The Needles

Greetings, friends. Last time I wrote we were getting ready to say goodbye to Yosemite. After a rest day, for our last day of climbing in the Valley, we both tackled some harder lines that we had been eyeing for a few days.

Thomas on a steep, sandbagged, and inappropriately named 11b at the Cookie Cliff

Moby Dick (10a) at the base of El Cap

Happy with our efforts and having maxed out the time limits for camping in the Valley we were ready to move on to the Needles. We had been talking for days about the drive that would take us through Bishop, California. Other than its proximity to lots of good climbing, there is one reason to visit the town of Bishop itself--the bakery. I had been scheming about what I would get there for days so when Google maps suggested an alternate route to the Needles that would save us about an hour but not take us through Bishop, I had some internal struggle as to whether I should even mention this fact to Thomas. Fortunately, we were on the same page. One extra hour for a wonderland of carbohydrates? Totally worth it!

Appropriately stocked with bread and donuts, we headed for the Needles, where the sign told us we were in the right place. For our chosen pasttime, finding the "end of the road" is typically a good thing.

The quiet of the Needles was a welcome change from the Disneyland-like atmosphere of Yosemite Valley. For those of you who have never been to the Needles, I could not recommend the place more highly. After a week there, with the opportunity to sample a good bit of climbing, the place is definitely in my "top five" and there are plenty of good climbs to justify a return visit.

A three mile hike from the campground gets you out to the Needles proper, where a beautiful landscape of steep granite covered in brilliant yellow lichen awaits. There is an intimidating and mysterious air about the place. To reflect this, climbers who developed the area have given the various formations befitting names such as the Sorcerer, the Charlatan, and the Wizard.

Since Thomas had been to the Needles before, he was appointed tour guide. And so, for my first climb at the Needles, selected the Pit and the Pendulum which culminates in a 5.10+ offwidth pitch. Perfect.

Fortunately, we'd put in our time on wide cracks in Yosemite and had our technique dialed. Thomas climbed up; I pulled through the crux on the gear that he placed.

The next day, I had the opportunity to lead my first climb at the Needles--Igor Unchained (5.9).

The climb follows the crack system to the sky, and after a few days observing, we decided that it sees about 90 percent of the traffic at the Needles. But, all the attention is certainly justified. What a great line.

The good climbing here is too numerous to list, but we spent our first four days climbing loads of good 5.9 and 5.10. Most of the climbs are two or three pitches and most of these pitches are LONG.

Thomas on Fancy Free (5.10)

Me leading the uber-fun second pitch of Spooky (5.9)

Thomas on Love Potion #9 (5.10a)

It is truly a beautiful area with beautiful climbing and a week was the perfect amount of time to spend there. It gave us a chance to really settle into the rhythm of the place.

Once again, we each had our eye on a line that would be challenging for us and we tackled these at the end of our week of climbing there, after we felt accustomed to the place.

Thomas on the Don Juan Wall (11b)

Thin Ice (10b)

Two beautiful lines that provided a perfect end to our time at the Needles--following splitter crack systems straight up to the summit. What more could a climber ask for? (Other than perfect summits in a remote setting, of course.)

We are headed north again, and hope to spend our remaining time doing some things in the backcountry, depending on how much snow has melted off in the mountains. Stay tuned!

Yosemite Wrap-up

Well, our time in Yosemite is drawing to a close. Two weeks have gone by quickly and we have exhausted the camping limitations imposed by the powers-that-be. As good as the climbing here has been, it will be nice to get away from the crowds and to a place more remote.

We spent the majority of the first part of our time here climbing on the Cathedral Rocks--Higher and Lower Cathedral Spire, and Higher, Lower and Middle Cathedral Rocks--we hit them all.

Higher and Lower Cathedral Rocks, seen from across the Valley

Since we'd been spending a good amount of time on long routes, we decided that a couple days of cragging and trying some harder things was in order. The Cookie Cliff is an area known for hard crack climbing that gave Thomas a chance to try some harder things and me a chance to toprope all the climbs he put up!

Warming up on Outer Limits (10b)

Thomas led the sustained pitches of Catchy (10d) and Catchy Corner (11a), and then we finished the day on a fun 3 pitch 5.9 called the Right Side of the Cookie. In the picture above, Thomas is leading the unprotected 5.8 chimney. Classic! Every climb in Yosemite seems to include at least a bit of wide crack climbing, just to keep you honest. (For my non-climbing friends, wide cracks are hard. Once a crack is wider than the size of your fist, your only real option is to jam as much of your body as will fit into the crack. Downside: progress is slow and difficult. Upside: you're unlikely to unexpectedly fall out.)

We spent the next day cragging at the base of El Cap. There are a number of shorter climbs here and you can climb at the base of this giant rock and spend all day looking up and deluding yourself that "it's really not that big; I could totally climb that." We started the day on a fun, 3 pitch 5.8 called Little John, Right, and then finished the day with a few single-pitch lines.

Starting up Little John, with the bulk of El Cap looming above

After a couple days of cragging it was time for another longer route. Neither Thomas nor I had been to Glacier Point Apron, which is known for slab/friction climbing, so we decided to spend Sunday checking the area out.

We started the day on an incredibly fun two-pitch 5.8 called Harry Daley while waiting for the crowds to clear on our main objective for the day.

Starting up Harry Daley

Our primary objective was a 7-pitch line up Goodrich Pinnacle (5.9R). The first few pitches followed crack systems, the kind of climbing we've been accustomed to over the past couple of weeks. However, midway through the fourth pitch the crack systems end and it becomes a pure slab/friction climb. (For my non-climber friends this means that the holds for your hands, essentially run out. Although the angle of the rock is not very steep, you really have to trust your feet and rely on the friction and careful placement of your feet, rather than pulling yourself up by your arms.)

Saying goodbye to the last crack system on Goodrich Pinnacle

This pitch is only rated 5.8 but it afforded one of those moments that reminds me why I climb. A few feet above the end of the crack/flake system that I had been following there was a bolt for the last bit of protection. Above that, there seemed to be a good distance of pure friction climbing in a rising traverse to the next flake system, which I knew would offer actual handholds and the next opportunity for protection. After clipping the bolt, I wavered for a minute. It would have been so easy to lower off that bolt and let Thomas take over the lead. But, I knew that it was well within my abilities, if I just stayed calm and focused.

There is an interesting paradox in trad climbing--when you are faced with potentially unpleasant consequences for failing to execute a particular series of movements correctly, your ability to successfully navigate through the difficulties is directly proportional to your ability to relax, execute the movements confidently, and not allow the potential adverse consequences to drain attention and focus from what the climbing requires you to do. Don't think about the fall and you are significantly more likely to make it through the difficulties without taking that fall. Even though I know this in my mind, it's still hard to execute. But for me, it happened yesterday on that pitch. I controlled my thoughts, I focused on the rock, I placed each foot precisely, I measured my breaths, and I came through successfully. Even though, to most experienced climbers, the difficulties were modest and trivial and would not merit a second thought, to me it was a beautiful thing. It just felt great.

But enough about that, it wasn't even the crux of the route--which I made Thomas lead:

Just another day in paradise! One more day of climbing on the steep granite here and then we leave for the Needles, a place I have been hoping to visit for several years now.

Yosemite!

Greetings, dear and faithful readers. Yes, I still have a blog. Apparently, the long-suffering folks at blogger.com will let you keep your blog, even if you haven't posted in 15 months. It has been a long time, and I am back on the road. As this provides more interesting fodder for blogging, I figured I would start posting up again.

Thomas and I just recently set off for five weeks in California. The first stop is Yosemite National Park. We loaded up the clown car and hit the road!
Approximately 30 hours of driving later, after taking turns driving and sleeping (uncomfortably) in the passenger seat, we arrived for a brief stop in Flagstaff, Arizona. We had the chance to spend the night there and catch up with great friends, Cris and Dave, have lunch with Mom and Dad, and briefly sample the bouldering at Priest Draw.

The original plan was to spend a few days in Flagstaff, but the high temperatures and the proximity to Yosemite Valley were luring us onward. We decided to press on and get ourselves established in the Valley before the Fourth of July hullabaloo kicked into high gear. This proved to be a good call. What a zoo! We arrived in the Valley in the wee hours of the morning and I immediately jumped in line for a spot at Camp 4, the historic climber campground and the only campground in the Valley for walk-ins.

We managed to get a spot and, due to a combination of sleepiness and uncooperative weather, spent the next couple of days cragging and enjoying a nice walk up to Yosemite Falls.

After a time of resting and catching up on sleep, we decided our first long route would be Higher Cathedral Spire, which just happens to be the highest free-standing pinnacle in North America, woo hoo.

The rock on the route is uncharacteristically bad by Yosemite standards, but the historical value of the route and the awesome summit, made it absolutely worth the effort:

Evidence of climbers past. Not to worry, Mom, we didn't have to rely on these for protection.

A great first summit and welcome back to the Valley!

Our climb on Higher Cathedral Spire, afforded great views of a line on neighboring Higher Cathedral Rock which we set as our objective for the next day--Braille Book, a 700' 5.8. The climb followed a wide crack in an open book corner system and proved to be great fun.

Thomas led us through a fun 5.10 hand crack and stemming variation that added to the quality of the route:

Because the Cathedral Rocks were treating us so well, we decided the next day's objective would be South by Southwest (11a) on Lower Cathedral Spire.

The route involved a LONG approach, made longer by our failure to carefully read the guidebook's approach instructions and instead "following our intuition" to the wrong side of the formation. There was also a lot of jumbly climbing required to reach the "money pitch," which involved a fun and powerful finger crack sequence followed by a long and sustained hand crack in a corner.

Once again, the summit was worth all the effort and simply awesome:

For Independence Day, we opted for a route that was likely to see less traffic and help us avoid the crowds. We settled on the Kor-Beck route (5.9) on Middle Cathedral Rock. We were sold on this route after reading the guidebook's introductory statement: "slightly awkward and technical in that classic Yosemite way." Bring it!

The climb lived up to its billing and 600 feet of wide crack climbing later, we were tired out. Climbing wide cracks is hard work!

Yosemite is amazing, and sometimes I need to remind myself of that when I get caught up in the mess of the crowds and the often Disneyland-esque atmosphere of the place on the Valley floor. As a climber, this place is full of history and the opportunity to test oneself against the feats of the greats of the past. So far, in all honesty, I have been disappointed in my own efforts as I have struggled to settle into that comfortable mental state that comes from climbing lots of rock and being comfortable in one's abilities. Fortunately, there's plenty of time and an abundance of rock to continue to seek out that "flow" that makes climbing such a unique and unparalleled experience.