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.