
|
|
Jan 19, 2006 - 05:01pm PT
|
Patrick, Mark, I agree, the Ahwahnee is great, with a king sized bed and breakfast at 8am ;)
|
|
Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
|
|
|
Jan 19, 2006 - 06:07pm PT
|
El Cap Tower and Camp 5 without humans and their waste products.
Chickenhead SUCKS. The view is great but its lump city.
The first fixed grill in Zion was on Love Ewe Ledge. One of the best unropable ledges.
The Virgin Berth on Touchstone is good with a gf.
Brandy Tower on the Minotaur.
Spent a night on Mt. Nemia (the highest "Mary") with awesome views across two adjacent 2000' walls.
When I put up Monkeyfinger in '78 we slept in the Monkeyhouse (so-so), but then discovered a better bivy just above.
When I did the second ascent I got to use it and remember toking up with one of my partners while the other, a mormon, pleaded with him not to smoke. The moron then threatened to photograph his friend if he didn't stop.
Later he seemed to forget this extortion when he posted on rc.com about what a madman I was threatening to hurl his camera.
Strangley enough that was AFTER starting this very thread talking about Monkeyfinger...more hot air indeed!
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!