The road to Steck-Salathe...

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dank

Trad climber
the pitch above you!
Topic Author's Original Post - Jul 7, 2006 - 12:06am PT
Hairshirt at Donner

Traveler's Buttress at the Leap

Generator Crack

I'm sure there are others...please nothing too sick and twisted!
Dragon with Matches

climber
Bamboo Grove
Jul 7, 2006 - 06:24am PT
The Four Mile Trail.
Karl Baba

Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
Jul 7, 2006 - 08:32am PT
Just go into a biker bar and say "which one of you pussys has the gay Harley parked in the front?"

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Church Bowl Chimney followed by Church Bowl Terrace.

Cookie Right then the Elevator Shaft.

Moby Dick center, then top rope Ahab, you don't have to suceed on Ahab to do SS, then throw a TR on Moby Dick Left (belay on top)

NorthEast Buttress of Higher. Don't do Steck Salathe until the NEButt seems like fun.

Peace

Karl

Ed Hartouni

Trad climber
Livermore, CA
Jul 7, 2006 - 11:15am PT
Karl, I believe dank requested ...please nothing too sick and twisted!

Your list..... bwahahahahahahahaha!

and you forgot to put the disclaimer indemnifying yourself from the possible consequences.

"Climbing is dangerous and could be fatal. Not only that, you should know enough not to post nOOb questions on internet forums. If you actually take the advice offered in the answers you have no one else to blame but your own silly ass!"

But I have to say Karl's list is a good eliminate. I'd add one more, but it is way obscure and has "feral" status, and I can't, in good conscience, name it. If you get through the list and you still have a taste for wide, physical climbs, then you are probably ready to go for SS.

Just remember, it is a Grade V, which means a whole day... don't succumb to the hubris of 3 hour ascents... that is 3 hour solo ascents where you are just climbing! If you don't think that's hard, just got to the gym an do a 3 hour burn...

Zander

Trad climber
Berkeley
Jul 7, 2006 - 03:43pm PT
Dank,
There is a good description by August West in the Climbing Route section of ST.

This is my version describing the SS. Take the first seven pitches of NEB of HC. Re-arrange the pitches so that pitches 6 and 7, the crux pitches, are after pitch two. Then add Chockstone Chimney on top to get a total of 15 or so pitches.

I just had my son measure me. While lieing on the floor, when I breath in my chest is 9 1/2" thick, which for me was too wide for the narrows. When I breath completely out it is 8 1/2", which for me fit through.

Road to SS
Right Side of the Cookie
Entrance Exam, I didn't do this but I've been told I should have.
Arrowhead Arete
East Buttress of Middle, the original way
NEB of HC
Chockstone Chimney


Now back to work,
Zander
Brutus of Wyde

climber
Old Climbers' Home, Oakland CA
Jul 7, 2006 - 04:37pm PT
In the Valley (in no particular order): Braille Book, Lost Arrow Chimney including Harding Hole, First two pitches of East Buttress of El Cap (37 times in one day), Harding Slot on Astroman, Horror Frake, Last pitch before the Alcove, and El Cap Spire pitches on Salathe Wall, plus the approach pitches and the other few that lead to topping out; Reed's Left, Third Pitch of Reed's Direct, Orange Juice Avenue, last thousand feet or so of DNB.

At Josh (in no particular order): SE Corner Intersection Rock, Drawstring, Bat Crack, Duchess Right, In & Out, Big Boy, Right On, Championship Wrestling, Deep Throat, Split Rock, Skinny Dip, La Reina without laybacking, Ipecac, Underpass, Hoopkhartz?, Damn Jam, The Eye, etc.

Red Rocks: Tunnel Vision, Epinepherine, Frigidare Buttress, Bengal, Ixtlan, Cat in the Hat, Bed of Nails (chimney 50 feet right of Cat in the Hat, "unnamed" in the newest guide), Ginger Cracks, Crimson Chrysalis, etc.

Sedona: Sedona Scenic Cruise, Mace Regular Route.

Tahquitz: Sahara Terror, Whodunnit, Open Book.

for general physical training, try Snake Dike in a day,
Rabbit Peak round trip from the car in under 24 hours, North Face Mt San Jacinto sub 24 hours car to car, Badwater to Telescope Peak sub 24, Boston Marathon, Western States 100, etc.

hth.

Brutus
Grug

Trad climber
Golden, Colorado
Jul 7, 2006 - 05:01pm PT

Crushing beer cans on your forehead has worked for me in the past. Be sure to stretch first.
Ed Hartouni

Trad climber
Livermore, CA
Jul 7, 2006 - 05:52pm PT
you guys are brutal..

but the reply should have been

The road to Steck-Salathe...
...is litered with good intentions.

sorry I missed this obvious retort.
dank

Trad climber
the pitch above you!
Topic Author's Reply - Jul 7, 2006 - 05:59pm PT
thanks...i'll be sure to slam down some old E...crush the can on my forehead...and give these routes a burn!

still need to measure my chest though.
Karl Baba

Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
Jul 7, 2006 - 11:52pm PT
Shoot I think my list was modest and reasonable.

I agree that the left (original) way on East Butt of Middle would be a good addition to the practice. Braille Book would be a good start.

One of my original suggestions to this questions was this

Get a garage door and unhook it, lay down on your driveway and have four friends lay the garage door on top of you. Now they each sit on a corner of the door and you try to wiggle out from the center to escape.

I doubt the Narrows is harder if you weigh 190 like me!

Peace

Karl
cave man mcelroy

Trad climber
auburn, ca
Sep 17, 2012 - 01:55pm PT
I'm climbing Steck Salathe in 6 days and for training ive been...
picking up dog sh#t with my bare hands in 110 degree temps
wiping my own ass with poison oak leaves
sleeping on beds of nails
eating glass
and staring into the sun while my comrades rub my back, shoulders, wrists, elbows, and knees with 60 grade sandpaper.
and ive been talking to my mother... I feel confident in a single day send.
splitter

Trad climber
Hodad, surfing the galactic plane
Sep 17, 2012 - 02:19pm PT
Sounds like yer good ta go.

Wait, one last thing...

Lay on the floor and tip yer refrigerator on top of ya at about chest height, then have yer mom (sounds like she wud give ya incentive to move fast) sit on top of it and time how long it takes ya ta shimmy up the length of it and out the top. Do this about ten times, decreasing yer time with each try. no water between laps allowed.

edit: Yeah, just go for it. When in doubt, start early. Pre-dawn for the approach. Bring headlamp for approach & descent. leave yer mom at home. have fun!

for chimneys, try peter pan. and left side of moby dick. and ahab if ya feel up for it since yer in the area. then go down and thrash around on generator crack for the pump (not necessary to be able to do it). that wud be a good warm up day. or, if ya got a full day, do neb/hcr like donini suggests. that wud be yer best bet. there is nothing harder than 5.9 on ss. it is just long and fatiguing and the descent is also long and kinda tricky/very sketchy & dangerous in the dark, even with torches, imo! btw, the narrows isn't that bad, i was just joking in regards to the fridge (unless yer tubby) yer not gonna fall out of it once ya get going, it's the getting going that is kinda hard.
donini

Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
Sep 17, 2012 - 02:21pm PT
The road to the Steck Salathe is the same one that gets you into the Valley, from there start on the 4 mile trail and expect about an hour long approach.

edit: I see someone beat me to it.

If you can get to feeling comfortable on Generstor Crack you'll have no worries.
do
The NEB of HCR.
enjoy
It'a a great climb!
crøtch

climber
Sep 17, 2012 - 03:07pm PT
An NEB-Braille Book linkup is a good time calibrator. If you get off that with daylight to spare you should be good to go.
chill

climber
between the flat part and the blue wobbly thing
Sep 17, 2012 - 04:19pm PT
If you can get to feeling comfortable on Generstor Crack you'll have no worries.
I've made one attempt to TR Generator. When I began I told myself I wouldn't use the tree. After a few minutes of futile flesh grinding I went to milking the tree for all I could get. My attempt ended about where the tree did. So it goes.
Alexey

Trad climber
San Jose, CA
Sep 17, 2012 - 04:42pm PT
My attempt ended about where the tree did. So it goes.
You should try next year. The tree become taller and it help you to pass the crux
Old&InTheWay

Trad climber
NC
Sep 17, 2012 - 05:15pm PT
The Yawn up in Tuolumne needs to be on that list.
steveA

Trad climber
bedford,massachusetts
Sep 17, 2012 - 05:31pm PT
When I was real skinny and my chest was not nearly as thick, I did the SS and I really don't remember any problems. As I remember it took us about 7-8 hours, and the NEB of Higher took us 5-6 hours.

I never got up Generator Crack on the one try I gave it.

Three years ago I did NEB with a sub-30 year old guy I met in the Valley who was an experienced climber. It took us about 9-10 hours.

You better take into account how thick your chest is.
I'm pretty sure I wouldn't fit thru now.
donini

Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
Sep 17, 2012 - 05:57pm PT
The Wilson Overhang is quite easy if you stay outside and use the face holds for stemming. Enter the Narrows near the belay, I explored outside and didn't find an easy passage. I've done the SS the past two Octobers.
I think that the crux pitch is the one getting to the Narrows....kinda polished.
mouse from merced

Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
Sep 17, 2012 - 06:12pm PT
All in all, it takes time to get to the point where you can overcome the difficulties and feel like you did it in good style. That's a satisfying feeling and patience and endurance are key to this and other classics that often see a lot of bails.
Knowing what I know now, having been humbled as a journeyman 5.9 climber on this route, I approached it with a cavalier attitude and paid for that.

Remember, it took two of the best climbers of the day to climb this thing originally.

Here's an old photo from that failed attempt. If there is a road, this is the on-ramp. The seductive start.
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