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Joe
Social climber
Santa Cruz Mountains/Los Gatos
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Great stories, great routes.
Fifty meter must is another runout. Cleaned a booty biner off it where someone must have said enough.
The Salathe is classic and definitely worth the price of admission. Love Line is a stellar line that commands attention. After my partner followed me on the first pitch, he opted to decline his second pitch lead. Double the pleasure, double the fun. Beware the first pitch is loose.
Lifeline is also worth doing since you're already there.
Raptor closures keep the hand off limits right now. But I recently spoke with the bird man and if there is not sign of nesting, he may open the Hand to climbing early this year.
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martygarrison
Trad climber
Modesto
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 2, 2008 - 06:57pm PT
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Good for you guys in replacing the bolts. Kelly, of course I remember Tim. He is probably a CEO some where these days.
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tolman_paul
Trad climber
Anchorage, AK
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K-man, I think you're right I mixed up the routes, it's been awhile.
Even though pinnacles rock is what it is, I still have many fond memories of climbing there. The history of the area and all the big names that climbed there over the decades, the occasional truly classic great climb, the sense of adventure, and that nagging doubt whenever on the sharp end, what should I worry about more, the gear holding if I fall, or the hold breaking and causing me to fall?
And who can't enjoy the classic rope toss tr belay for the small pinnacles?
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bhilden
Trad climber
Mountain View, CA
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Kelly,
if it makes you feel any better, my recollection of the events on the Hand was that I remembered the pins from a previous ascent and while I was replacing the belay bolts asked you to knock them out.
Still, I agree it is a shame. I thought we were doing the right thing in helping the Access Fund. Too bad the AF seem to have dropped the ball.
And to think I gave them my 3'x4' poster of Isabelle Patissier for their auction. Now that's a crying shame:-)
Bruce
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k-man
Gym climber
SCruz
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"if it makes you feel any better, my recollection of the events on the Hand was that I remembered the pins from a previous ascent..."
Uh Bruce, are you sure?? Those pins were buried under the belay stance, covered in moss and stuff. I could barely see them. You would not have seen them unless you hung under the belay stance like I was, which I seriously doubt anybody has done since the belay bolts were put in. The second pin was obscured by the first, I didn't even see it until after I removed the first one, it was so hidden.
Peter Hann even told me how he looked for them, but could never find them....Not that I doubt you or anything ;-)
Now that poster, that's a real loss!
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bhilden
Trad climber
Mountain View, CA
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Kelly,
I went looking for them a few years before and located the first one we pulled, but at the time I didn't have a hammer. I seem to remember that Glen Denny, who placed the 1/4" buttonhead at the belay which we removed, might have mentioned the pin(s) as well.
But, whatever happened, it is too bad that a piece of climbing history has been lost, apparently forever.
Bruce
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Oct 17, 2010 - 07:41pm PT
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Came across this recently and reminded me of some early ascents on the Hand. Think this Denny photo of our ascent is around 1960-61. Kelly's blurb about the Salathe pins under the large belay boulder is truly amazing. You would think that Roper would have known. Then again we would have torn up the entire face looking for the pins.
I think Foott and I did the 2nd ascent of the "Back Side of the Hand" and the bolts were horrible.
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Oct 17, 2010 - 08:54pm PT
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I did the classic Salathe Hand route in 1965 and the back of the Hand then also. I was sixteen at most. I will never forget the Salathe Hand. Really airy and having to belay on the big boulder, pretty exciting. I guess Salathe just might have lead the thing in one long pitch using those pins under the boulder which I never saw, as protection rather than anchors (?) What a horrid place to be, under that thing with that insane overhang below. I was looking for the apocryphal pins above and of course only found old bolts as I wandered through giant lichen, really iffy knobs and generally a steep intimidating 5.6 face pitch. I guess there were a few knobs to sling though. I think I might have too. I guess if you thought the angels were talking to you and would protect you, leading the pitch would go quite a bit more easily. Agreed the back side of the hand is really rotten, shocking actually.
These two scans are from the Richards 1974 Pinnacles Climbers Guide:
Here is Guido's Roper/Guido photo by Denny of the Hand BITD; Guido forgot I restored that image to this one, ridding it of that long scratch etc.:
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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Oct 17, 2010 - 09:04pm PT
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superb bump considering the recent rain and potential return of the pinnacles season!
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Oct 17, 2010 - 09:14pm PT
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Tom Frost did the Salathe Route on the Hand as his first lead and it had his undivided attention!
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martygarrison
Trad climber
The Great North these days......
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 17, 2010 - 09:20pm PT
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Love the pic! Really captures the position. I once took a young girl on her first day climbing of any kind up this thing in her black Reeboks. Her second route was the Rostrum from the notch in the same shoes. I married her.
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David Knopp
Trad climber
CA
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Oct 28, 2010 - 01:11am PT
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Just led the second pitch today and it scared the crap out of me-a lot of back and forth, and then up and down, some deep breathing, a bit of whining. I got it done, in decent "style," and really it was a scary exhilarating 5.6. I was thrilled to finally have done it, and with a dear friend to boot-and the stream bed below it was gorgeous, green and quiet.
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Oct 28, 2010 - 01:25am PT
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Great David! It is kind of a 5.6 for 5.10 climbers, isn't it.
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David Knopp
Trad climber
CA
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Oct 28, 2010 - 12:09pm PT
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that may be true Peter, and i am not really a 5.10 climber!
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mucci
Trad climber
The pitch of Bagalaar above you
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Oct 28, 2010 - 12:32pm PT
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Now you gotta go do the Wilt's bolt variation...
To the left...
Or The burnette variationm, which is like a 100 foot 5.9 gym route with 3 bolts.
PInns season is upon us!!!
Mucci
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Oct 28, 2010 - 01:34pm PT
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Great thread. I never saw the Salathe pins on the belay knob. I can't imagine leading that as one long pitch in tennis shoes, with only pins for protection. Wholly apart from the possibility of knobs pulling, that 5.6 seemed rather more difficult than the other 5.6 I'd done.
It's time to head back to Pinnacles!
Thanks for the thread.
John
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bhilden
Trad climber
Mountain View, CA
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Oct 28, 2010 - 01:47pm PT
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The bolts and pins that were removed in the rebolting of 1997 have been found! Marty Karabin(thanks for the help in locating them) purchased the bolts from the Access Fund and Gary Neptune purchased the pins. I visited the pins at Gary's Neptune Mountaineering shop in Boulder this spring(they still have the original tape I put on them so I could identify them). The pins are resting well in a cool, dry, place. The sad news is that they appear not to be original 'Salathe' pitons. See the photos below. Anyone else want to weigh in on their origin?
Bruce
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storer
Trad climber
Golden, Colorado
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Oct 28, 2010 - 03:17pm PT
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1964, yours truly. Three points of contact?..... Bolt below oozing out?.... Will a knob pop out?....sliding down a cheese grater? Poison oak least of worries!
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Zander
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Oct 28, 2010 - 05:17pm PT
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Good thread, thanks Y'all,
I think I could see The Hand from the top of Yaks Wall last Friday. We did Liebacker's Lullaby (I thing that's the name?) but not until we turned the wrong direction on the approach and did a lot of third and fourth class while dodging poison oak. Word to the wise- turn left when you reach the top of the wall from the slabs. Yes, just like the guide book says. We then could not get the rope to pull at all after the rappell. So we hiked back around pulled it from the top and went down to finish the day at the Monolith. Anyway it is cool over at Yaks and I want to go back. Gotta go to The Hand now as well.
Climb on!
Zander
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bhilden
Trad climber
Mountain View, CA
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Oct 29, 2010 - 12:38pm PT
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Bump. Anybody have any info to add about the photo of the pitons from the first pitch of the Salathe?
Bruce
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