Captain...or Skully
Social climber
North of the Owyhees
|
|
|
Jan 27, 2009 - 08:15pm PT
|
We(Minerals & I) climbed it in '99, I think it was....Still a glorious Wall.
Amazing Place........We fixed all the Belays, then, too.
|
|
Jingy
Social climber
Flatland, Ca
|
|
|
Jan 27, 2009 - 08:16pm PT
|
Bad ess!
|
|
survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
|
|
|
Jan 27, 2009 - 10:20pm PT
|
Thanks John,
What great memories. Lesher, Lepton and I did it in 81, and we had a gas up there. We got a little storm too! Wonderful pix. Much better than the scraps I have..............
|
|
deuce4
climber
Hobart, Australia
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Jan 27, 2009 - 11:21pm PT
|
Survival- What's your real name? We must have met. I got to know Lesher fairly well when he was on the rescue team, but I never got to know the Lepton man, only by reputation. I do recall seeing the Lepton man in the cafe parking lot one time, I think he had just been rescued? He kind of snarled at me as I walked by, I must have been staring at the iconic big wall climber dude in full regalia, curious as to why he looked so worked. Around '80 or '81?
|
|
deuce4
climber
Hobart, Australia
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Jan 28, 2009 - 11:37am PT
|
Great to hear from you Bruce. perhaps we will bump into eachother once again in Yosemite!
cheers
|
|
survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
|
|
|
Jan 28, 2009 - 11:46am PT
|
I'll see you there!
Thanks for the pix.
|
|
Ottawa Doug
Social climber
Ottawa, Canada
|
|
|
Jan 29, 2009 - 05:41pm PT
|
Awesome pics and accompanying history. It is certainly located on a special part of El Cap - front and center - a wall I will never forget!
Cheers,
Doug
|
|
Thorgon
Big Wall climber
Sedro Woolley, WA
|
|
|
Jan 29, 2009 - 11:19pm PT
|
Anymore pictures from anyone
that has done this one?
Thor
|
|
deuce4
climber
Hobart, Australia
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Jan 30, 2009 - 01:00am PT
|
Quick note--ours was the last "Topo-free" ascent, I believe. I think our ascent, in 1992, was somewhere less than the 10th ascent, but I really have no idea. We climbed the right side of El Cap tower start--a real grunt, but way cooler than hauling big bags up the Nose.
It was one of those routes with an "aura", mostly due to the lack of Topo. Like today, climbers generally go where there's info, and tend to put off the more exploratory missions.
I drew up a topo after our ascent. But then I broke the unwritten rule about the topoless Tribal Rite, and shared the topo with Mark Blanchard, who was going up for the first solo ascent. When he got down, he told me my topo was wrong, because I apparently forgot about a pitch somewhere in the final stretch where it joins WEML.
Not having a topo made the route a lot more cool, almost like a first ascent, but without having to establish anchors after a long hard pitch of climbing. Really a stellar route, even though it stormed on us each and every of the seven days we were up there.
|
|
survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
|
|
|
Jan 30, 2009 - 08:07am PT
|
Thor,
I will see if I can scare up my raggy pix from up there. Have a few decent ones someplace.
John,
We also did the right side of the towers to start!!
Stayed on Lay Lady, even though we got there pretty early in the day and Bob Williams was shouting at us to keep going.
It was just too sweet to pass up.
I agree about the topo free ascent. It really felt adventurous casting off from Boot Flake. We only had to sit for one whole day in a storm. Luckily, we had plenty of "supplies".
The long copperhead corner had nothing fixed in it and took me a long time even though Lesher was making a lot of noise about the time. I told him that if I came zippering down at him, it was going to take a lot longer than just getting it right the first time so "Shut yer piehole"!!
That upper wall was so spectacular that it remains my most treasured memory of El Cap, even over some very special places I've been up there.
|
|
Ezra
Social climber
WA, NC, Idaho Falls
|
|
Thank you!
-e
|
|
Ottawa Doug
Social climber
Ottawa, Canada
|
|
Ditto Survival and Captain...or Skully
Doug
|
|
Hoots
climber
Tacoma, Toyota
|
|
HolyShitGonnaDieRhodoRhouterWantsToKillMeBUMP.
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!