Trip Report
Tuolumne Meadows perfect while Yosemite finished up burning
Saturday September 20, 2014 11:21pm
[Click to View YouTube Video]California is essentially on fire right now, which is quite unfortunate cause it is not like we have a ton of water to throw on the damn things, but such is life and nature. Most widely known recently by the Little Yosemite Valley fire, and so Tuolumne was the place to be, last week. Seriously. Being that all California is on fire, and generally very smoky, the usual touron level up there was rather reduced. The climber concentration was extra high, most obviously on the classics, but it's not that hard to avoid feeling crowded, up there, regardless. Being that it was very windy, and due to the specific direction of the wind, it was such that there was hardly any smoke collecting. No rain on us any of the days topped it all off to be an incredible few days, and I got to see a few old friends as well, which made it even better.
First picture, which is out of order, is to set trip report cover photo.
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Credit: kaholatingtong
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Monkey Island. Chimpanzee first pitch easy peezy lemon squeezy.
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Beautiful rock here, what with all the green lichen and stuff.
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Badass gimps Inc. This guy has a 3D printed rib, unknown neurological issues, and still wants to drag his butt out to the base of crags to watch and chill and could hardly do so without losing consciousness. How badass is that?
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Cathy coming up the first pitch.
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The belay awaits, madam.
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We did not get any pictures unfortunately of the second pitch, which was a most exceptional treat of significantly more pure crack climbing than I expected, some barn-doorey, liebacking, knobby tenuousness, topped with an interesting mantel climax and a belay I had to clean like it had bed bugs trapped within and was located near my beduoac.
From a few weeks ago I had some unfinished business with this particular chunk of granite, commonly known as Tenaya peak
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So we arrived much earlier this time, and saw some stuff like this coming up.
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And this.
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Me coming up, finally feeling the sun.
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What a beautiful day it was. The entire route spilling out below me slowly like a beautiful undulating granite ramp leading to serenity.
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Cathy, as we neared the top, with basically the entire route unfolding below. How many of the four different roped parties we passed en route can you see?
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We made it on to the top to take some pictures.
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Little Yosemite Valley, behind Clouds Rest, with Half Dome, a good angle on the upper valley, and what was left of the 80% contained fires smoke lightly lingering.
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I was having a little trouble figuring out the selfie timer on my camera. Two seconds is, clearly, not enough.
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WERD.
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Ten seconds, is enough.
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We found this on the descent, teeth still intact. Kewl.
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One of the other days we climbed Black Widow. The view on top was adequate this day.
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We really wanted to climb South Crack, but when we arrived at the base to see a group of four euros storming the approach, we decided we were better off somewhere else with our three.
But damn, does climbing in three really give more great opportunities for pictures.
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Such a fun climb black widow was! But if you do it you have to climb the second pitch also.
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Not only was the green alien deployed on the second pitch of smeary-nobby featureless for the most part slab, but the pink tricam made an appearance!
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Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of all the places we climbed, or things we did, but I decided these were good enough to share. I may not hang around this place as often being that I am no longer on the mend and am rather enjoying using my young body while I can, so while I may be participating less, I can hopefully now contribute perhaps a little more.

Marcus McCoy

  Trip Report Views: 4,657
kaholatingtong
About the Author
kaholatingtong is a trad climber from Nevada City.

Comments
Sierra Ledge Rat

Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
  Sep 21, 2014 - 12:23am PT
SCHWEET!
Tenaya was one of my first climbs in Tuolomne, back in 1978.
Jaybro

Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
  Sep 21, 2014 - 02:38am PT
Oh yeah! Tfptsu!!
survival

Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
  Sep 21, 2014 - 02:50am PT
Really nice. We were in the same neighborhood at the same time.

As you say, Kewl....
redrocker

Trad climber
Strung out on heroin on the outskirts of town
  Sep 21, 2014 - 02:59am PT
Thumbs up!
Ezra Ellis

Trad climber
North wet, and Da souf
  Sep 21, 2014 - 04:07am PT
Kool!!
Always love the pink tricam ;)
Nice pics Bro!
kaholatingtong

Trad climber
The fake McCoy from nevernever land.
Author's Reply  Sep 21, 2014 - 07:00am PT
Thanks yall. I almost forgot the music. So nice to be able to keep editing, he he he.
Big Mike

Trad climber
BC
  Sep 21, 2014 - 07:16am PT
Sick report dude! Thanks!
Larry Nelson

Social climber
  Sep 21, 2014 - 07:37am PT
Definitely good enough to share. Work that young body and post when you can.
this just in

climber
Justin Ross from North Fork
  Sep 21, 2014 - 08:17am PT
Great pics Kahola and climbing??? Sh#t yeah .
kaholatingtong

Trad climber
The fake McCoy from nevernever land.
Author's Reply  Sep 21, 2014 - 04:55pm PT
[Click to View YouTube Video]
Shameless self bump justified with a mini TR from my 28th birthday trip.
Earlier this summer I got invited on a trip to climb Mt Sill. After hearing the dates involved in the trip, I realized that I could not only join, but manage to summit on my 28th birthday, which for me sounded very inviting. I have had kind of a twisted history of spending my birthdays in the wilderness suffering, not with a bunch of people doing something lame, so of course I went.
Mt Goode behind Horseshoe Rock Lake, I believe. Not Goode Early morning light lines on calm water On Bishop Pass looking back North Heading down into Ducy Basin where we left the trail Knapsack Pass looking back into lower Ducy Basin A local denizen of Knapsack Pass My marmotology is poor, but this is for bedding not eating, amIright? I know, winter is coming ... Meaning no disrespect to any ALS people or the ALS foundation fundraising in general : screw the ice bucket challenge, its all about the (A)lpine(L)ake(S)wim Challenge. And damn did this thing keep the beers nice and cold. Basecamp provided an excellent spot to watch the changing late day light on the west face of North Palisade and everything just north of it. The Emblem proper Unnamed peak in early light on summit day Polemonium Glacier, which is, I believe, the only Southish facing Glacier remaining in the Sierra Looking back down our chute. What a romp. Bill scrambling the slabs near the summit with East face of North Palisade in the background The upper chute was too much fun Clearly This is how to spend a birthday The crew on the summit The summit register. Who steals the real one? Really? I can understand environmental ethics, but there is a point when it becomes a dogmatic belief None of my summit pictures really did any justice to what I later found out Secor considers the most beautiful Sierra summit. In my limited experience, I would have to agree.
X marks the spot. This rock with the crazy X dikes, visible from both sides, really did mark what seemed to me to be the exact ideal spot to cross the ridge below "South Polemonium" None of the rest of my pictures really came out, but this is a worthy self bump if I do say so. Cheers.










Mungeclimber

Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
  Sep 21, 2014 - 04:08pm PT
woot
RyanD

climber
  Sep 21, 2014 - 05:14pm PT
Happy Bday dude! Rad TR, love that Tenaya summit!


Edit- did Tbolt to Sill on my bday 2 years ago, really true the palisades may be the best possible place to be on your bday :-)
kaholatingtong

Trad climber
The fake McCoy from nevernever land.
Author's Reply  Sep 21, 2014 - 07:11pm PT
Aww nice Ryan, that looks like a lot of fun. I wanted to do more, at least Polemonium or something, but that was for another trip. I am definitely going back there, sometime.
this just in

climber
Justin Ross from North Fork
  Sep 21, 2014 - 10:04pm PT
Damn, those early morning, calm, water, pics are amazing.
melski

Trad climber
bytheriver
  Sep 22, 2014 - 04:55pm PT
men in granite,,me in volcanic tuft,,,dreams can happen,,sierra stone has always been my love on the side,,thanks for keeping it pumped,,
Powder

Trad climber
the Box
  Nov 26, 2014 - 02:03am PT
BBST.

Bump for a perfect day. *^_^*

Here are a few photos of the author in action.






Norwegian

Trad climber
dancin on the tip of god's middle finger
  Nov 26, 2014 - 04:34am PT
i'm a train wreck of age as
the passing minutes
they crash one into the other;
there is a damn bottle neck
called death at the far
end horizon, it should be drivin;
pullin; but instead it's stopped,
stubborn and still.

so yesterday slams into today
which explodes into a toxic
tomorrow spill,
and life leaks out,
and nothing is pure or sacred.

but the reckless march
of mad moments slows
when i read exceptional
reports of adventure
like yours.

and the scenery flows
from life's tap
into my empty
pint-mind
and just
as i'm about to
take a greatful pull,
the f*#king moments
get all hasty again,
and tragedy ensues
and all the scenery
spills and once again,
i'm too damn sober on fear.

hey thanks for
spiking time's cocktail
with a dose of
your adventure.

Go