We slept up high in the forest, that night just ripping with stars. Got up in no rush and pulled up to the base of p1 at 9am.





Climbing in a team of three, something I hadn't done for years


Ankle still showing scrapes from last weekend. When I'm 80 (if I make it) all of these scars will be valuable to me.


Just as we arrive two teams of four are bailing after their second team's leader fell from p1, mid-height, and broke his ankle on a sloping ledge. Heal well, dude.

I don't mention it to my partners, but the penultimate time I was here I stepped over a large bloodstain on the granite and past a neatly coiled rope and stack of gear with blood all over them to start the climb.

Concussive blasts from Middle Cathedral as we rack up for the next pitch, and we see a herd of blocks stampeding down the North Butt route. They didn't seem too big, but thinking back they had some size, since we could see individual blocks. We couldn't have made out people from that distance I don't think - so they were what, car sized maybe? Fridge?

The atomized veils they left behind slowly drifted east as we peered up at El Cap's summit suspiciously.




Meanwhile our third was reaching the anchor, having a blast on p1


Here you can see what I'd guess was the ankle-breaking ledge


Runaway loop!


French lessons on p3






Back to free-grimpin'


Are you in the market for Link Cams? These await your liberation on p3


This was my favorite pitch of the day, the fourth. Good locks, good gear, good movement. You can't be prejudiced against pin scars if you want to like this climb.




Yosemite in March WILL make you smile






Another good pitch, the fifth, .10d C1. In this pic it looks like the leader should just reach up and start side pulling the Half Dollar. Not a bad strategy if your arm is like totally three pitches long, dude.




After this belay we switched into hurry-up mode and put the camera away. I peeled out of the Half Dollar twice while trying to get established. Both times I was yarding on a cam in a boxy pin scar when the cam pulled and sent me into the arms of physics. Third time I gave it the all-free effort and that worked, oddly. Man is that right wall slick at the entry move...

From Mammoth I stared over at the Salathé like a man on peyote.

Bottom floor, five raps away:


Fixed lines were in really good shape, 7 or 8/10, no core shots, no knots. We mostly rapped our own since we didn't know that.

Darkness caught us on top of Little John



Bonus photo: the gear we placed on the Sacherer Cracker one week before


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