Yose crack bouldering circuit

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BKW

Mountain climber

Central Texas

Topic Author's Original Post - Apr 15, 2007 - 01:22pm PT

Am going to be in the valley at the end of April with my daughters and their SO's. Will be my first non climbing visit to Yosemite! Figure I will get 1/2 day to boulder if the kids wear out.
Am looking for some moderate crack boulder problems, up to 5.10, preferebly hands, preferably clustered. Ha ha.

Any suggestions?

Have always just climbed and been part time tourist on rest days.

Hate doing the starts to crack climbs I know. Too tempting to keep going.

Raydog

Trad climber

Boulder

Apr 15, 2007 - 01:26pm PT

sorry, only ones I know are Short Circuit, Circuit Breaker, and Bachar Cracker.

WBraun

climber

Apr 15, 2007 - 02:36pm PT

"Stubs", to left of "Tips".

Tarbuster

climber

right here, right now

Apr 15, 2007 - 02:44pm PT

There is a nice finger crack somewhere in the boulders behind C4 which is pretty moderate, for a boulder problem. One day in the early 80's Steve Scheider, maybe Dimitri Barton, myself and a few others where back there huffing ganja and we stumbled upon it and proceeded to see "who could do it with the fewest jams", then after that, "who could do it with the most jams".

Hell if I could say where it is; sorta in a tight cleft as I recall.

Elcapinyoazz

Social climber

Jarhead City, CA

Apr 15, 2007 - 02:50pm PT

Maybe look at the Penthouse cracks and Grant's crack, all on Swan slab.

Peter Haan

Trad climber

San Francisco, CA

Apr 15, 2007 - 03:06pm PT

You can top rope the first pitch of New Dimensions, easily. Just hike further up the hill to get to the top of that first pitch and set up a top rope. And it is a classy 5.10b pitch starting with 5.9ish off-hands to narrowing 5.10b fingers, some footholds.

You can top rope Short But Thin, on the base of El cap rt of The Slack and left of La Cosita. It is a short 5.11b pitch that you can arrange a T/R by a easy 5.7 flare to obtain the anchors. Fingers, body position and smart sequencing, good tiny route.

You can top rope Chingando, on the Iota near Reed's Pinnacle. You access the T/R anchors by getting into the regular route chimney 5.4 behind/inside of the Iota and work out to the front of the Iota laterally to get to the bolt(s). This Chingando pitch is about 100 feet or less, a little coarse, but is offwidth and pod with a few fist jams also. Not too many of these to practise on in this manner in the Valley.

And of course there is the great resource of The Generator Crack, along the road down-valley between Cascade Creek and 120/140 junction, at the old generator building. Walk to the top of the split boulder roadside, and set up anchors there.

As far as UNROPED crack bouldering, most of it is already mentioned above.

Raydog

Trad climber

Boulder

Apr 15, 2007 - 05:26pm PT

I tell ya the truth I tried Stubbs twice - once under full power - and got badly shut down both times.

Raydog

Trad climber

Boulder

Apr 15, 2007 - 08:24pm PT

and then there is the neat boulder on the trail past the Ahwahnee, just above the trail and to the north. two ropless bouldering cracks right leaning .10ish. and a top rope - right leaning thin crack w/ two bolts - it's in the reid guide, missnamed - the real name is Blunt. 5.12

scooter

climber

B loop site 15

Apr 15, 2007 - 08:37pm PT

there are some fun easy cracks at the junction to go up to yose point. Swan slab stuff

Ed Hartouni

Trad climber

Livermore, CA

Apr 15, 2007 - 08:48pm PT

full disclosure edit: I am not a boulderer...

ok pick up a copy of Don Reid's Yosemite Bouldering (ISBN 0-9676076-0-4)

Leaning Tower Boulders
Crank Out 5.11 *** straight in finger crack uphill directly behind the restrooms

Crossroads Boulder
Little Mouse V3***R left-slanting crack/seam to steep face, cross Hwy 41 at the restroom pullout and head towards Hwy 140

on the Lost Boulder, Deliverance aka The Lost Crack V8*** 40' crack in the ceiling of a cave...

Near Sentinel Bridge
Milton's Finger 5.7
Milton's Fist 5.6

LeConte Boulder
Regular Route/Descent Route V0-** Right-curving thin crack

Mini-Meanies and Indian Caves
Left Mini-Meanie V0***R leaning, overhanging hands to fist
Right Mini-Meanie V1***R fingers, off-hands to hands
Half-Pint V7*** (top rope) tip locks in pin scars

Plaque Boulder
Mini-Stein-Way V3** sit-start, left leaning off hand/finger
5150 V2** sit-start to power jamming

Wine Boulder
The Other Side 5.8 R (flared chimney)
Robbins Crack 5.9**R (offwidth from by two adjacent boulders)

get the book

Tarbuster

climber

right here, right now

Apr 15, 2007 - 11:53pm PT

Very nice Ed.

Oli

Trad climber

Fruita, Colorado

Apr 16, 2007 - 02:41am PT

I remember doing a couple of 5.9+-ish, maybe 5.10, off-width boulder routes, the unroped type, up behind the Wine Boulder somewhere. You have to look around I guess. Maybe they have been named above already. I can't recall their names. And a little farther up that same slope of boulders other things appear, if I recall, in the way of off-width type cracks. I guess if you are looking for bouldering cracks you don't want top-ropes.

Pat

Jaybro

Social climber

The West

Apr 16, 2007 - 04:45am PT

Don't neglect the bad ass mother and child, and the cool wheel.

426

Sport climber

Buzzard Point, TN

Apr 16, 2007 - 09:49am PT

1:45 am, wtf Jaybro

James

climber

A tent in the redwoods

Apr 16, 2007 - 11:34am PT

Deliverance is burly but cool. Was anyone gone out there and tried it? Fat Weasel is a crack on the Energy Boulder behind King Cobra. It climbs like a face route. There also the route to the right of the mini-meanies. It's wicked hard but really aesthetic. Half-pint I guess. Highball. Twist of Fate is a good one too. And Badass Baby is a good crack problem too.

Raydog

Trad climber

Boulder

Apr 16, 2007 - 12:04pm PT

glad someone mentioned badass baby,

hey can someone honestly tell me how hard V7 is compared (roughly) in YDS?

thanks

James

climber

A tent in the redwoods

Apr 16, 2007 - 02:36pm PT

v7 ~ 12d
v8 ~ 13a
Half pint and Deliverance crack would be proud sends.

Jerry Dodrill

climber

Bodega, CA

Apr 16, 2007 - 03:18pm PT

Second vote for Circuit Breaker. It's .11b thin fingers, less than vertical, just 20' with a sand landing. The moves are right off the ground. I slipped from the last move late one night by headlamp, way buzzed, with spotters who were stoned out of their minds/not spotting. Knocked the wind out of me but I walked away, this was before pads. Great TR/problem.

(Short Circuit is down along the river, right? I always get these two names mixed up)

Elcapinyoazz

Social climber

Camp 4, Site 10

Apr 26, 2007 - 03:19pm PT

Tarbuster said:

"There is a nice finger crack somewhere in the boulders behind C4 which is pretty moderate, for a boulder problem...Hell if I could say where it is; sorta in a tight cleft as I recall. "

Ok, I went and found this thing and climbed it yesterday. To reach it, head up the streambed that is the approach to the Camp 4 Wall. You will soon pass a bench/sofa made of stacked stones in the middle of the wash. Ten yards past this bench a large boulder blocks most of the streambed. After walking around this large boulder, take a right out of the streambed and head into the woods toward about 1:30. The boulder is in a sunny spot about 20 yards after you leave the streambed and the crack will be facing directly at you as you approach. With a careful eye you can see it through the trees right after you leave the streambed.

Crux is at the bottom, first knuckle jams with undercut and bad feet, opening to second knuckle locks with good feet. Has a pretty good/flat landing.

As a side note, I got a nice surprise when reaching into the jams just above the lip where the angle kicks back...a snake in the crack. A quick recitation of the "Red next to black, red next to yellow" rhymes confirmed that it was a king, not a coral and I could use the jam and top out instead of jumping off the damn thing.

Very nice problem, clean, moderate, straight up and straight-in, probably in the .10 range.

Ed Hartouni

Trad climber

Livermore, CA

Apr 26, 2007 - 03:24pm PT

there are a lot of King snakes up around there... one in the base of the flake variation of Doggie Deviations...

"Well, I'm the Crawlin' King Snake
And I rule my den
I'm the Crawlin' King Snake
And I rule my den
Yeah, don't mess 'round with my mate
Gonna use her for myself
Caught me crawlin', baby, window
Grass is very high
Keep on crawlin' till the day I die..."

Elcapinyoazz

Social climber

Camp 4, Site 10

Apr 27, 2007 - 03:33pm PT

Here she is:

But be careful and don't upset the snake:

Elcapinyoazz

Social climber

Camp 4, Site 10

May 21, 2007 - 03:05pm PT

Wide crack lovers, take note.... (Ed? Jaybro? Gary? you listenin'?)

Yesterday I established a very short new problem right next to the fingercrack boulder shown above.

"Recreational Struggling" is easy to find. Facing the fingercrack above, walk to the right around the side of the fingercrack boulder onto the "patio"...a perfectly flat slab of rock with killer views of Half Dome and Sentinel. Now facing the fingercrack boulder on the patio you will be staring at an obvious vertical face problem. Look at about 4:00 position from there and you will see two small boulders that almost touch at chest height, forming a small cave underneath...this is about 10-15' from the fingercrack boulder and right off the end of the patio. You may find some chalk on a tiny crimp on the boulder that forms the right side.

Start about 6' back in the "cave" with a hand and fist jam, invert, ram your feet/legs up in there and shuffle out, cut hands, do a giant sit up to desperate gastoning transitioning into a psuedo mantle on slopers and tiny crimps. Drop one leg, torque the other and finish the mantle. This went down on the 4th or 5th attempt after trying facing both directions. Going out of the cave with your right side leading was the key.

How hard? Who f'in knows...hard enough for me after 3 OE800s. Somebody go get the 2nd and tell me. Ed, Gary, Scuffy, Jaybro...go get some it's a 2 minute walk from camp 4. Vaugely reminiscent of the crux move on The Inquisition. Find me in the camp host site and I'll even walk you right to the thing.

Props to the kids from CO who cleaned it up a bit and showed it to me. I'd been to that fingercrack at least 5 times in the last month, walking right by the thing and never even contemplated it as being a problem. I've been pleasantly surprised at how willing the current crops of young guys are to get in the wide.

No pics because it was basically dark and the Olde English that preceeded and fueled the session didn't help me remember to take a camera. Maybe I can get some fresh meat on it soon and get some snaps to post up.