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Melissa
Gym climber
berkeley, ca
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Last spring, after a long lay-off from Valley climbing and zero long route climbing to lead up to it, this was our "jump in w/ both feet climb." Not a problem for him who ended up being my fearless leader (I swung about 1/2 of it, but then gave up on the goal as it was getting tough to carry my ass in hand and climb at the same time.) Still we topped out in the very last light...later than planned, for sure.
The ball-bearing pitch was memorable though not in a 5 star sort of way...Old J joke: Yosemite classic or classic yosemite? This one is both. That pitch is the latter.
Climbing from the ground to the rim is never a disappointment.
We got DRENCHED coming down the falls trail after dark. Got back to the truck around midnight and had gotten beared. Some kind soul had repacked the back of the truck so that we didn't get ticketed too.
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DrDeeg
Mountain climber
Mammoth Lakes, CA
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Gene,
Roper's original Yosemite Guide ('63) had YPB as an aid climb then. I did it in '63 with Tony Qamar, and then an ascent with Gerughty a few weeks after Sacherer free'd it (but I grabbed a pin, and Frank had seen me with a telescope from the valley floor and got on my case the next morning).
We got caught in the dark on the descent down the Yosemite Falls trail, and I was unable to keep up with Gerughty, who had either incredible night vision or great feel.
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mongrel
Trad climber
Truckee, CA
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I'd like to know the back story to Clint's offhand comment about bringing "2 good headlamps." That sounds to me like one real epic must have happened to somebody...
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E Robinson
climber
Salinas, CA
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Great route for a nice winter day as I recall.
E
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WBraun
climber
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It's a long epic climb and a more than few have had problems on it.
But Selagenella seems to be one of the king epic climbs in the Valley. During the long summer days and warm fall days, I still see almost every weekend after 9 pm or later headlights up there of parties fighting to finish that beast.
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Largo
Sport climber
Venice, Ca
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If the rock was any good on that wall (it's choss pretty much all the way) there would be 25 routes up there.
JL
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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mongrel,
> I'd like to know the back story to Clint's offhand comment about bringing "2 good headlamps." That sounds to me like one real epic must have happened to somebody...
You guessed it! :-) Dave Coombs and I went up there one February day and had only one (bad) headlamp with us (mine). It got dark on the pitch leaving the Pedestal, and we discovered the headlamp was only good on "impulse power" - light for about 1 second, then wait a few minutes and get another second. So we had to slowly aid the nicest free pitch on the route. Routefinding in the dark on wet rock above, I remember taking a static fall onto a sling when a cam placed in moss didn't hold; fortunately I didn't really get hurt but it was a dumb move. Got back to the car after a 24 hour roundtrip, and had to drive straight back to Oakland, as Dave had a mandatory meeting that morning!
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mongrel
Trad climber
Truckee, CA
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Yep, score that one in the epic column for sure. The impulse setting bit is hilarious (although I'm sure it wasn't then); climbing by headlamp is bad enough when it's a good one! Thanks for the chuckle at your and Dave's expense. I picture him in that meeting thinking, now which is worse, YPB or this boring meeting?
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Ryan Tetz
Trad climber
Flagstaff, AZ
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May 25, 2012 - 03:13pm PT
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Just did it yesterday. It was a windy day and the upper half of the route was in the shade for us! (probably because we ended up going up the right side of the "spire".
We couldn't figure out where you would traverse right and then back left? After the spectacular 3rd pitch dihedral traverse into chimney/Odub, we ended up climbing straight up a long 4th pitch up offwidths and chimneys and then a short 5th pitch up vertical Odub and then right to a big ledge area big enough to sleep 8. There was no large pine tree in sight anywhere from here or for that matter the 4th pitch and on other than one on the final summit pitch.
We traversed right along that big ledge and ended up in a 5.8 chimney system on the right side of the pedestal between the pedestal and the wall that ended up putting us level with the pedestal but 20 feet to the right. There was a fixed nut here as well! I tension traversed across and my partner did a lower out off the nut from the top of this chimney to get onto the pedestal instead of climbing dangerously loose blocks. I still had to pre trundle some tool box size blocks from the top of the chimney to keep the rope from knocking them off while my partner lowered out on to the pedestal.
To our disbelief we somehow had skipped 3 pitches and were on the pedestal in only 7! We weren't doing particularly long pitches maybe 150 footers? How did we skip 3 pitches?! I almost didn't believe it when we were already on the pedestal staring at the old pins!?
The pitch above was rad and includes the most ring angle pitons I've clipped since doing higher spire!
All in all Yosemite Point Burliness..... Equivalent to the Steck Salathe or DNB type day but way more adventurous with unique route finding "oppurtunities" and more runout on sharp quartzie grainy granite chimneys- hurts more next morning! Sweet top out and so high up above the valley!
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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May 25, 2012 - 03:24pm PT
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Oops, Ryan - it was closed on April 13 for peregrine nesting until August 1.
http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/1799122/Yosemite-Seasonal-Closures
Did you see / hear the peregrines up there?
> How did we skip 3 pitches?!
You went up the top right side of the Pedestal instead of the top left side.
[Up from 7 in this photo, instead of over to 8, 8.5, 9 and the 5.8 rotten chimney above 9 (not shown)].
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
merced, california
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May 25, 2012 - 06:30pm PT
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For that matter, did you happen across any Yosemite Point Lesser Bustards up there?
You've been busted, buster.
I did this buttress once and it has the same falling apart syndrome as the tops of a lot of cliffs, the Column comes immediately to mind; the place lies next to the Castle Cliffs, mostly choss. Okay, all choss.
But there is some memorably sound stone on the middle pitches and the position is super. People ought to take the time to try it as the r.t. is a good test of your level of fitness if nothing else.
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