Fletcher
Trad climber
Max V02
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Nov 11, 2008 - 10:24pm PT
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Wow, thanks for sharing Fluoride! Added to my to-do list.
Fletch
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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Nov 11, 2008 - 10:58pm PT
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Some past Arete Memories.
Especially nostalgic after seeing Powell this weekend at the Nose Reunion. Last time I saw him was when Roper and I climbed Castle Rock Spire with him in 1961. Climbing with Powell was one of the highlights of my climbing career. Sitting around a campfire, passing around a gallon of cheap red wine, Powell was the maestro at quick and witty limericks.
Brings back fond and not so fond memories. In Sept 1960, Mort Hempel, Phil Scott, Art "the Move" Gran and myself made an attempt on the Arrowhead Arete.
On that long and difficult approach, Gran, who was ahead of us all, knocked a large rock loose. We all scattered and tried to decipher which way it would go. I lost and rolled with the rock for 500 ft to the base. Beat up, severely bruised and one hell of a mess I was fortunate to have no broken bones. Scott who had grown up in Hawaii, took off his boots, put me on his back and carried be to the valley floor and the hospital. Rugged dude.
Spent a good month on crutches and remember the high school coach calling me chicken shi#t for not playing football, I could only smile.
Went back the next summer and completed the route with a smaller crew. Also climbed the East Arrowhead Buttress Overhang Bypass route that summer with Roper. Another fun trip that summer was a climb of Castle Rock Spire with Roper and Powell. Have boxes and boxes of slides and photos from this era but have to get through the scanning process first. Someday!
Another small coincidence- Its March 1988,Boche and I just sailed my boat into Honolulu after a 17 day passage from Tahiti and were in the Hawaii Yacht Club sucking down some tall cool ones and junk burgers. I'm in the head and I hear this voice which could only be Phil Scott. As you know, few people have a voice as distinctive as Phil. Sure enough it was-had not seen him since the Arrowhead Arete climb in 1960! He had been visiting his brother, a retired navy submarine commander. I remember when Phil was a student at Cal he lived in a tent in Strawberry canyon behind the Botanical Gardens. Quite a character.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Nov 11, 2008 - 11:38pm PT
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I've got a scanner and would volunteer to scan...
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wildone
climber
GHOST TOWN
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Nov 12, 2008 - 05:06am PT
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Did it about a month ago with my bro eric. We used a 70m and stretched it out every time. Did a roof variation that was definitely 10hard, and we were blown away by the quality of the route. We did the arrowhead spire first, then rapped to the start of the arete. Anyone else?
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Domingo
Trad climber
El Portal, CA
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Nov 12, 2008 - 06:01am PT
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I agree with Fluroide, and would add that in spring you get to see the falls roaring down Indian Canyon when you're on the Great White Flake pitch.
I can't write enough about how glorious this climb is so I won't even start.
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Zander
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Nov 12, 2008 - 08:03am PT
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A great Route!
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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Nov 12, 2008 - 09:13am PT
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CLASSIC
Shot this the past weekend at the Reunion. Had forgotten how beautiful it is.
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altieboo
Boulder climber
Livermore, Ca
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Feb 10, 2009 - 02:34am PT
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This route looks like a great time! Rob Sharpe suggested it to me in the fall. Looking for something to do next weekend/monday. Hmmm...
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Feb 10, 2009 - 07:47am PT
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take you ice tools...
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Feb 10, 2009 - 07:56am PT
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When the Arrowhead Arete went up, it was not the most technically difficult route in Yosemite but was arguably the most contiuously difficult route in the country at the time.
When you are up there, imagine Mark Powell free soloing up and DOWN the route in hard soled boots!
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Fluoride
Trad climber
Hollywood, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 10, 2009 - 09:25am PT
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Great pic Zander! That topout shot just shows the icing on the cake of this climb. And it still keeps going past that. You top out then have this heady ridgeline traverse to get across to the foot trail that leads to the first rapel. And the raps are great fun. Those wet, fern covered caverns!
A couple more months and it's return time again!
Mmmmm. I'm smiling just thinking about it.
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altieboo
Boulder climber
Livermore, Ca
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Feb 10, 2009 - 10:46am PT
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Ya big time on those ice tools. From time to time I forget it snows and get to tranced by the rock. Or maybe I just forget that its winter when I'm still up at 2am.
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Zander
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Feb 10, 2009 - 12:36pm PT
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Yeah Flouride, this climb keeps on coming after the top out.
I'd love to do this climb again.
Zander
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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Feb 10, 2009 - 12:55pm PT
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A very young Mort Hempel, Arrowhead Arete 1960 attempt.
cheers
guido
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Tami
Social climber
Vancouver, Canada
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Feb 10, 2009 - 01:03pm PT
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Climbed the AA in Sept '85 with Jacqui, an excellent climber from Victoria (BC)on the advice of my soon-to-be-ex boyfriend. LOVED the route.
We were told to hike to the rim & descend the Falls Trail - it completed the adventure of the route. He was rite and, oddly enough, I was just the other nite telling the story of that fine day climbing to a friend rite here in my kitchen..........and well look what thread pops up.
Hail to the wonderous Arrowhead Arete. Lovely route.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Feb 10, 2009 - 07:27pm PT
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So Guido- was Mort prone to singing while climbing and, if so, what sort of material?
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BBA
Social climber
West Linn OR
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Feb 10, 2009 - 08:17pm PT
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I remember the Arrowhead Arete from 1961 or so, but can't recall with whom. What impressed me about the climb was that it was not typical valley friction or crack climbing, but sort of like Tahquitz with rough rock. True face climbing. I don't recall it as particularly hard, but mostly airy. It was beautiful because of its exposure and the way you see the valley all around.
Great pitcure of Mort by Guido. Mort and I hung around some from 1960-1962 and he did some good yodeling. We also would listen to classical music LPs rented from the Berkeley Public Library, but any efforts to sing those things (Handel Oratorios in particular) were doomed to failure.
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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Feb 10, 2009 - 08:48pm PT
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Steve
Funny, I just got an e-mail from Mort,first contact in many years.
I don't recall Mort singing on climbs but we had some horrendous "Teton Tea" parties back then, and Mort or Bill Briggs would serenade us into the wee hours of the am. Yep, had my first hangover at age 14 in camp 4. I remember Calderwood chasing Roper with the intent to kill because he was messing about with his lady.
Hi to BBA.
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deuce4
climber
Hobart, Australia
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Feb 10, 2009 - 11:36pm PT
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got benighted on the Arrowhead Arete once, way back in the olden days...
cold up dere!
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