We left Oakland in the morning and drove into Yosemite National Park around 2:30pm. The valley was amazing! I was impressed with the size of rock and the natural beauty. Although my preconceived notion of large rocks was about to be shattered...
There are no words for me to describe El Capitan. This wall is such an amazing natural wonder. Granite towering 3,000 feet over your head is quite intimidating. I kept searching for climbers on the wall for a better sense of scale. (We'll get back to this.)
Since there wasn't much time before sunset we quickly set up our tent at Camp 4 and headed to a nearby climb.
Ryan started up Bishop's Terrace while I fumbled with my camera only letting go of the rope occasionally for a good snapshot.
Here we are secured at the first belay station. There was not much comfort involved here as it consisted of a 1"x8" ledge.
Here is the "ledge". I leaned into the rock as best I could and whinced at the pain from my too tight sport climbing shoes while Ryan started up the second pitch.
Yosemite is famous for crack climbing. Kevin is not. Ryan made easy work of this 5.7 climb and although I didn't make it look too simple I never felt close to peeling off the rock.
At the top, we had a decent view of Half Dome in the distance. I studied my fingers and knuckles, longing for a nice bowl of Palmolive. (Haven't seen one of their commercials forever? Are they still around?)
Leaning out I could look down to the bottom (well, the tops of the trees at the bottom). The decent is a double rope repel and you have about two feet to spare once you are at the bottom.
Back on the ground we made our way back to Camp 4, stopping to catch the sunset-lit Half Dome. Every time I turned around up here I saw another gimungous rock face glaring down on me.
Ryan cooked a great meal by headlamp while I started the fire and cracked some beers. I am no stranger to camping although it has not been on my agenda very much recently. But it's kinda like riding a bike; except for the bear boxes which, were I a hungry bear, my meal would've been delayed while I figure the cantraption out...
If you keep any food (or food smelling-like articles) in your car you are bound to have your car doors ripped off. Just a couple of nights prior to our arrival the ranger was telling us that somebody's car got totalled by some hungry bears. I guess during pre-hibernation time no flimsy Jetta trunk is gonna stand in their way. I'm glad I didn't go to sleep with that Snickers wrapper in my pocket.
Morning came with a chill. I think it reached a balmy 17 degrees in the middle of the night. We hit the road early, swinging by El Cap to look for climbers. Again, none that I could spot.
A self-timer shot from a rock shows me and Ryan with today's goal in the background. Cathedral Peak is a nice 6 pitch 5.6-5.7 jaunt to a 10,900 ft peak high above the Tuolumne valley below.
A few feet of many for Ryan. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. And much to our surprise this usually packed climb was empty.
I'm enjoying the serenity at the first belay station while Ryan pauses to snap a shot.
I feel like I'm slowly gaining some familiarity with this rock. My hands and feet aren't too happy about cramming into small cracks time and time again but I feel like I'm improving my crack skills.
Somewhere around the 3rd or 4th belay station we had a little lunch. The sun kept us warm on this side of the rock.
Ryan, lunching. I take pride in leaving every climb cleaner than when I arrived. I picked up a small Starburst wrapper that had wedged itself between two rocks. Is this good karma? Does it matter in the grand scheme of things? Either way, I sure would have liked those Starburst to still be in the wrapper.
The last stop before the top. As you can see, it's a bit steeper than the first pitch. Which makes the 800 feet of exposure that much more fun. But, again, I never felt out of my comfort zone and didn't ever think I was close to peeling.
So close!
At the very peak of Cathedral Peak. Really, I am more comfortable there than I look. The views were magnificent. I'll try to stitch together the 360 degree view and put it here.
The next task was Eichorn's Pinnacle. This little spire is just off the back of the Cathedral Peak summit. Not as high but a fun and picturesque endeavor, as you can see.
Atop this little peak, there is a metal box with some notepads in it for documenting your ascent. I summoned enough strength in my tired and freezing fingers (it had gotten very cold and windy on the backside of Cathedral Peak without the sun) to write:
Kevin Rothrock, Seattle
Ryan Ernst, San Francisco
Oct. 26, 2006. A cold summit after a warm and cozy climb up Cathedral Peak. Two orders of hot chocolate, please.
From this view, you can see the exposure down the south face of Cathedral Peak and what it is like on three sides of Eichorn. Not death-defying stuff, but still way the crap up there.
What goes up, must come down. A nice single rope repel off the top and then a third class scramble down to the main trail to loop us back around to the car.
Looking back up at our day's accomplishment. All in all, not a bad way to spend a day.
Okay, I've teased you enough about El Cap and the immenseness of it. Here we are in front of El Cap again. This time we were able to spot some climbing parties. There are many routes up El Cap. Perhaps the most intimidating is The Nose. I found it interesting (but completely understandable) that most routes on El Cap are "aid" routes. In that you need artificial climbing aids to help you climb. "Free" climbing is the term for climbing using only your fingers, feet and chalk bag (you can still rely on gear for fall protection). Anyway, The Nose was first climbed "free" by Lynn Hill in '94. The majority of climbers still use aid on most El Cap routes. Can you see any climbers?
I zoomed in the best my little camera would do and then blew up the resolution. You can make out a pair of climbers on their gear getting ready for the day's climb. I can't think of how to compare these insane athletes to anything I am familiar with. It is just insane. I am much more impressed (freaked out?) by the prospect of someone taking on the challenge of free climbing this monstrous wall than using aid. However, considering there aren't too many capable of accomplishing this feat (maybe a few dozen people and a couple of lizard species) I still am able to be humbled by any attempt up this rock face.
Here is the original photo highlighting the group. There are actually two other groups on the wall. The scale of El Cap is just ridiculous. 4-5 days of intense climbing to reach the top. If you are wondering, as I did, how you use the bathroom while slung to a vertical rock face 2,000 or so feet in the air the answer is: "poop tube".
The next morning we got a decent start, getting a cup of coffee, some greasy breakfasty sandwiches and starting up Nutcracker a little after 9. This is also a very popular climb, as we found out just a couple of minutes later.
This is mainly a typical Yosemite crack climb of about 5 pitches and rated at 5.8, although we did a 5.9 variation (and what I felt was a 5.10 "traverse" to get back on route).
Here I am on the third pitch. Cracks are still my nemesis and there were a few instances where I was definitely out of my comfort zone. The crux move of the climb is known as an "ankle breaker", since many climbers crash their ankle against the rock when they fall on this somewhat overhung move. (This happens to lead climbers, when you are belayed from above this is not common).
Nonetheless, I was ecstatic to have made it to the top (just in time for lunch) without ever falling. Despite less picturesque photos (although this one is kinda sexy), this climb gave me a bigger sense of accomplishment. Not to mention that my fingers, arms, feet were all worse for wear from the previous two days of climbing.
One last shot of the sunset of Half Dome on the way out. This shot has not been messed with at all, the rock really was that pink. Until next year!
