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kev
climber
A pile of dirt.
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Topic Author's Original Post - Feb 18, 2015 - 04:34pm PT
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Given all the apparent terror of the North Dome Gulley, henceforth refereed to as the NDG, I thought a little guide on how to get down might be in order.
First before you go climb ANYTHING you should probably figure out how to get off. Anyone thinking that 12-21 raps(depending on number of ropes raps and who you talk to) is gonna take less time than the NDG is probably clueless. Furthermore there seem to have been way more accidents rapping Royal Arches, henceforth known as RA, than the gulley.
If you're not sure how to deal with figuring out how to get off the route then go find a mentor outside of a gym to help you, and NO the internet is not a mentor nor is an internet friend. A mentor would be a living person with whom you would climb with that has more experience than you.
Okay first step: Research...I've been kind enough to do some for you and Clint's website (as always) has delivered.
The below topo is courtesy of Clint's website. As well as all the embedded images. I advise the furthest right route.
The words of advice that I was given go as follows: If you don't think your in the gulley (i.e. you're not 100% sure) THEN YOU ARE NOT IN IT. Keep going. You DO NOT NEED TO RAP TO GET IN IT. IF YOU RAP YOU'RE GOING DOWN TOO EARLY. I would agree with this advice (DMT's maybe?)
Next is a picture with the descent shown from the top of the column.
[url=" http://www.supertopo.com/rockclimbing/gallery.html?r=yoraroya&n=2"] http://www.supertopo.com/rockclimbing/gallery.html?r=yoraroya&n=2[/url]
Okay here's another from the top of RA. The upper part of the red Y is the trail to the base of Crest Jewel. The lower part of the red Y is the trail from RA to the NDG.
Here's another photo with overlay. See the place labeled "Death Slabs"? There's a reason why it's labeled that and a reason I have a bunch of stuff in all caps above. Please reread the words in caps if you're unsure what I'm talking about. Here you want the red line that zigzags down.
I'm not going to detail basic things like bringing a headlamp, starting early if needed (DO YOU REALLY WANT TO DO THIS AT NIGHT YOUR FIRST TIME?), having some loose cord in case you need to bail off a route (rain, injury, sickness, out of beer, etc), bringing enough hydrational Budweiser, etc.
I assume no liability for this advice - climbing is dangerous. You could die. And STILL you're looking for advice on the interwebs - perhaps you should reconsider climbing outside and stay in the comfy gym.
kev
EDIT
Furthermore for those of you that don't do like to figure out what your doing before you do it please see The Idiots Guide To Descending Lone Pine Peak for an example of potential consequences.
I'd give you advice on other things like...
1)Is there a spring for water on top?
2)How to sh#t in the woods, part 1.
3)When does it run? (No, the spring not the sh#t - i can't help you there)
4)When do you cut the rope if you're partner is annoying?
4a)What's a good route to do it on?
But I've done so much work for you already - you just need to do some things for yourself....And no I won't wipe your ass for you.
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Larry
Trad climber
Bisbee
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Feb 18, 2015 - 04:45pm PT
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Step 1: Reach the top of Royal Arches.
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, CA
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Feb 18, 2015 - 04:45pm PT
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Add: Do not do this at night for Christ's sake unless you have lights and are very familiar with the routine.
There is a terrific bivouac spot on top of the Column along the trail to North Dome Gully, by the way. A huge overhanging boulder up on the rim right along the obvious trail. It overhangs so much that it forms a very good protection from the elements. Many could huddle in there and have for decades. It is within a few minutes of the top of the Column on the way east to the Gully.
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Onewhowalksonrocks
Mountain climber
Ventura
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Feb 18, 2015 - 04:46pm PT
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Ok, Here we go again...............
First thing I heard about doing the Death Slabs is don't go down to early. Keep on going until you can't any more.
The key for me is that you have to down climb a tree to start going down. If you don't down climb a tree you're off route.
The first time I had to do the DS was fall of 1986, there must have been a rescue from the top of the Column because the trail was marked with two different color tape. One color for staying right and one for staying left. BUT, DON'T GET ANY IDEAS FROM MY POSTING TO DO THE SAME.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Feb 18, 2015 - 05:14pm PT
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Looks good, but plenty of accidents have occurred in North Dome Gully, so no alternative is clearly dominant in terms of risk.
The NDG involves some exposed moves on the traverse where if you trip, you die.
And some downclimbing at the end of the traverse (at a tree, as noted above, and could be belayed),
and also downclimbing in a few spots lower down on the slabs.
Both the NDG and the rap route are hazardous with an inexperienced partner or at night. Maybe bring matches for a summit bivouac in case you have a late start, or to handle the common situation of many slow parties on the route that may be difficult to pass. Also fill your water bottle at the spring just after the slab traverse pitch (1 pitch below the top).
The first time I did Royal Arches (9/1977), my partner had more Yosemite experience, and he had heard the North Dome Gully was risky, so we walked up and *left* (a long ways) and hiked down the Yosemite Falls Trail.
I remember along the way we found some abandoned hiking gear (set of cookpots) - looked like somebody was lightening their load on an epic.
Years later I did Astroman in late October, but our headlamps failed at the top and we weren't sure we could get down NDG in the dark. So we did a shiver-biver, man-spooning, etc.
Since then I have been up and down NDG many times and can do it in the dark (with headlamp) now.
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kev
climber
A pile of dirt.
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 18, 2015 - 05:18pm PT
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+1 to what Clint said - you can slip and die, even on 4th class.
Clint,
Cool - glad you we're okay with me posting those pics :)
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Feb 18, 2015 - 05:23pm PT
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It's good, kev - the photos and topo are meant to be shared.
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WBraun
climber
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Feb 18, 2015 - 05:25pm PT
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The rap route down Royal Arches is piss easy.
What's with you people?
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kev
climber
A pile of dirt.
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 18, 2015 - 05:27pm PT
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Werner,
We like scenic hikes?
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WBraun
climber
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Feb 18, 2015 - 05:29pm PT
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Yes
You like to visit orthopedic knee surgeons when you get older .....
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kev
climber
A pile of dirt.
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 18, 2015 - 05:30pm PT
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LOL - For the elbow yes but not for the knees yet, but it's hard to argue with you on that.
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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Feb 18, 2015 - 05:38pm PT
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I heard so many times DON'T GO DOWN TOO SOON for fear of the death slabs, that I screwed it up my first and only time going down that way- I went too far!
We made great time on Royal Arches (maybe 2 hours simul-climbing) in the morning, flailed at the beginning but found our groove on Crest Jewel, and were down at the summit of Washington Column with a few hours of sun to spare. Well, we had done zero research on NDG descent, just figured we would be able to figure it out. I did remember that key phrase "AVOID THE DEATH SLABS - DON'T GO DOWN TOO SOON." Well, I spied a huge white rock cairn atop the next major ridge east of Washington Column, and made a beeline for this. No problem. Kept going east to the point of tunneling in manzanitas, and ended up doing a shiver bivy with my buddy. Everything was cliffing out with no reasonable descent in sight.
The next morning we backtracked to the cairn, and saw that the cairn was *after* where we were supposed to descend. I saw an old rope fixed in the gulley, half-buried in sand and rubble. I don't remember down-climbing any tree, don't remember rapping at all, but it was steep and sandy/slippery as heck where the rope was fixed- but walkable. I think there was a bit of trail at first, but we basically went straight down a gully with some sketchy moves here and there, and were not on any switch-back trail. Maybe that was "Alt B" descent that we did? I've never been back there, rapped every other time off of RA quite easily (after you know the trick about not doing a full length rappel right off the bat because of the rope-sticking situation.
Edit: Looks like we mostly found the right way, but we didn't zigzag on a trail on the side.
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kev
climber
A pile of dirt.
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 18, 2015 - 05:43pm PT
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Nut Again,
When was this? I didn't mention the fixed line as I figured it was long gone (I haven't been down the gulley if at least 5 years).
I think coming off of CJ the path to the gulley is different, no?
Anyone know if that ancient fixed line is still at the start of the gulley?
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Feb 18, 2015 - 06:05pm PT
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It sounds like NutAgain was on the upper version (which I call Alt A in my overlay photos). On Alt A, there is an upper dirt gully, which had a fixed rope a couple of years ago.
Alt A does not use the standard lower traverse which has the downclimbing at the tree. Alt A is the upper pink line in the photo below.
Here is a more detailed photo showing the start of the traverse (the arrows which stay high), plus a lower higher risk (harder downclimbing) "Alt C":
Here's an expanded version with the standard North Dome Gully descent route:
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Onewhowalksonrocks
Mountain climber
Ventura
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Feb 18, 2015 - 06:18pm PT
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I know this is some what (OT). Didn't the park service install a rap route off the Glacier Point Apron?
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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Feb 18, 2015 - 06:25pm PT
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My experience was a while back, maybe 2005? We knew nothing about descent off of CJ, just came down the west side trying to stay in water run-off paths to avoid manzanita bushwacking. We were exactly on top of Washington Column with about 2 hours of sunshine left and still managed to epic because we didn't know where to go. But the advice of not coming down too soon was our only info, and that backfired for us. Still, spending a night man-cuddling is better than falling off a slab and dying!
Edit: My first thought was that Clint's pic with the high road didn't match what we did. But after jogging my memory, I recall going straight across from Washington Column, and maybe halfway through getting a bit sketched out and scrambling straight up to where it felt more secure before continuing the traverse. So maybe Clint is right. It was maybe a steep dirt slope with lots of loose rocks, and a bunch of horizontal parallel trails across? My memory for these sorts of details is bad.
Double-edit: I think we went somewhere halfway between the red and pink lines. Didn't get back up to the main monolith like that pink line shows. But we did definitely cross over the prominent ridgeline to the east that you see from Washington Column.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Feb 18, 2015 - 06:25pm PT
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The NPS did not create a rap route down Glacier Point Apron,
but Tom Rohrer installed a couple of rap routes down it.
Most people who rap from Coonyard Pinnacle use the anchors on one of his rap routes.
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
extraordinaire
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Feb 18, 2015 - 06:36pm PT
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I like how any smooth rock on relatively easy ground becomes ..." The Death Slabs" .
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Spider Savage
Mountain climber
The shaggy fringe of Los Angeles
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Feb 18, 2015 - 06:38pm PT
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Thanks for this detailed beta.
The first time I took the scenic route from the top of RA through the forest of fir trees (bushwhack) up the steep west slabs of North Dome, left over into the forest, found the trail to Yosemite Point, visited that, then down the Yosemite Falls trail.
Tooks us 6 hours to do the route and 11 hours to hike back to the car sitting at the base.
Some day I might try the Indian Creek descent route. You know, just to be creative.
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