(Dan climbs up the 5.6 "fun-flakes" right after the 5.9)
It seemed we were the only ones awake at 4:30 on this chilly Saturday morning, May 8, 1999, in Yosemite's infamous Camp 4. Too dark for breakfast, a Brit named Dan Doble and I jumped right into the car and drove to the Cathedral Rock turnout. The gear was pre-packed in Berkeley, and we proceeded directly to the base of the climb named East Buttress of Middle Cathedral Rock, reaching the bottom after a short but intense hike. By 6:10, as the sky was showing signs of a sunrise, I began led the first pitch of the eleven pitch climb.
Why that early? Very good reasons... My worst fear for this overwhelmingly long and difficult climb was not having enough time to finish (this would be my longest climb yet, and is at my leading limit). The "walk" off the climb is not an easy one; a Yosemite Search and Rescue friend warned me that many parties have spent unplanned (and unpleasant) nights on top of the climb. Temperatures at night drop to near zero degrees at this time of year, and the idea of freezing for 8 hours while waiting for the sun does not appeal to me. To ensure we finish before dark, we had all odds in our favour: a promise of perfect weather, extra light load (only one rope), an early start, healthy well-fed bodies, and a wealth of information about the climb and descent. However, choosing to bring one rope precluded the possibility of escaping the climb by rappelling in case of problems (ex. rain) -- we were committed to finishing the climb and descending by the hike. A secondary reason was that this climb is quite popular, since for good reason, it is listed as a 50 North American Classic Climbs. We wanted to avoid the crowds, not have to wait for people, and finally avoid having people above dropping rocks on us.
I linked the first two pitches (5.3, 5.8) with the 60m rope. Dan made swift progress leading up pitches 3 and 4 (sustained 5.7), while I belayed from the "ant-tree" and watched the sunrise illuminate El Cap; soon, we were also engulfed in the warm sun making for a pleasant 60m of climbing nice corners and strenuous lay-back. I really enjoyed the fifth pitch. It began with a bolt-ladder, which I sprinted through by pulling myself up on the bolts, 1 m apart. Much easier than expected! A very fascinating short 5.9 corner loomed overhead after a couple of traverse moves. I had mentally prepared for this section for several days. A quick rest on my gear in the corner, and I was off over the tiny roof that had a terrific undercling, and onto easier ground which had me laughing while at the same time still feeling the adrenaline from the difficult moves below.
(Dan climbs up the 5.6 "fun-flakes" right after the 5.9)
By this time, we were fairly high above the valley floor, close to 150 m of vertical from the bottom of the climb and maybe 200 m more to the valley floor. The scenery was absolutely magnificent. El Cap was in full sight, as were both the Higher and Lower Cathedral Spires, and seemingly far below were climbs Nutcracker and After Six. The higher spire in particular captivated my attention while I day-dreamed of a second attempt of the regular route with Eric C.
(Higher and Lower Cathedral Spires)
My thoughts were briefly interrupted for a photograph of my partner finishing the 5.9 section, and again as he quickly passed me to lead the sketchy traverse pitch (5.7) towards the Chouinard variation (most popular one).
(Dan leading the sketchy 5.7 traverse pitch)
We felt we were climbing quickly and efficiently, between 40 minutes to one hour per pitch. The next pitch Dan led, and unknowingly passed the suggested belay pedestal, and continued up the 5.7 crack. He noticed some fixed slings close to 10 m left, and assuming that was the proper belay, he left the humongous crack to venture on the unprotectable slab. To his dismay, there was only one piton there! After what felt like eternity to me (there were now all of a sudden two parties at the ledge with me), Dan stretched the 60 m rope to reach a tiny crack and finally set up a belay. After some minor complications with the other parties, I climbed up to Dan, retrieved the lead gear, returned to the main crack, and lead up more strenuous crack. Thanks to Dan's extra-long pitch, I was able to skip a belay point and continue to finish the book's pitch 9. In effect, we did 3 pitches in 2 near 60 m pitches.
(Dan coming up pitch 9)
The next lead was pre-assigned to be mine, a 60 m of VERY sustained 5.8, and I placed ample gear since I was getting quite tired by then. It was strenuous, long, exciting, and the most difficult pitch in my opinion, but fortunately it went without a problem. At the belay, again, I noticed the extraordinary scenery -- how fortunate I am to be able to climb in a place like this!
(Dan coming up the sustained 5.8 pitch)
The final pitch was a 5.6 gully which Dan found difficult to lead, and I climbed it with my back leaning on the wall. What fun! We reached the top of the climb, which is half-way up Middle Cathedral Rock, at 2 pm.
Unroped, we took in the breathtaking scenery and scrambled up 100 m or so up to the Kat walk traverse, which meanders left across Middle Cathedral Rock, eventually reaching the gully between it and Higher Cathedral Rock. I could fully appreciate why a party would prefer to shiver in place at night rather than attempt the hike: a wrong step anywhere leads one onto exposed ledges where false footing could lead to certain death falls! With plenty of daylight, the descent was straight forward until we reached the partially snow-filled gully. Three rappels were necessary, and we did them in the company of another party. We finally reached the car at 6 pm, exhausted and extremely overjoyed to have returned safely, having done the climb quickly enough. A warm congratulatory hand-shake was in order for the outstanding day. Definitely the best climb I've ever done, and would love to do it again via the original route (chimney).
(Dan rapelling down the snow-filled gully)
Throughout that day, the view on Royal Arches inspired us to consider climbing its regular route on Sunday. The thrill of today's multi-pitch climb convinced us that we should force our bodies to awake at 5 am and climb this classic Royal Robbin's 15 pitch route. This climb featured easier climbing (up to 5.7) and even included a small water cascade crossing.
(Extra time to check out the scenery - Yosemite falls)
Again at 6:10 the next day, I was leading up the first pitch, a short 5.6 chimney, where my camel-back's nipple fell off and I lost 1 L over water, leaving me with only 1 L for the day. Some scrambling and easy climbing brought us to a large terrace where several pitches of 5.5 and 5.6 awaited us. We made swift progress, and reached the 5.9/pendulum in 2.5 pitches. We had a great time swinging on the rope provided to reach the ledge we were to traverse. Next to us was a water cascade, which had scared off a few parties ahead of us on my first attempt two weeks prior (we were rained off). We were prepared for adventure: I led across, water running by my feet, hand jams in the water, submerged cam placements! Terrific fun... The next pitch was a 5.7 flake, which I laybacked and jammed, eventually reaching a tree and tree climbing for about 4 m. Belaying the following 5.6 pitch, I had an awesome view of the arches, with water pouring over. Absolutely gorgeous! A couple more pitches of easy traverse and we were at the top of pitch 14 with a bolt anchor. My guide book indicated the rappel route for descending was at the end of pitch 16, so we continued, and spent about 3-4 hours looking for the descent, going up, down, left, right, scratching our heads constantly, eventually to find a rappel point on a tree, and realizing that the real route was at the bolts we had passed hours ago! I lowered down 55 m barely reaching the third rappel anchor. We were very relieved to be on route, and the descent was smooth sailing. We did short single rope rappels to avoid rope snags (below the 3rd rap, only one rope is necessary; before that, I don't know). After many rappels (> 10), we reached the ground at 8:20 pm, just in time before darkness fell. We had climbed from dawn to dusk! What a day!
(Nice view the entire day on Glacier Point Apron)
By the end, our bodies were absolutely exhausted. We picked up our friend Kelly at Camp 4 and drove from one Yosemite Valley city Pizza joint to another, looking for some much craved beer and food. A pitcher of Guinness rehydrated us, and we were off to Berkeley, making in home in a three hour drive.
Fabulous weekend. I'm glad my parents are visiting this coming weekend, as it will give my body a chance to rest for two weeks.