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yo
Sport climber
Fresno, CA
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jul 22, 2003 - 09:47pm PT
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Just got back from Coloradee, where we climbed Over the Hill in Eldo. Brilliant route that goes up this sheer, lowish angle, 90 degree dihedral. Thing is, you have to stem/smear it, because there's really nothing else to do.
Devil's Towers has egads of stemming stuff too (Matador comes to mind) but I've been wracking my brain trying to think of the classicest stemming routes in Yos. Nothing's popping to mind, which is normal. Maybe the geology is different (not conducive to long stretches of stemming) but I can't remember an extended stretch of the stuff in the Valley.
Another thought is that I'm usually too gripped to trust my feet, so I do some stupid ape climbing move instead of stem.
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raincoast
climber
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Jul 23, 2003 - 04:19am PT
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Not done it myself but Yosemite Climber has a great shot of Kauk doing some wild stemming on the Bircheff-Williams. Start stretching!
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Wade Icey
climber
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Jul 23, 2003 - 11:10am PT
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don't know about 'best' but the opening moves on Roadside Attraction are pretty cool.
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Matt
Trad climber
SF Bay Area
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Jul 23, 2003 - 12:34pm PT
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I guess OZ isn't in the valley.
Leanie Meanie has some cool stems.
Great wide stems at the end of the 1st pitch of the EButt of El Cap.
My partner followed the crux pitch of the EButt of LCR by stemming the whole thing, but I chimneyed my way up. Stemming up there would be cool.
Never yet done the Moratorium or the Good Book, but hey, those are big long corners too.
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spidey
Gym climber
east bay
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Jul 23, 2003 - 12:43pm PT
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Bircheff-Williams on middle cathedral has some great, hard stemming/liebacking on the first pitch.
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Melissa
Big Wall climber
oakland, ca
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Jul 23, 2003 - 01:41pm PT
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Followed one called "Second Coming" last week on Medlicott that had some great delicate and balancey stemming yet was pumpy as hell too. The downside is that it's kind of sandbagged, it has lots of black moss, and it has jive fixed nut anchors right in the middle of the crack (just before it becomes 5.8 face climbing) b/c it seemed that the FA either didn't feel like bolting or continuing to the top.
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Russ Walling
Social climber
Bishop, Ca.
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Jul 23, 2003 - 02:13pm PT
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I took a non-OW guy up Mental Block and he stemmed the entire thing. Good Book comes to mind.... Bircheff-Williams.. Anticipation at Arch? (probably senile)
Russ
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LovesToClimb
climber
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Jul 23, 2003 - 03:31pm PT
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Rocky Horror Show, on Pat and Jack Pinnacle, to the right of the Tube.
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WBraun
climber
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Jul 23, 2003 - 09:31pm PT
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To the right of "Razors Edge" elephants graveyard. Probably longest hardest stemming climb in the valley. Very sustain stemming all the way. Can't remmember the name, put up by Roland.
Werner
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Rhodo-Router
Trad climber
Otto, NC
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Jul 24, 2003 - 01:18pm PT
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Yin-Yang, a slick 90 feet or so of 10+ stemming on the shady side, sentinel creek....
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Rich the Brit
Trad climber
San Ramon, CA
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Jul 24, 2003 - 09:09pm PT
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Speaking of Matador on DT in WY, I met a pair that had climbed the route. They said that they had never been so grateful to find a "no feet" rest after such intense stemming. They found some solid jams about half way up and just let their legs dangle.
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yo
Sport climber
Fresno, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 24, 2003 - 11:05pm PT
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Exactly. The thing with Matador is you think you should start stemming right away but you will die if you do! My friend went up there for three days, climbed that thing first, and could barely walk until he went home. The burn!!!!
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weekender
climber
Oaklanc CA
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Jul 25, 2003 - 06:16pm PT
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By the way, Rocky Horror Picture Show at Pat and Jack Pinnacle area is excellent.
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Melissa
Big Wall climber
oakland, ca
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Jul 25, 2003 - 07:36pm PT
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Wasp (rated either 5.9+ or 5.9d in the Reid guide) at New Diversions Cliff was pretty excellent. My bf guessed the grade for the direct start hand/finger crack moves at ~11 (dunno,as I was pulling on gear and hanging on the rope). The stemming above (the bulk of the pitch) was solid 5.10. Definately the steepest face climb that I've been on in Yosemite! (...which maybe doesn't say that much, but it was really, really steep!) Bring brass nuts.
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Jul 27, 2003 - 12:07am PT
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Bircheff-Williams is the classic, must stem problem. You can TR it if you like after rapping from Central Pillar.
Moritorium is a major stemming classic as well.
Anticipation is stem city.
Sometimes you can do some chimney moves instead of stemming. Makes resting easier. I can chimney all but the last move or two of Bircheff-Williams.
Peace
Karl
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
bouldering
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Feb 12, 2011 - 04:13am PT
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bump
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Feb 12, 2011 - 10:26am PT
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I have to agree with the Bircheff-Williams and Anticipation. The Valley obviously is not stem city.
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BrassNuts
Trad climber
Save your a_s, reach for the brass...
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Feb 12, 2011 - 10:36am PT
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Feb 12, 2011 - 11:14am PT
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What Werner is talking about here is the The Book of Hate, a 5.13d monster that Randy Leavitt put up in 1999. He did an article on it too in one of the climbing magazines. It is hard enough that he was taping his palms, as I recall. He projected it for quite awhile. It is 140 feet. Also it appears inthe videos: Inertia 1/2
Here is a bit from the AAJ / Shipoopi speaks:
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Chief
climber
The NW edge of The Hudson Bay
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Feb 12, 2011 - 01:05pm PT
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Ditto for BW 1st pitch, Anticipation, Moratorium and Rocky Horror Picture Show. I was never up for Randy's Book of Hate (what an uninspiring name for such a gorgeous corner/arch) but that might be the Mac Daddy of Valley stemmers.
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Levy
Big Wall climber
So Cal
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Feb 12, 2011 - 01:28pm PT
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Some good stemming can be found on the following:
Fools Finger - the start is intricate stemming with small gear on this gem
Ying Yang - good fun
Rock Horror Show- looks cool but I haven't been on it yet
Bircheff / Williams - the Yosemite classic for stemming
***
Edit:
The last pitch of Beggar's Buttress is a good stem pitch(5.11) but it was a tad dirty when I did it last. Lots of lichen on the walls which got into my eyes but the climbing was good.
On the Book Of Hate route of Leavitt's, I heard that both Heinz Zak & Tommy Caldwell repeated it with a Rockwork Orange chimney technique(butt on one side, feet on the other side) and called it 5.10d. I have not tried this though.
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Feb 12, 2011 - 01:34pm PT
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Thanks Levy. That is really interesting. I wonder what Randy's thoughts on that finding would be. He is awfully good and plenty smart so I have to wonder if the rumor is true.
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this just in
climber
north fork
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Feb 12, 2011 - 01:36pm PT
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Once upon a time. Five feet of some of the best stemming not to mention all the exposure and it's way runout.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Feb 12, 2011 - 02:44pm PT
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It's making me stem...Yosemite Climber in Anticipation!
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Feb 12, 2011 - 02:45pm PT
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For hard stemming pitches, pitch 25(?) of the preMuir should be on the list.
The leader wore Hand Jammies on backwards, so he could use the rubber on the palms!
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Chief
climber
The NW edge of The Hudson Bay
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Feb 12, 2011 - 02:56pm PT
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Steve, that photo of Spencer on Anticipation and Augie's raving about the quality of the stemming was my inspiration to climb that route many years ago now. Thanks for the classic!
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bob
climber
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Feb 12, 2011 - 03:03pm PT
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Rocky Horror Show was one of my better OS's. The only reason I made it was because of stemming. Stem stemmity stemmeroooo!!!!!!!!
Come to think of it, I sort of remember doing some good stemming on that route to the right of Desperado up at Pat and Jack. It is a big corner with a series of smaller corners that if I remember correctly requires some big stems granted the whole pitch isn't stemming.........
Jeezz did anyone understand what I just wrote?
I also thought the pitch headed up to the headwall on the Salathe had some mega stems if freed.
First pitch of Gates of Delirium up by Ribbon Falls has some hard stemming that gets one through the crux.
Anticipation.....ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Bob J.
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philo
Trad climber
Somewhere halfway over the rainbow
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Feb 12, 2011 - 03:03pm PT
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Having led it in EB-geebie pre-cam days my memory may not be perfectly clear but the Birceff Williams seemed as good as it gets. I found it trippy how it went from finger nails and extreme palming to wide off width in the span of one move.
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Levy
Big Wall climber
So Cal
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Feb 12, 2011 - 07:32pm PT
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I thought of some more stemming routes in Yosemite NP.
Full Stem Ahead - Lower Falls Ampitheater - an obscurity not found in the newer books due to it's location. May be licheny/mossy.
Crack on the headwall above the Vision, in Tuolomne Meadows. It is a 5.11a corner that takes good gear. I cannot recall the name though but it's next to Whippersnapper. I did it with my then GF sheri & we both liked it.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Feb 12, 2011 - 07:37pm PT
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That picture of Spencer is sweet. Did the FA of Anticipation with Chappie in about 74. Never got into Yoga like Wunsch and I remember wishing that I was more flexible.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Feb 13, 2011 - 03:46am PT
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This may not be worth much, but here is the list of "Stem" type climbs I have for the Valley:
1169. After Six 5.7 **
44. Cool Cliff 170 5.8
2441. Higher Cathedral Rock - Northeast Buttress 5.9 ***
2554. Lower Cathedral Rock - East Buttress 5.10c **
1592. Haley's Little Warm-up 5.10d
1098. Superstem 5.11a *
2479. Bircheff-Williams 5.11b **
1103. Deucey's Nose 5.11
950. El Capitan - West Face 5.11c **
1452. Full Stem Ahead 5.11d
144. Roadside Attraction 5.12a **
416. Rocky Horror Show 5.12a **
1905. Half Dome - Regular Northwest Face 5.12 or 5.9 C1 ***
2817. Book of Hate 5.13d
1006. Nose Free 5.14a
Clearly it is missing a few pitches, but might be useful.
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