Jacolelcap
Trad climber
Chicago, Denver/ Poland
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Did you click PDF button: " Wersja do druku 253 KB" above and right of the topo?
Also there are above another version and even poster, just clik
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mongrel
Trad climber
Truckee, CA
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Jacolelcap, your post is very much appreciated, but the .gif that comes up on the link is pretty much not legible as scanned. Enlarging the image makes it no different or worse. If you have an easy way to enlarge the image before scanning, or scanning at higher dpi, then post again at exactly the same link, it would be very much appreciated. Thank you and we hope you enjoyed that particular trip up El Cap!
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Jacolelcap
Trad climber
Chicago, Denver/ Poland
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I did first ascent of direct finish to The Muir Wall as a finish of Quo Vadis on Nov 20th 2002.
After initial few beaks (1 or 2 fixed) and few hooks moves (A2+ or A3) you reach base of the overhang. First of the 4 rivets is chip aluminium anchor close to the top of the hollow block. I used it because of lack of tension (at least lower) and simple easy placing. Since bad durability and shorter life, will be not bad idea to put another regular rivet just 3 inches apart. Of course hanging from higher one. Especially it is just above the slab and this variation will be used in future more frequently as the direct finish to The Muir Wall. My concern.
After 4 rivets there is unnecessary bolt. At night I did’t see good placement behind me, however the final move/placement from under summit/edge block is well protected. Top out is even greater then on Zodiac or Down. In a case of bad weather this var. I think is easer and more secure.
QUO VADIS, topo in English; details: upper part of the 22-nd pitch:
http://www.kw.warszawa.pl/topo/el_capitan/s/quo_vadis_topo_in_english
Jacek Czyz
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Lambone
Ice climber
Ashland, Or
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Caught a glimpse as we did the standard finish, I remember a thin seam through roofs with a few fixed beaks above a ledge. I couldn't/didn't take the time to scope the whole line.
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J.R.
Big Wall climber
Bend, OR
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Anybody out there done or know anything about the direct finish variation for The Muir Wall? I watched (from the meadow) somebody skip the pitch 31 tension traverse and punch straight up through the roofs last fall and hope to get some beta on this cool way to finish the climb. Thanks.
-JR
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Jacolelcap
Trad climber
Chicago, Denver/ Poland
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jer
You can fix it after pitch 4 and 5 too.
After 4 is no more then 50m (40?) to 2-nd belay of Quo Vadis (many old 1/4 and 2 new bolts) and 55m to ground.
After 5 you can use 3-rd belay of QV (close to Muir) or Dorn Direct to the left, but you need 3 rops. So with 2 60m ropes you must fix only from 4 or 6.
If you have one 70m rope, it is posible (not sure) to fix from Muir 5 to QV 2. If rope is few m short, you can still have extra 5m of 60m second rope.
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hobo
climber
PDX
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From end of 6, fix one 60 to top of little john, and your other to the ground.
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jer99
climber
San Francisco
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Does anyone know if it is possible to fix 2 ropes to the ground from the top of pitches 5 or 6?
http://www.fivenineclimber.com indicates that it is possible, but I am not sure if the pitches are the same as on the McNamara topo.
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Lambone
Ice climber
Ashland, Or
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We just did the Muir two weeks ago and I've done Zod twice. I'd say the crux aid on the Muir is definately easier then the crux aid on Zod. However much of the difficulty on Zodiac depends on how much fixed gear there is, alot of the crux moves are often fixed. The crux pitches on Muir didn't have any fixed gear aside from a couple of fixed heads...which is really cool. To climb either route clean (do-able, read below) is probly near the same difficulty C4. The C4F pitches on the topo didn't have fixed gear so it was more like A2 for us.
It's also a bit less dangerous because you don't have ledges like the Black Tower to fall on under the hard sections. I think I placed less pins on Zodiac, but the Zod placements were smaller and more dubious, beaks and tipped out sawed offs, while Muir is all pretty sinker.
The 1st crux listed on the topo p23, went clean foe us with tiny brass offset nuts and camhook moves. Not to bad but you might zipper your nuts if you blow it.
The second crux is a 20ft thin seam at the top of the pitch (p25), it is about 4-5 hard moves. It takes some good arrows, and more micro nuts, and cam hooks work good. Clean fall.
The third crux is p29-30. These placements are angle scars in a corner. Sometimes Alien Offsets are bomber in the scars, sometimes not. Take care not to whip on your partners head.
There are maybe 4 fixed heads up high on the route (p26 + p30), that look like they are going to be there for a while, but I'd add a small handfull of heads (and head chisel)to the gear list.
Not really any need for a bolt kit on the route. All belays except for 30 have at least one fatty bolt and bomber natural pro, and the very few lead bolts (2 or 3) are all good with hangers.
The Muir is a hell of a lot more work then Zodiac, for obvious reasons. After all the tough hauling, the crux aid sections up high will feel like a casual stroll through the park.
go get 'er! gorgeous route.
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bolazo
Big Wall climber
CA
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Hi, I'm trying to get an idea of how hard the Muir is. Could anyone compare the hardest aid on the Muir to that of the Zodiac? Are the hardest pitches of Muir easier than the Zodiac' hardest pitches?
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outdooreric
Trad climber
Mammoth
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We used our 5" piece about 10 times. The 1 1/4" and 1 1/2" sawed angles were not used. Pitch 29 took a couple of each 5/8" & 3/4" sawed angles. We used a single cliff hanger hook twice, only on pitch 30. Lots of grass to deal with low on the route, but the upper dihedrals tend to be cleaner.
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northtrials
Trad climber
Penrith, Cumbria, UK
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Soloed this at the end of last season, great route, and as info for those thinking of it:
I think the 6" piece is vital, esp. if you are solo or afraid of chimneys, I was both. I climbed clean and hand placed only one small angle. Micro cams and swedges or equivalent. I only have the blue black offset alien but this was useful.
P25 – pitch is the crux of the route for sure
P29 - probably C3 as there is a good cam half way. I placed one small angle by hand on this pitch.
P31 - you can go lower than you think if the obvious penji seems to hard, and then swing into a small groove and hook all the way to the second penji (which is more like a tension traverse) Hooks probs C2
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426
climber
Buzzard Point, TN
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Sounds like this has been 'fixed' up a little bit since we did it.
I thought it was about C3+, the two upper diheral pitches being cruxy (solved with 2 cam aliens in suspect rock).
There was also a large block on an A2 pitch that was streaming gravel on my first placement. I backed down, tt'ed and climbed runout 5.7 to the anchors (start of last dihedral).
I heard this block was gone, if so, great.
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Chris McNamara
SuperTopo staff member
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just 2 or 3 on the upper third of the route.
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nininch
climber
Living in Romsdalen, Norway
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which belays do not have two bolts or more?
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Steven
Trad climber
Arvada, Colorado
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I climbed this route in May 2003 and all the anchors had nice new bolts except for the last 3 or so pitches. Also we brought a #5 Friend and found it very useful on several pitches.
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Mike
climber
Arvada, Colorado
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eman, Use the SuperTopo with the updated info below from Chris. There at least one short wide section from p8 to Heart that a 4.5 Camalot helps with, on p4 keep left and traverse early, not up the more obvious cracks straight up. Other than that it's pretty straightforward. Be ready to place gear at the belays - either to back up bolts or for primary pieces. One each sawed 5/8" and 1/2" angles are useful; maybe substitute for one each full length.
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eman
Big Wall climber
Okinawa Japan
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I am trying to confirm the belay stations on this route. Are they all bolted or not.
Thanks.
Any particular gear I should know about too.
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BD
Big Wall climber
Albany
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My friend Matt and I topped out on this route on Sept. 8, '03. We both had a great time. The 1st beta I'd like to through out is that pitch 9 was about 110 ft. and pitch 10 was about 120 ft. so I believe they would NOT link with a 60m rope and a standard belay.
2nd, I would like to say that if your running a bit late in the day and you have not made all of the first 10 pitches, you can rappel quite easily from the top of 9 to the Heart Ledge rappel station one pitch shy of Heart Ledge and come back the next day to complete 10. Next we only nailed 5 pins on the route; one LA on pitch 25 and 4 pins on pitch 29 (2 LA, 1 sawed Angle & 1 pecker). The rest of the route went at a reasonable C3 or less. Pitch 30 has 3 new fixed heads which brought it down to C2F.
Something else to note is that there was a new bolt anchor above & on the right side of the poor block anchor at the top of 32. Plus that anchor is way right of the last rim move and it is directly above pitch 30 (an easy free hanging rappel straight back to 30).
What a route!!!
A little grassy, but a gem none the less!
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johnhenry
Big Wall climber
Tokyo/Honolulu
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What are the missing pitch lengths for pitches 9 and 10? Are these linkable with a 60m?
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Chris McNamara
SuperTopo staff member
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P4 should be C2+ and should show a section on P8 that is C2+ awkward or 5.9lb about 20' below the anchor.
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Chris McNamara
SuperTopo staff member
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CORRECTIONS TO TOPO IN <A HREF='http://www.supertopo.com/bigwalls/yosemite/bigwalls.html'>YOSEMITE BIG WALLS: SUPERTOPO</a>
These updates to the topo come from Erik Sloan who did us all a HUGE service by replacing many of the anchors and lead bolts on this climb. All anchors are bomber.
P19 - write C2+ next to “thin nuts”, show pitons at the two penji points
P20 – show just one bolt in pitch and remove the false belay symbol
P21 – write “no fun” under C1+ and write "hidden crack" right above 4.5"
P22 show bolt at belay 22
P23 – remove bolts on midway ledge, put note “route significantly harder from p23 to top”
P24 – pitch is 140’ long, show 2 bolts at belay and remove “belay takes”, change pitch rating to A2 or C3
P25 – pitch is C4 or A2+, show another overlap above roof at top of pitch, write “reachy” just before belay
P26 – write “A2+ funky” instead of “A2 loose” just above where it currently says C2 and remove C2 rating. Correct ledge size at belay 26 is 1x5’ and its actually only an ok bivy for 1
P29 - mention sawed angles needed at beginning of pitch. show lead bolt leading to belay.
P30 - show bolt next to A2. write 4.5" above A2. cam sizes need on pitch are .5-4.5"
P31 - put 5.8 under first penji
P32 - show bolt under C2 right next to crack. Show 5.7 mantel above C2. mention that anchor 32 is poor and should be backed up.
notes for rack: 6" piece not necessary. add 1 1/4" and 1 1/2" sawed angles to rack.
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Jan
Intermediate climber
Mill Valley, CA
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Here is some beta from Summer 2001:
We did bivi on top of pitch 19, with ropes fixed to 20. And I did pitch 21 with the horrible 5,10 squeeze next morning mixed with free and aiding. I spend a long time on that one, so I asked for the next one to get my psykce up again. Next bivi was on top of pitch 23. The pendulum was nice but it would feel better with some more gear in first.
Pitch 24 is super. To bad we only had 4 small La's. but with backcleaning once did I ok.
Pitch 25 is god but, thoose flakes are loose and crispy. Maybe worth making an note in you guidebook.
We spend the night on Belay 26, wich is a god bivi
Pitch 27 to 30 is great !!!! with pitches without fixed gear. Super.
On belay on pitch 28 did I wish for moore and bigger stoppers. I did place one Camalot .75 as biggest item and some small aliens. At least I did make an clean belay, but we did use the hammer early on pitch 29.
Pitch 30 did have some fixed gear, and it was 2 bolts there after the roof. We left the pigs at 30 and did the pendulum in the dark. Finding the way on pitch 32 in the dark was unpleasant, since both headlamps did die out. I did howeever put one in my pocket on my fleece so we did get up.
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Concerned citizen
Advanced climber
Mill Valley, CA
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Pitches 7 and 8 can be combined on a 60m rope, which is recommended because of limited natural gear placements at the top of pitch 7.
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Em Holland and Bruce Bindner
Advanced climber
Mill Valley, CA
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MUIR WALL
In May 2001 the following bolts were placed during an ascent of Muir Wall. All placements were at existing belay stations, to supplement or replace existing old quarter-inch bolts. All drilling was done by hand. No existing bolts were removed except the one on Dorn Direct P3, which pulled out easily by hand:
Dorn Direct, P3 belay anchor, removed old 1/4" x 1.25", placed one new 3/8" x 3.5 " Rawl 5-piece stainless with a 40Kn stainless hanger. Patched hole with rock dust & Seam Grip. Note: this station can be used as a rappel route to descend to the ground from P5 or P6 of Muir Wall, with three 60m ropes.
We were forced to descend to the ground from partway up Muir P4 using this rappel route during a hail/thunderstorm. (The normal route was seriously clogged with fixed ropes from other teams) We replaced the old bolt two days later when we jugged back up.
P22 anchor, placed one new 3/8" Rawl 5-piece stainless bolt on right wall of dihedral.
Muir Wall, P23 anchor, placed one new 3/8" Rawl 5-piece stainless bolt on face to right at the slab belay to supplement two existing 1/4" bolts at this location.
P24 anchor, placed two new 3/8" Rawl 5-piece stainless bolts on face to right of alcove (existing old bolts in this location not marked on SuperTopo).
Muir Wall, P27 anchor , noted existing new 3/8" on face to left of dihedral, not marked on SuperTopo.
Muir Wall, P28 belay anchor, placed one new 3/8" Fixe stainless bolt on face to left of dihedral.
Muir Wall, P29 belay anchor, placed one new 3/8" Fixe stainless bolt on face to right of dihedral to supplement numerous scary old 1/4" anchors of various vintages.
Other notes on the route:
Muir Wall P24: we observed a typewriter-sized block on the narrow ledge at lower right of belay alcove, which appeared to be totally detached and loose. Care should be taken by subsequent parties to avoid dislodging the block.
Muir wall P25: Supertopo calls this the 2nd crux of the route, C4F or A2. We encountered no fixed gear on this pitch. (Has this been cleaned out by free-climbing teams??)
Muir Wall P26: there is a knife-edged flake between the section marked "A2 loose" on Supertopo and the belay ledge. Care should be taken to protect the rope from cutting over this edge while the second is jugging (our rope suffered sheath damage on lead even though Bruce back cleaned that entire section and protected the edge with duck tape).
Muir Wall P30: Considered adding a bolt to this belay station, but instead fixed an overdriven sawed-off piton to supplement the existing fixed pin.
Muir Wall P30/32: As recommended in Supertopo, we left our haul bag anchored at P30 (fixed pins) and hauled to the rim later after doing the traversing pitches 31 and 32. To the right of belay 32 (as shown on Supertopo) there is a huge block directly above where the haul bag sits on P30. This is the most logical place to to set up for hauling, however the block appears to be detached, and possibly unstable. Rather than place gear around or on this potential death block, we anchored the station by extending our 60m ropes to trees on the rim above.
NOTE FROM CHRIS MCNAMARA
Em and Bruce did a great service which all climbers should be thankful for. To find out how you can support bolt replacement, visit the <a href='http://www.safeclimbing.org'>American Safe Climbing Assn. web site</a>
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Chris McNamara
SuperTopo staff member
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The Muir is one of the few really classic moderate routes on El Cap that does not receive tons of traffic. Even during June there are rarely many parties on the first third of the route or the last third. the middle third of the climb is shared by many popular climbs (Shield, Triple Direct) and usually has people on it.
How difficult is the Muir Wall? Most of the pitches are C1 and C2. At its hardest, it is about as difficult as Zodiac (A2). The main difficulty of the Muir is its length. Because if traverses so much, it may be the longest route on El Capitan. Also, because there are few pitches rated 5.7-5.9, almost everything must be aided, which is time consuming. Because the Muir Wall is soo long, it is reccomended for teams that can move fast. If you can do The Nose in 2 bivies the Muir will probably take you four.
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