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nopantsben
climber
europe
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Topic Author's Original Post - Dec 18, 2014 - 01:29am PT
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After bushwhacking through the internet for quite a while (thanks Ksolem, Vitaliy, limpingcrab and the others :) ) I now know there is good rock in California outside Yosemite and the Needles.
Imagine you had 7 days, a car, and you started on the West side of the Sierra. What is the 7-day-trip climbing long free routes that you would recommend?
Long approaches are completely fine. 5.10 to 5.11 climbs are preferred, but it can be harder/easier. Wide is not so much my thing, choss isn't either.
dankeschön...
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Gnome Ofthe Diabase
climber
Out Of Bed
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Dec 18, 2014 - 01:55am PT
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The claims that the walls of Yosemite are over climbed or climbed out are false.
That there are crowds that are rumored to clog the routes is also over blown and wrong harted. The best people that you will meet will be the ones that share your desires.
Waste not want not, if it is a need to feel lost out there go farther out, but if it is your goal to maximize your vertical travel? then go send lines in YOSEMITE !!
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nopantsben
climber
europe
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 18, 2014 - 04:52am PT
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don't worry, i'll be in the Valley as well making sure some climbs get traffic
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nopantsben
climber
europe
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 18, 2014 - 07:29am PT
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i've done almost everything i am interested in that is in this book..
the incredible hulk being a notable exception.
also, i am looking for more technically difficult, cleaner stuff than the typical 5.8 arete semi-choss this book covers..
chamberlain, gorge of despair, the fin, castle rocks, bubbs creek wall ... these are the outings that sound super appealing but i am wondering what are the experts choices especially in terms of how to combine two or three of these in a week.
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looks easy from here
climber
Ben Lomond, CA
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Dec 18, 2014 - 07:35am PT
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If you have enough time before your trip to browse through ~650 mountains pick up a copy of
It's fantastic, and for most routes leaves qute a bit of the adventure alive. 5.10+, Grade IV, one sentence description? Perfect!
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nopantsben
climber
europe
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 18, 2014 - 07:39am PT
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haha this is the work i was trying to save myself from. in particular because i only have so few days, i am not too keen on spending too much time getting lost and/or disappointed. if i come across the book though, i will buy it.
for once, i am looking for type one fun on one of the very few weeks that i will have off to travel next year.
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matty
Trad climber
under the sea
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Dec 18, 2014 - 08:48am PT
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Gorge of Dispare, Castle Rock Spire and many other on your list are most likely not type one fun. They involove long bushwacking (some poison oak too) approaches and would typically be 3-4 days at least. Castle rock you can do with silver linings in 4 days. Bubbs creek has a beer approach I think but it's still back there, bu at least you can do a few different routes while there. You could hit whitney portal/lone pine peak area and do some of the new stuff there. Some cool new 5.11's and 5.12's there that dont require all the BS permits etc...check out myles new line on the bastille buttress, mountain devil dike, strassman memorial, lost of stuff round there
http://www.supertopo.com/tr/Busted-On-Bastille/t12580n.html
http://www.supertopo.com/tr/FREEIN-the-WINDHORSE-Lone-Pine-Peak/t11364n.html
[Click to View YouTube Video]
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Fat Dad
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Dec 18, 2014 - 11:04am PT
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Check out the Sierra hit list thread and you'll find some interesting objectives. There is a photo of a route on Mt. Chamberlin (Asleep at the Wheel I think it's called that looks AWESOME). A big route on Chamberlin is on my bucket list for sure.
Bubbs Creek looks terrific and is far easier to find info about and does have a relatively mellow approach from Road's End in King's Canyon NP.
Also check out all the stuff back in Valhalla, out of Crescent Meadow in Sequoia NP. There's Angel's Wings, Cherubim Dome, Sabre Ridge, Mt. Stewart. A ton of good stuff.
The terrific thing about the Sierra is that people just keep finding more and more good stuff. So much awesome stuff still probably waiting to me climbed.
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Impaler
Social climber
Oakland
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Dec 18, 2014 - 11:57am PT
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http://www.mountainproject.com/v/silk-road-high-times/108385440
Bubbs Creek Wall - if you look up Vitaliy, he has a 3rd high qulity route in the works there as well, so that's 3 day's worth of high quality multipitches.
Check out Angel Wings - I have a trip report on that. Two very high quality routes there and a 4 day trip with all the hiking.
Hulk has at least a few months worth of climbing for you and it's all very fun.
Lots more is out there, but those above I think are some of the best. Bitte sehr!
What season are you thinking about any way? Maybe we can give you better advice if we know your constraints better.
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Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
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Dec 18, 2014 - 12:19pm PT
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There is no poison oak in or on the way to the Gorge of Despair. The rock quality is unreal. It would well be worth going in there for a week long trip(1 or 2 days in, 3-4 days there, 1 out.) Take a set of 60M double ropes, a relatively light rack (single set stoppers 1-8, single set tcu's, single set of cams to 3". Some of the older historical climbs have wider cracks but they're totally soloable.) Plan for bears. Plan to be amazed.
You can do the hike in a long day if you carry light and are really, really fast. More like a two day approach for most people carrying climbing gear and supplies. First time I went in took us two and a half daze, with huge loads including everything needed for doing new routes and to camp for a week. Getting back out in a day is reasonable. Bagging the north ridge of Harrington Peak adds a lot of value. I assume you've seen the beta on MP. Pretty much everything is there.
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limpingcrab
Trad climber
the middle of CA
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Dec 18, 2014 - 12:39pm PT
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chamberlain, gorge of despair, the fin, castle rocks, bubbs creek wall ... these are the outings that sound super appealing
Haven't been to Chamberlain, and although the other ones are great the time spent getting there and finding your way around will eat up a few days. Each one of those can be done as three day hike-climb-hike kinda things, so you could hit two of those spots. Bubb's Creek Wall will be the easiest to find and get a lot of good climbing done.
Castle Rocks are mostly moderate, 5.9 and lower climbs, and notorious for getting people lost but I have detailed directions and GPS points I can email you.
I've day-hiked the Gorge of Despair but haven't climbed there. That's the hardest one to get to so I'd spend at least two days out there if you do that approach.
If you have strong legs I'd hike to Bubbs creek, climb one day, hike out. Hike to GOD (trailheads are near each other), climb two days, hike out. There's your seven days. It would be epic but that's only three days of climbing and you might never walk again :)
You could also do a week long trip to Valhalla for the angel wings, hamilton dome, eagle scout peak, cherubim dome, the prizm and saber ridge. Of course there are all of the options outside of SEKI, but I'm pretty worthless for any of that beta.
When it comes down to it you'll spend a lot more time climbing if you do routes in the guidebooks. All depends on your priorities.
Edit: while I was typing that it looks like people pretty much covered everything I've mentioned. Oops
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Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
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Dec 18, 2014 - 01:07pm PT
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I now know there is good rock in California outside Yosemite and the Needles.
That's a lie!
But if you are still interested.....You can do several routes on a trip to Bubbs Creek Wall. From the same base camp you can do Charlotte Dome's South Face which is a must do climb which is included into 50 classics book, for a reason. You can warm up by doing a climb on North DOme before hiking in to Bubbs Creek Wall. PM me if you want beta on route I am working on. You can do first 8 pitches now and rap back down. Those pitches are really good and worthy. You can also do first 8 of What's up Bubb and rap down with a single 70M rope. Samurai Warrior you kind of have to top out. My friend and I thought Samurai Warrior was not as good as my route or What's Up Bubb (Free version is described by Luke on MP).
Than drive a bit south and do Tehitepe Reality on Lower Tokopah Dome c2c, or do a few routes with an overnight stay. Pretty freaking sick.
GOD would involve hell of an approach.
Long, but flat and scenic approach would get you here: http://www.mountainproject.com/v/castle-dome/109269398
Hike to Castle Dome, Bubbs Creek Wall/Charlotte Dome and North Dome is from the same general area. Tokopah Valley is like a 20 mile detour after you enter the NP.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Dec 18, 2014 - 01:17pm PT
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Like Matt said, go straight to the Incredible Hulk, and climb there all 5-6 days.
Best backcountry granite in the US. 2nd best is Elephant's Perch in the Idaho Sawtooths.
There is more remote stuff, which is more about getting away from people and exploring things. But I assume you want quality.
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Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
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Dec 18, 2014 - 01:41pm PT
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Best backcountry granite in the US. 2nd best is Elephant's Perch in the Idaho Sawtooths.
Clint, remember the first two sentences of Edward Abbey's classic "Desert Solitaire?" He has just arrived at the end of the road into the Arches Nat. Monument as the first ranger there.
"This is the most beautiful place on earth. There are many such places."
Regarding the GOD, I like the seclusion but that's not what kept luring me back there like a moth to a flame.
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Dec 18, 2014 - 01:48pm PT
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Gorge of Despair is, as Kris says, well worth the effort. The rock is some of the most climbable anywhere, as is that on the Obelisk, Charlotte Dome, and several other places on the West Side. GOD and the Obelisk both give the same feeling of isolated adventure I had when I first started climbing in Yosemite in the 1960's.
John
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WBraun
climber
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Dec 18, 2014 - 01:53pm PT
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Just give up this nonsense idea, nopantsben.
Just go to the cookie, there's a rope hanging there and you can do mini=trax laps all day long every day.
Then go back to your happy camping place and drool until morning and do it all over again :-)
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Dec 18, 2014 - 01:53pm PT
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Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
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Dec 18, 2014 - 02:24pm PT
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Just go to the cookie, there's a rope hanging there and you can do mini=trax laps all day long every day.
+1
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Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
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Dec 18, 2014 - 02:27pm PT
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A friend of mine witnessed some interesting goings on out at those Angel Wings one night when an old .22 round that a previous visitor had left in the firepit went off. No real velocity of course, not being in a gun, but it lodged in the roof of his buddies mouth. So if you go there sift through the fire pit :-)
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Fat Dad
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Dec 18, 2014 - 02:53pm PT
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^^^
Holy crap! Who tosses a round in a firepit. Unlucky but lucky at the same time. Reminds me of that story about Bolton Brown or one of the early Sierra climbers getting an ulcerated tooth and his friends unsuccessful efforts to extract it with a bullet mold. They ended up walking out to Fresno in search of a dentist.
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Barbarian
climber
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Dec 18, 2014 - 03:43pm PT
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Ben - Just two words re: your query about Gorge of Despair:
Go there!
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
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Dec 18, 2014 - 03:44pm PT
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Did we determine what time of year this was?
CRS would be out for certain times, so would high elevation locations.
Hulk sounds pretty spot on, but is getting popular in the prime season from what I've read.
Gorge sounds wild.
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The Alpine
climber
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Dec 18, 2014 - 03:59pm PT
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Chamberlin is bad ass, but if you're short on time and wanting to hit multiple areas, AND you've never been to the Hulk.... Well, the Hulk is somewhat of a no-brainer. Except for the gangbang you'll inevitably run into.
Word on the street is that Croft was not as psyched on Chamberlin as others...
If you want perfectly splitter granite with nary a speck out of place, go to the Hulk!
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Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
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Dec 18, 2014 - 04:11pm PT
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Hulk has a load of routes that don't get as much traffic on the weekends, or have 1 party on them. Polish route, Tradewinds, sun spot are all quality and don't get gang banged like PV and red dihedral. Beeline is arguably better than RD if you take variations. And other harder routes that don't get as much as these classics. So yes, clint is spot on, if you want to have a great climbing vacation go there and stay for a week. I want to do that one day.
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guyman
Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
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Dec 18, 2014 - 04:50pm PT
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A nice cushy week at the hulk would be tons of fun, especially if your looking to climb 5.11+ cracks.
A week in the GOD is fun, but most of it is climbing seldom visited rock towers.
Via 5.8 ish
Kris and I did one and we were the third party to summit. The first - some dude named Steck and friends in like 1955, the second was a Kiwi couple who wandered through in 1967, then US in 1994. The place is overrun by climbers!
Desperadoes is a 12 and I don't thinks its had a second. ... YET
On our trips we had 9- 10 days and we used the packer services out of Kings canyon. You can also use the same packers to go to Bubbs Creek. I find this saves your legs and lets you camp in style.
Ahhhhh so much great rock, soo little time.
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The Alpine
climber
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Dec 18, 2014 - 05:06pm PT
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+1 on mules. Using mules is the only way I've ever GAINED weight in the backcountry. Not exactly cheap, but with a few people splitting the price, it aint that bad.
I bet you could get Vitaliy to mule your ropes up to the summit.
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nopantsben
climber
europe
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 19, 2014 - 02:49am PT
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Thanks for all the advice. time would be between mid-august and mid september.
Werner's probably right though. I'll just stay in the ditch and vortex hard maybe :-)
If not (ha!) V.'s plan sounds good, Bubbs creek wall looks too premium!
Obviously a week wont be enough ...
thanks a lot!
cheers.
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Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
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Dec 19, 2014 - 08:37am PT
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It is a beautiful place.
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Texplorer
Trad climber
Sacramento
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Dec 19, 2014 - 09:55am PT
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Don't forget to hit up Calaveras Dome. A few days of classic long routes there too.
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guyman
Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
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Dec 19, 2014 - 10:12am PT
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V nice shot!!!
Im still looking for the Tower of Daphine. Its in the old guide, Vernon... Kings Canyon.
A 1,000 foot long arête, goes at F7 .... stays on a golden arête, 3 feet wide.
if found please notify ME... I'll buy beer.
Ben.... The Valley is not that good in August, the average daily temp is like 1,000 F. Tons of tourists.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
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Dec 19, 2014 - 10:22am PT
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+1 on Guyman offer!
I love a good mystery!
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Fat Dad
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Dec 19, 2014 - 10:32am PT
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Isn't that F7 called Deebee's Arete, or something like that, on Mt. Bago? I'm dating myself but I remember reading about that as a teen when I used to peruse AAJs. That was the only way to find out what people were doing in the Sierra.
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Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
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Dec 19, 2014 - 10:36am PT
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Yes, same thing. I think I found that arete. Was thinking of doing it on one of the days I was up there but than hurt my foot and was too big of a wuss to climb and descent from the back side with a hurt foot. It looks pretty good though.
Little preview from my route on bubbs.
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guyman
Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
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Dec 19, 2014 - 10:58am PT
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Fat, you might be right, but its in the KK book as Daphane.... dig up the AAJ, please.
V your newest looks fab...let us know when its not a project, please.
Time for a ST meet up, maybe a sushi fest in the backcountry!!!!
The Brown Bear MeetUp
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Fat Dad
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Dec 19, 2014 - 11:51am PT
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Guy is right. Vitaliy's route on Bubbs looks absolutely incredible. I will have to really dig to find that AAJ. We're talking my old room at my parent's house buried...
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limpingcrab
Trad climber
the middle of CA
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Dec 19, 2014 - 02:03pm PT
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Man, I've sat there looking at Mt. Bago forever on a few occasions trying to figure out where that tower of Daphne route goes. It's a complex chunk of rock with probably a dozen ridges. Worst case scenario, you climb the wrong one and have a great adventure!
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looks easy from here
climber
Ben Lomond, CA
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Dec 19, 2014 - 02:31pm PT
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Delphina is pretty high on my wishlist too, but most likely a few years out.
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guyman
Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
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Dec 19, 2014 - 03:23pm PT
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Fat... your correct DeeBees rib
LEFH... thanks
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nopantsben
climber
europe
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 20, 2014 - 01:20am PT
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Vitaliy i will PM you when i have some online time..
you better post a topo when this thing is done :)
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The Alpine
climber
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Dec 23, 2014 - 03:25pm PT
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V - looks like you've got quite a gem in the making...
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Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
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Dec 23, 2014 - 04:06pm PT
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Yeah, the quality and the challenge of pushing the line kept me coming back. It is a crazy experience to establish a line up a 2000 ft face where the likely hood of the next pitch going free seemed slim to none. I would literary go home and have a bunch of semi-sleepless nights because I would be wondering if the pitches ahead were possible. There was also some blank looking spot, roof, or some feature that looked hard as f*#k ahead. So far I redpointed the first 8 pitches in a day (they are something like 11b/c, 11a, 11d, 11b/c or d, 11c, 11a, 11a, 11a. Doing just that was not easy and there is another 8 pitches ahead. There still is an original variation of 8th pitch, move on the 9th pitch and a section on 14th pitch that I did not lead or at least follow/TR clean. Pitches 9, 10, 15 and 16 were led free already. Feels great to push the route to the top and equip 90% of it, but there is still a bit of work left. Freaking cool climbing and setting, what else does one want...one step at a time...have to get in better shape for 2015.
If someone has time to kill, I wrote about it here: http://vividrea1ity.blogspot.com/2014/10/summer-highlights-fa-of-emperor-v-511cd.html
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The Alpine
climber
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Dec 23, 2014 - 08:59pm PT
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Dood..... A thing of beauty!
I've got a proposition for you.
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mcreel
climber
Barcelona
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Dec 23, 2014 - 10:50pm PT
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Vitaliy: wow! That double dike pitch looks cool!
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ryankelly
Trad climber
Bhumi
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Dec 24, 2014 - 07:52am PT
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you got this...
inside is the new outside. welcome to the "New World" my Euro-Friend
some radical Bay Area climber software engineers will soon type code for Google Glasses climbing and we never have to worry about crowds again.
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The Alpine
climber
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May 23, 2015 - 09:30am PT
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Vitally project bump
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