Trip Report
Fairview Dome with John Ferguson
Tuesday February 21, 2017 8:18am
During the “great Sierra Nevada road trip of 199? John and I, recently released from various field projects and other forms of employment bondage, traveled westward to the land of granite and sunshine. For several weeks we would climb a number of Sierra classics, camp out under starry skies, and indulge in California’s unique love affair with fine wine and craft beer. The rain would not come, the sun would not refuse to shine, and the rock would not suck. Life was good. On this particular day we rose early to beat the crowds for we were headed to the ever popular standard route on Fairview Dome. Roping up and launching off on the first pitch in semi-lightness we had beaten everyone else to the draw and were feeling groovy. That first pitch always snookers me because it starts off feeling so easy on the low angle stuff that it defies the imagination that it could actually be 5.9, then you get to that balancy little crux move. As I brought John up to the first belay stance I watched the great unwashed masses queuing up behind us and was thankful we hadn’t bothered with a morning cup of joe. We swung leads so that each of us could enjoy the full pleasures of shivering in the shade on belays (did I mention it was early?) while the other suffered through great moves on impeccable granite. The pro didn’t suck either.

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That first pitch ALWAYS looks easier than it turns out to be.  Still, ...
That first pitch ALWAYS looks easier than it turns out to be. Still, a great pitch to climb.
Credit: Nick Danger
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John suffers the indignities of great rock with solid pro as I bask in...
John suffers the indignities of great rock with solid pro as I bask in the pleasure of a chilly belay ledge.
Credit: Nick Danger
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After several weeks of climbing we were well dialed in and moving quite efficiently. As such, we were half way up the climb before we ever felt the warming rays of the sun. Also stereotypically, John was properly dressed for the occasion while I had selected wardrobe options suitable for either flirting with hypothermia or enhancing my opportunities for skin cancer (a bullet I have mercifully dodged). However, once moving across stone it was all good – in fact very, very good. I am hard-pressed to think of any climb I have ever done that is more self-indulgently entertaining than the standard route on Fairview Dome.

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John has it made in the shade.
John has it made in the shade.
Credit: Nick Danger
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John putting in some pro.
John putting in some pro.
Credit: Nick Danger
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Another pitch, another shivery belay stance, another series of stupidl...
Another pitch, another shivery belay stance, another series of stupidly entertaining moves on perfect granite.
Credit: Nick Danger
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John, don’t you ever get bored with perfect granite?
John, don’t you ever get bored with perfect granite?
Credit: Nick Danger
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Also, the belay stances did not suck.
Also, the belay stances did not suck.
Credit: Nick Danger
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By the time we got to the upper pitches the sun was out and we were basking in its warmth. By now we were way ahead of the other parties and it felt like we had that big rock all to ourselves. After many pitches of just stellar crack climbing and stemming, we got to the face climbing pitches. Gentle reader, do not be dismayed by the sudden paucity of cracks, for the face climbing here is just as wonderful as the crack climbing is below.

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John enjoying a little fun in the sun crack action.
John enjoying a little fun in the sun crack action.
Credit: Nick Danger
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More sun, more fun.
More sun, more fun.
Credit: Nick Danger
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This photo was taken some years earlier on an ascent I did with my fri...
This photo was taken some years earlier on an ascent I did with my friend Peter Thurston. Here it shows those magnificent face climbing pitches above the crack systems.
Credit: Nick Danger
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The last two pitches were back into cracks, but at a lower angle as we approached the upper dome. We were just cruising by now and ready for a water break on the summit. We topped out around noon, well ahead of any other parties on Fairview Dome that day. We had purposely traveled light and had only a liter of water apiece, which was quickly gone. After basking in the summit sun and soaking in the magnificent views for a half hour, our growing thirst drove us back down.

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The final two pitches were pretty casual and we raced to the top for a...
The final two pitches were pretty casual and we raced to the top for a water break.
Credit: Nick Danger
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Days in Tuolumne hardly get any better than this day had been. All of our days in Tuolumne had been wonderful, but this day had really been spectacular. During this road trip we had climbed Matterhorn Peak, Clyde Minaret, 3rd pillar of Mt Dana, and innumerable domes in Tuolumne. The following day we would venture out to Cathedral Peak, a perennial favorite for both of us. It would be fun and we would enjoy it, but we would be well and truly done. The miles of smiles had finally led us to a point of irreversible homeward-boundness.

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Nick Danger
About the Author
Nick Danger is a ice climber from Arvada, CO.

Comments
Studly

Trad climber
WA
  Feb 21, 2017 - 09:20am PT
and that is what its all about my friend. Thank you for that.
Nick Danger

Ice climber
Arvada, CO
Author's Reply  Feb 21, 2017 - 01:48pm PT
Kingtut,
John and I had been on Stately Pleasure the previous day, and the whole day kept repeating a line from a Frank Zappa song, "It's f#@king great to be alive folks, and if you don't think it's f#@king great to be alive then this is just going to bring you down".
Gnome Ofthe Diabase

climber
Out Of Bed
  Feb 21, 2017 - 02:22pm PT
Yhahhhhhhh!
So nice I read it twice,

all the way round & back again
if only oh, the if onlys. . .
phylp

Trad climber
Upland, CA
  Feb 21, 2017 - 05:45pm PT
One of these days I'll muster up enough desire to get up early enough to beat the crowds and do that route.
Thanks for the imagery of Tuolumne granite on a cool wet winter's day.
wstmrnclmr

Social climber
Air B&B Town, USA
  Feb 21, 2017 - 06:56pm PT
Nice blast from the past....."those magnificent face pitches"....is on Stately. Bolt Run.
Curt

climber
Gold Canyon, AZ
  Feb 21, 2017 - 06:47pm PT
Nice TR of a great route. The only more classic line on that rock (IMO) is Lucky Streaks.

Curt
Nick Danger

Ice climber
Arvada, CO
Author's Reply  Feb 22, 2017 - 06:52am PT
No doubt there is a lot of wonderful granite in the world. That being said, for me personally Tuolumne has always been a place of surpassing magic.
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