| Messages 1 - 52 of total 52 in this topic |
Roger Brown
climber
Oceano, California
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jun 12, 2012 - 11:29am PT
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Clint, Dan, Bob, and I replaced the bolts on the "North Face Route", "Nuts and Bolts", and the "Tom Rogers Route" on Mt. Starr King this past weekend. Clint and I saw a good size Rattle Snake close up on the hike out Sunday.
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bhilden
Trad climber
Mountain View, CA
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Jun 12, 2012 - 11:33am PT
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You guys rock(literally)!
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Captain...or Skully
climber
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Jun 12, 2012 - 11:48am PT
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You guys are awesome, Roger. Tireless efforts!
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cragnshag
Social climber
san joser
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Jun 12, 2012 - 12:01pm PT
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edit for Roger- "North Face Route" above should say "West Face Route".
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Jun 12, 2012 - 01:03pm PT
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Dave Kos
Trad climber
Temecula
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Jun 12, 2012 - 01:07pm PT
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Nice work!
Those fingernails are pretty long for a climber. :)
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Jun 12, 2012 - 01:10pm PT
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Those fingernails are pretty long for a climber. :)
LOL!
Thanks, guys, for your excellent and ongoing work.
John
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spyork
Trad climber
Tunneling out of prison
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Jun 12, 2012 - 01:32pm PT
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Thanks Clint and Roger! I have been wanting to get up there and climb that.
Steve
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
bouldering
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Jun 12, 2012 - 02:13pm PT
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Hopefully we'll be seeing more trip reports from out there now. Somebody should get busy on that incredible mushroom boulder on the Mono Meadows approach too.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Jun 12, 2012 - 02:42pm PT
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Here are the current options for crossing Illouette Creek on the Mono Meadow approach.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Jun 12, 2012 - 02:45pm PT
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Roger needs long fingernails - they help when he plucks out old bolts with his bare hands.
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Banquo
climber
Amerricka
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Jun 12, 2012 - 03:23pm PT
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We also managed to photograph the summit register entries from 1990 to present and climb some virgin rock.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
the crowd MUST BE MOCKED...Mocked I tell you.
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Jun 12, 2012 - 03:34pm PT
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YESH! Thx guys! Such a great rock back there.
How were the bugs?
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Banquo
climber
Amerricka
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Jun 12, 2012 - 04:19pm PT
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No bugs, cool nights and warm days. Outside of sunburn, perfect conditions.
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Wade Icey
Trad climber
www.alohashirtrescue.com
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Jun 12, 2012 - 04:54pm PT
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Badass, Thanks. By the way these are terrible routes and not worth the hassle to get to. Don't bother and please warn all your friends...
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Salamanizer
Trad climber
The land of Fruits & Nuts!
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Jun 12, 2012 - 06:58pm PT
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Hey Clint, you got a picture of Star King with an overlay of all it's routes drawn in?
Thinking about heading up to that particular rock sometime this year myself.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Jun 15, 2012 - 03:22am PT
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Sure, Chad - here is an updated overlay of Starr King West Face, and a prelim overlay for Dome Baez:
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Jun 15, 2012 - 05:23pm PT
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Here are approach details for the West Face climbs, from Mono Meadow.
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
merced, california
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Jun 15, 2012 - 05:45pm PT
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You are totally correct, Wade. The place is a hellhole, the routes generally degrade the climbers, the approach is wading through icy creek water, the possibilities of new routes are rare, and the climbs are too low angle to interest anyone who has been on the GPA. Fergeddit.
Oh, yeah, the views from there are all Half Dome, Half Dome, Half Dome.
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BooDawg
Social climber
Butterfly Town
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Jun 15, 2012 - 06:18pm PT
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So GREAT to re-visit those climbs and to see that the original bolts have weathered the years well. But it's also great to see them replaced. Thanks for doing that work, tho, like you guys say, it's really not worth going in there to climb...
Banquo: In your second picture, was that a Dolt Hanger that you removed? If so, perhaps you could send it to LilaBiene who is Dolt's daughter and who would appreciate it more than anyone that I know.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Jun 15, 2012 - 06:31pm PT
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It was fun to finally locate Nuts and Bolts - I thought for sure it was where "West Flake" is; that turned out to be quite a bit easier.
Here's a link to Ken's photo trip report of the first ascent in 1972:
http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=1292666&msg=1293125#msg1293125
Still looking for bolts on the NW Face....
That was an SMC stainless hanger on the West Face, added next to the first bolt by someone (vs. Dolt which is chrome moly).
Did you place those bolts on pitch 4 on the FA? Only the top one is mentioned in the Roper description, so I guess he didn't get the route description direct from you?
Here's one of those views of Half Dome, from the Mono Meadow trail, early evening on the hike out:
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BooDawg
Social climber
Butterfly Town
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Jun 15, 2012 - 07:39pm PT
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I helped Roper a fair amount on the "Green Guide." And since the Starr King climbs were done in 1970, they probably didn't have a second ascent before it came out. He must have gotten those descriptions from me, tho I doubt that I have the original notes anymore.
My memory has faded on just what bolts I might have placed. I assume what I placed is in the descriptions in the "Green Guide."
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
merced, california
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Jun 15, 2012 - 07:59pm PT
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Thank you, CC. The photos of Tim climbing are so magic for me. I never climbed much with the man, but he was serious about his climbs but not about life's problems. A full-time cool person.
It's nice for me to see the Dawg's portrait, as I never had the pleasure of meeting him. You're a handsome dog, Ken. Too bad you didn't get a summit shot of the two of you studs. It would have been gold.
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WBraun
climber
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Jun 15, 2012 - 08:00pm PT
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I remember the brutal approach to Mt. Starr King.
It was only few hundred feet as I stepped out of the helicopter near the base to start the climb ......
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Banquo
climber
Amerricka
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Jun 16, 2012 - 06:05am PT
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Werner - why not land on top? What were you thinking?
BooDawg - As Clint says, the hanger was a SS SMC that must have been added later.
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pyro
Big Wall climber
Calabasas
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Jun 16, 2012 - 09:04am PT
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Good work on the bolt replacement project.
100% winners
you guys are a huge force!
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BooDawg
Social climber
Butterfly Town
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Jun 16, 2012 - 12:00pm PT
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If there's a question about what bolts I may have placed, if it is NOT a 1/4" Rawl Drive with a nut, holding on a Leeper hanger, I would not have placed it. If it is that, it's likely I did place it, but it's still possible someone else did.
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
bouldering
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Jun 16, 2012 - 10:43pm PT
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Sick pics Banquo and Clint. Is one of those lines on Baez a Warbler route?
The wide dihedral in same photo (SW skyline) looks inviting too.
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QITNL
climber
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Sep 12, 2012 - 10:01pm PT
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I might head up towards MSK this weekend, spend a couple of nights, get the lay of the land. Never been up there before. A buddy might want to climb the sucker in a couple of weeks, I should see if there's any water.
I'll stick to easy class 3 on my own, hike the weenie domes, take some photos. But if anyone is around and wants to jump on the sharp end, let me know, I'll bring a rope or whatever.
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Salamanizer
Trad climber
The land of Fruits & Nuts!
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Sep 13, 2012 - 12:06am PT
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I might be interested in attempting a new route in a few weeks. Maybe taking a lap or two on existing routes as well.
Not this weekend though.
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QITNL
climber
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Sep 13, 2012 - 12:28am PT
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Cool, man. I might hit you up on that. I keep seeing these damn domes from every other angle in the park, wanna finally hit my head on them up close. See if I can scramble up Dome Baez up her ass.
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Gary
Social climber
Monza by the streetlight
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Sep 13, 2012 - 06:02am PT
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Nice work. That's some great rock back there.
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The Warbler
climber
the edge of America
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Sep 13, 2012 - 07:55am PT
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Walkabout is the route on "Dome Baez" that Mark Chapman and I did. To be exact on the upper part of the line, it climbs the leaning, left facing flake just right and up from the green arrow at the top of the green dotted line. This flake is prominent, and intimidating from the base of the route, as it has a wide crack behind it and leans severely. At its end the flake is only a few inches thick, and juts out into the sky from the climbers' perspective below.
The route takes one of the two obvious lines through the summit cap's headwall to the top, after a long low angle slab.
It's a good one - only two bolts I believe, as I've said here before, the fourth pitch is an amazing continuous 5.8 and 5.9 seam/splitter which gobbles up stoppers, but only every 15 or 20 ft. One of the best I've encountered on a new lead.
We found the approach to be better from Glacier Point - there's less brush on the slope below the dome when you approach from that angle.
EDIT: The two bolts on walkabout are quarter inchers, placed on stance about 25 years ago, they protect the crux, a mantle and some thin edging.
The wall to the right has some potential. Anyone know of routes over there?
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k-man
Gym climber
SCruz
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Sep 13, 2012 - 10:22am PT
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Clint, you show the grades for the climbs on Baez, how about the grades for Mt. Starr King?
As always, ++ Work!
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Sep 13, 2012 - 04:57pm PT
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Kevin,
> The wall to the right has some potential. Anyone know of routes over there?
Here's a slightly more direct link to AlDude's unfinished route right of Walkabout:
http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=163599&msg=164304#msg164304
"West of Starr King? Cashner and I got 4 pitches up central line in 1990. After two horrendous 1/4 inch horror shows attempt ended on big loose flake in near darkness with much 5.11 to go. I think Chapman and Worral later established an 8 pitch 5.10 to the left. Could be mistaken though."
[I believe we later determined that Walkabout was done after 1990]
There is one more climb on Dome Baez not shown on my overlay photo, further around to the right in an obvious straight-up corner system, a 3 pitch 5.9.
Kelly,
Here are ratings and pitch counts for the climbs on the Starr King overlay photo:
 NW Face 5.9, 7p (we have been unable to locate this so far, need to look more!)
Starry Starry Knight 5.10a, 9p in right facing shallow dihedrals - could use some more research on this also - climb it and send me a topo!
West Face 5.8, 8p (maybe 5.9 directly up the bolts)
West Flake 5.7
Flake Exit 5.8 (exit right early past the bolt Roger replaced)
Illilouette Face 5.5 R, 9?p, aka Tom Rogers SW Face route
Nuts and Bolts 5.8, 8p
Joe,
Wish I could join you for exploring up there this weekend, but I already have plans....
Chad,
If you could use topos for the leftmost 3 routes on Dome Baez, I have them.
I had hoped to locate the AlDude route there on a previous trip, but ran out of time after checking out (existing) routes on a dome further to the east.
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The Warbler
climber
the edge of America
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Sep 13, 2012 - 05:26pm PT
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When Chappy and I first attempted our route, we did a long easy pitch up an obvious shallow left facing corner/ramp and belayed at its end where the climbing got harder. Mark pieced together some features leading up and right, and about sixty feet out, he noticed two bolts leading further out right into steeper and smoother territory. He gave it a go, but it was obvious that whoever placed the bolts didn't get much farther.
He came down to the belay, and I had a go at it. Just below the bolts, I saw a nice weakness leading straight up and slightly left, so I moved up to check it out. I could see a mini ledge or mantel shalf about halfway through the blankish section between me and the upper part of the line, which is prominent enough to see from Mono Meadows with the naked eye.
I got a bolt in, and gave the lead back to Mark, he surmounted the mantel, placed another bolt, and climbed mup into the crack system that is the route for the next three or four hundred feet.
I was surprised and stoked that whoever was up there before got sidetracked, and we continued, only to get shut down by a grassy finger crack and dwindling daylight. We bailed and went back To finish another day.
Rick Cashner told me later the bolts were from his and Aldude's attempt.
We never walked the base to the right, but I saw distinct possibilities on steeper rock, to the immediate left are other possibilities.
It's a beatiful place to climb, and not much more than an hour and a half of mellow trail hiking to the base from The Glacier Point road.
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Nate D
climber
San Francisco
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Sep 13, 2012 - 06:50pm PT
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There is one more climb on Dome Baez not shown on my overlay photo, further around to the right in an obvious straight-up corner system, a 3 pitch 5.9.
Clint,
Is this the 5.9 Thomas Addison (teamwhipper) mentions?
We called that dome Dome Baez in 1984, when we established Diamonds and Rust (left side of dome as pictured; 10c chickenheads) and some 5.9 all gear line reminiscent of The Surprise on the right side.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Sep 14, 2012 - 03:26am PT
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Kevin,
Thanks for the further story on Walkabout - sounds like one of those great onsight adventures that makes for great memories!
Here is an overlay guess - the photo shows many of the features, like the crack system / finger crack and I guessed the belays and bolt locations from your description.
Got any edits for this overlay? I'll like to make something more accurate than my guess! :-)
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Sep 14, 2012 - 03:29am PT
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Nate,
Here's a photo of Dome Baez - East Face which shows Tom's 5.9 corner system.
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The Warbler
climber
the edge of America
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Sep 14, 2012 - 09:58pm PT
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Yo Clint,
You do get around, don't ya!
Your line in the photos is almost perfect, the bolts are a tad off. The two offroute bolts would be a bit higher, leading up and right from the shaded roof just below your first onroute bolt. The second onroute bolt would be a bit lower than the ledge it appers to be sitting on. Basically it's right on.
The traverse under the roof pitch up high ends on a classic ledge formed by an obvious step on the edge of the flake just after the the roof's end.
The sixth pitch scrambles the obvious ramp, then straight up the smooth easy slab to the base of the headwall. PItch seven surmounts it by an obvious weakness.
I mistakenly referred to the thin crack pitch as the fourth upthread, it's really the third, making the roof the fifth. So...
Pitch 1 : 5.6
PItch 2 : 5.11a
Pitch 3 : 5.9
Pitch 4 : 5.10a
Pitch 5 : 5.10a
Pitch 6 : 5.0
Pitch 7 : 5.4
As best I recall. Thanks for the excellent photos, they helped me remember well.
I have slides of the climb, if I ever get a scanner, I'll post up.
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ruppell
climber
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Sep 14, 2012 - 11:14pm PT
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Was in there about three weeks ago and did a variation of West Face route. After the second pitch I headed out right to a small left facing corner. There was an old piton here that I removed BY HAND. It had CMI stamped on it if any one has any idea. Left a #4 DMM Peanut in it's place. Gear karma you know. Any way the route from there heads straight up but never rejoins West Face. 5.8+R would seems about right. Super fun dome and way closer of an approach than I thought. As far as water there is none up high. We camped right after the Illouite creek crossing on the left. Fron there it's about 45 minutes to the base. Looked at Walkabout on Dome Biaz as well. What a sweet looking line. I'd figured it had been done so thanks for the info.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Sep 15, 2012 - 12:57am PT
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Kevin,
Thanks for all the edits and additional details.
I updated the photos - should be fairly close now (although the offroute bolts might still be off).
You might have to refresh the browser to see the new versions.
[edited photos again 9/17 to move the higher off route bolt - thanks, Kevin]
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The Warbler
climber
the edge of America
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Sep 15, 2012 - 07:45am PT
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Looks better, Clint. The second offroute bolt is lower and closer to the first probably, but NBD. A route to the right could be really good, but I wouldn't use that start, I'd go independent from the ground.
I can't recall if we combined the last slab and headwall in one pitch, rather than the ramp and slab in one pitch as you have it broken up, again NBD, it's way easy up there, but super clean.
Speaking of clean, we gardened the 4th pitch a bit, there was intermittent grass in a perfect straight in finger crack for maybe a twenty foot section. It was the only vegetation on the route. It would be easy to buff it out for future ascents if a second ascent took 15 minutes to clean. We only cleaned it well enough to get gear in and climb it. The face is almost climbable without the crack, due to its angle and texture.
The tool for the job is a curved pruning saw, with a long blade - they're able to get way back in the crack to rip out the roots and do a permanent cleaning.
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Captain...or Skully
climber
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Sep 17, 2012 - 08:53pm PT
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Sweet pics. Stone porn of the highest order.
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wstmrnclmr
Trad climber
Bolinas, CA
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Sep 17, 2012 - 09:19pm PT
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Nice! How did you get up?
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The Warbler
climber
the edge of America
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Sep 17, 2012 - 10:44pm PT
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Really nice photos QITNL!
I don't think too many climbers venture out there, and so very many congregate in the lower Valley. Photos like those could change that, but only a little - the herd instinct is strong.
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QITNL
climber
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Sep 18, 2012 - 02:34pm PT
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"How did you get up?" - I followed Clint's map on page one of this thread from Mono Meadows, though I went more to the north where he heads off-trail.
(Thanks, Clint, as always, for all of your great info.)
It's bone dry up high (heck, the Illilouette is no higher than your ankles) but I lucked upon water where the trail crosses the creek under the "50' of brush" annotation. There were little fish playing around in it so it might be fairly reliable. Maybe it's some kind of spring since there was nothing in the gully above it, nary a drop anywhere else on the mountain.
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The Warbler
climber
the edge of America
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Sep 18, 2012 - 02:56pm PT
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I'll mention again that the approach from Glacier Point down to Illilouette Creek and up the drainage is a better one.
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| Messages 1 - 52 of total 52 in this topic |
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SuperTopo on the Web
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![Dome Baez - Walkabout overlay guess [edited twice]](http://www.supertopo.com/photos/14/17/263257_27612_L.jpg)
![Dome Baez - Walkabout - pitches 2-4 detail [edited twice]](http://www.supertopo.com/photos/14/17/263258_28861_L.jpg)
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