I’m back from my second epic big wall climbing trip. This time Nathan, Gabe, and I hit up the climb known to be the most overhanging wall in North America. As crazy as that sounds, it’s a relatively easy route with many bolts and fixed pieces along the way. It’s rated C2F 5.7 and considered a 4-5 star climb. Check out the topo:
After driving up on Thursday, we found decent parking on the shoulder of the main road near Bridalveil Falls parking lot (since you are not allowed to park overnight in the lot :\ ). The approach itself was pretty straightforward, however, fairly steep involving some boulder hopping. It was pretty easily marked with cairns, although I still tried to get off the beaten track (lol) a couple times. Just look for the cairns, such as the cute miniature one I later made on Ahwahnee Ledge.
We shuttled 2x to the base of the climb and prepared for an early morning full day climb. That time arrived and, after making the traverse into the midway point of the tower / the official base, we were ready to start climbing.
Our climbing team took turns leading, cleaning, and jumaring the pitches. We also linked every two pitches and this method helped us finish in two days, rather than the typical three. Early Fri morning, Gabe started leading with me belaying and Nathan shuttling the rest of the gear from our sleeping area to the official start of the climb (which is a bit of an exposed traverse, but does come with a fixed line you should clip into).
Once Gabe reached the top of the second pitch, it was time for me the swing into jumar action…taking a big leap of faith and swinging out onto the haul line. Check out the video:
The screaming, cursing, and slight vertigo left me soon after the initial swing and I was ready to ascend 200ft up. Once at the top, Nathan let out the two pigs and cleaned the pitch. This is the zen shot:
Two more pitches full of fixed gear led us to the coveted ledges, Ahwahnee Ledge and Guano Ledge (sloped and stinky due to the birds and bats above).
At this point, the boys resorted to some double hauling, which made the hauling much more efficient.
This is a sweet picture I took while lying down on Ahwahnee Ledge.
Gabe and Nathan were at the anchors and fixed a line down from the top of pitch 6. Once that was done, they rappelled down to me for dinner and rest. There was another climbing duo behind us and all five of us ended up sleeping on the Ahwahnee Ledge…*very* tight quarters!!!
Of course, we took advantage of the ledge to stretch out as much as we could and do some yoga poses.
One the second day, we jumared up the fixed line. That’s Gabe getting his ascending on!
I then led pitches 7 and 8. Time pretty much escaped me and I didn’t realize it took me so long (it was my first lead on the route). Here I was making fun of the guys averaging a little over an hour per pitch and I ended up pushing that near two :\ However, my excuse was that these pitches barely had any fixed gear…requiring me to place a ton of pieces. For every three pieces I’d place, I back-cleaned two. In hindsight, I think spacing out the pieces more and back-cleaning just one piece would have made me a faster leader. One more tidbit…I absolutely love the Yates adjustable daisy straps! I have several non-adjustable daisies, which serve me fine but the adjustable straps provide a much more fluid aid climb. They were so much fun that I even overshot pitch 8 and headed into pitch 9, hehe. Realizing this, I finally stopped (also about to run out of rope). This was a great experience though and the leading really made my day.
But wait, that’s not all. Nathan continued to lead pitches 9 and 10 to top out at the summit ledge. He led over a sick roof and some super-exposed parts.
After Nathan anchored, I swung out to jumar up the haul line…this one was insane…probably a 3x bigger swing than the initial pendulum I did on day 1. What a ride though - you’ll love it (vertigo and all)!
We made it safely to the summit, dumped out our excess water and prepared for the eight rappels down as the sun was setting fast.
So that was fun but you may be wondering…any issues and tips? Of course! There were several things we could improve on:
- pack less food/water: we had way too much stuff, enough for at least three-four days and a ton of water (Gabe is a *reverse* camel)…we ended up only needing two days worth.
- pack less “non-essentials”: electric toothbrush, floss, metal spoons (use plastic), peanuts when Nathan is allergic to them, etc. etc.
- know the topo and don’t miss the anchor (that’s a note to myself since I lead pitch 7, 8, and some of 9 unintentionally, haha)
- don’t forget your aiders when you prepare to jumar up. Pitch 5 requires a small pendulum…Gabe realized he was too eager to clean the route that he forgot his step ladders and required them to be thrown over
- careful clipping the belay seat at anchors to avoid tangling it around/through your legs, daisies, and ropes
- big wall drops!? just a single carabiner and a jolly rancher (oh and the climbing duo who came up behind us dropped one of their nut tools :\ but they were able to recover by having the leader lower his down to the cleaner)
- for this climb, don’t pack a lower-out line for this climb…it’s so steep that you really don’t need it - just let the pigs fly!
- don’t even think about bailing…you really can’t - this climb is so overhanging, I can’t really imagine trying to rappel back!
- descending at night: be careful!!! During the rappel in the gully, it’s really easy to knock off loose rock. Gabe’s big pig knocked a sizable rock off, which almost hit Nathan…luckily he jumped back, dropping his pig about 50m down. We made it back in one piece but it sure was a little sketchy in the dark.
All-in-all, we had a great time as we cruised back to our car at an ungodly hour…classic Yosemite climber style! This is an ideal route for big wall climbers new and old (a classic). I’d highly recommend it! If you can, hit a hot tub after
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If you want to check out how the pros do this climb, I really love this video of the two uber-famous female climbers, Lynn Hill and Katie Brown doing Leaning Tower FREE. A true inspiration!
Tonight at the climbing gym, I made a new friend named Bryan. He’s been climbing for many years now and we got onto the topic of gear selection. My feet were tired after wearing my purposely tight climbing shoes so I had taken them off. Bryan suggested I might want to try the Five Ten Anasazi VCS Women’s Climbing Shoe, velcro model for easy on/off during bouldering sessions (he has the male version, the Five Ten Anasazi V2 (VCS) Men’s Climbing Shoe). That got me thinking…
Five Ten Anasazi Women's Climbing Shoe
A lot of climbing gear choice exists nowadays with some equipment made specifically for females (w00t!). Many climbers go through quite a bit of gear to find the perfect combination, which helps them perform at their best for any given climb. As I was getting into climbing, I tried to figure out just what worked well for me, being a newbie-intermediate female indoor/outdoor climber. Unfortunately, I didn’t know many female climbers who could provide me with some welcome recommendations.
Being a bit of a product junkie and having an openness to try new stuff, I’ve invested through several sets of essential climbing gear, naturally with a female focus. Here, I’d like to share and evangelize some of my great finds…the gear exists not only in my gear closet but on my body when I’m out there attacking the crux of any given climb :). I hope it helps all those females out there trying to find their geared-up climbing way and enable them to focus on the climbing fun. ps: I’m always looking for new stuff to try so please let me know what you recommend.
OMG Shoes!
I know it’s a little cliché but I have to start with (omg) shoes. I’m a big fan of having really comfortable, high-performance footwear and after a bit of trial and error, I decided that the La Sportiva line of shoes has just what I need (and, no, they do not sponsor me *sigh*). I should note that for climbing shoes, I’ve tried some Evolves too. Since the Evolves are made of synthetic material, they tend to trap ungodly foot odor much more than leather types (a big peeve of mine). Thus, the shoes I wear and swear by are:
Awesomeness Factor: I wear these shoes for just about all my outdoor (all types) and indoor (crack) climbing adventures. They are extremely comfortable and can be worn for extended hours as opposed to some of my other shoes. The Mythos is truly a high performance shoe that performs with precision.
Success Tidbit: I wore these on Yankee Clipper, a fairly long multi-pitch climb in El Potrero Chico, Mexico. After 12 pitches, I was still feeling pretty chipper. Another girl climbed up after me complaining relentlessly about her aching feet, where she had to take off her Evolve shoes (too tight/technical for the climb) almost every time she was belaying her partner…after that she was more than ready to get a pair of Mythos.
Awesomeness Tidbit: A very versatile technical shoe with a powerful toe box and padded heel makes this shoe the ones I like on trickier routes involving small foot holds. I don’t wear them for over an hour at a time since they are a little snug but they are work brilliantly during the climb.
Success Story: I wore these on my first ever 12a lead climb in the gym! I also used them projecting challenging boulder problems. I have never climbed so hard in any other shoe.
Awesomeness Tidbit: All-Around the best mountaineering boot on the market. They are ultra lightweight, need no ‘wear in’ time, and work perfectly as a dry mountaineering boot and ice mountaineering boot with /without crampons.
Success Story (or not): One day Gabe and I decided to try to hike Mt. Shasta in a day. We rented mountaineering boots at the local sports store. Those basic plastic boots did a decent job keeping me warm but my feet were completely soaked by the time I got near the top. It was getting late / windy after 13,000 feet up so we retreated and my feet were aching prunes by the time we got back to the car. One month later, I bought the Trango’s along with my own crampons and have been happily mountaineering ever since!
note: since they are a little pricey, I bought mine using my annual 20% off coupon from REI.
Evolve Update: I’m not entirely hating on other brands of climbing shoes such as the Evolves. I just bought the Evolve Talon Rock Climbing Shoe and am currently deciding if I like them…
Harnesses
After several short term relationships with various harnesses made by Black Diamond, Petzl, and Mammut, it has come down to just one.
Awesomeness Tidbit:What some may consider the Victoria Secret’s IPEX equivalent for harnesses! I recently bought this harness and have relinquished all my others. It moves perfectly with me and feels so feather-light invisible on. Yes, I’m still talking about the R280 harness and, trust me, there is no other comparison.
Success Story: I put all my other harnesses on craigslist. Arc’Teryx stuff: made in Canada = even more props!
Did I mention it pairs nicely with the Arc’Teryx C40 Chalk Bag? This bag has a built-in strap and chalk brush holder, which proves great for bouldering.
Arc'Teryx C40 Chalk Bag
What’s on the Harness?
For starters, get yourself a carabiner and belay device.
As far as carabiners go, I tend towards the self-locking kinds and like the ones that are color coded (red you’re dead), such as the Am’D Locking Carabiner - Screw Lock by Petzl.
In terms of belay devices, I use either an ATC or a Gri-Gri.
Awesomeness Tidbit: the ATC ( Air Traffic Controller) is a belaying device made by Black Diamond. Comes in handy when you want to rappel off a climb, etc. I.e. very useful as a belay and repelling device.
Awesomeness Tidbit: An auto-locking belay device made by Petzl. I use this more than my ATC since I always belay people that are bigger than I am and in case there are any crazy lead falls, I feel slightly better knowing/hoping the auto-lock kicks in. It’s very useful for belaying, especially on multi-pitch routes where you may need to belay from above or belay multiple people who are simulclimbing, or hauling the ‘big pig’.
ATC
GriGri
Sport Climbing: Once you have the basic gear and climbing technique down, you may want to start sport lead climbing. As such, you’ll probably want to get some quickdraws and a rope to start leading on sport routes. Quickdraws are pretty easy to come by but the main things is to make sure they have a good size opening for quick release and smooth clipping. I recommend the ones with the wire-gate closure on one side, which tend to be lighter and easier to clip with its flat shape, such as these
Traditional (Trad) Climbing: You may be into trad / traditional climbing too and if that’s the case, then you’ll want to begin by borrowing gear from friends so you learn how to place protection (cams, nuts, etc.). If you feel ready to make the trad climbing move, you’ll want to get a full rack (this is where the most expensive purchases will be made).
Here are some trad rack essentials (which you do NOT want to ever drop!):
There’s quite a bit more options such as Aliens, Offset nuts, Hooks, etc. and I’ll try to write more later on this as I get into buying them myself (currently in borrowing phase for special pieces).
Once you have the basic climbing down, you may want to start lead climbing with your own rope. I suggest getting a bicolor / bipattern rope for quick and easy identification of the midpoint of the rope without affecting rope quality or performance. Getting a rope in 10.2mm width and under is ideal since they do the job with less the bulk/weight. I have one from Beal and one from PMI. Compared to the single colored ropes out there, I found that these bi-pattern ropes, which change pattern midway, have enabled me to improve my climbing judgement and general rope management skills.My favorite rope brands are Sterling, New England, Beal and PMI. I have one from Beal and one from PMI, although my friends have often raved about Sterling and New England ropes (they are just a little more pricey).
Climbing Clothes
My favorite athletic brands are: Arc’Teryx (outerwear), prAna (tops/bottoms), Patagonia (base layer, underwear), lululemon (tops/bottoms, great for Yoga too), Marmot (outerwear), plus some BeBe Sport (workout suits, non-branded ones), The North Face (jackets), and Nike (bottoms/tops). Since everyone’s shaped differently, I suggest anything that fits you well in these select brands because they make quality, technical apparel without making you look too ‘plaid/khaki’ goofy.
If you ever climb with you, you’ll soon realize I love to snack all day. My snack variety ranges from the über athlete to the ultra junk food…here is a short list of the snacks I stash in my pockets and daypack:
Whenever we go on a weekend climbing jaunt, my friends and I always plan for at least one gourmet-style breakfast (think eggs, tomatoes, basil, English muffins, Canadian maple-flavoured bacon, Soy Chai and Yerba Mate). Of course, one the days when you just want to get going, try these Nature Valley bars with the yummy naturally flavored yogurt coating (blueberry and strawberry…mmm!).
These organic energy chews are irresistible…come to think of it, I crave one right now since you know, blogging is quite the workout But seriously, if you haven’t tried these, you don’t know what you’re missing. I love the cran-razz and strawberry flavors anytime and cola w/ caffeine when I wake up at 4am for one of those long multi-pitches!
I feel no shame in munching down a king size Snickers bar simply because it tastes incredible, especially after going through the standard assortment of nutritional bars. A major perk is that one king size Snickers provides just over 500 calories, which is actually perfect when you are on a multi-pitch climb and need energy fast!
Naturally, organic nuts, dried and fresh/juicy fruit go a long way. Fresh Fruits that work well on climbing trips include organic apples, pears, cherries, hard peaches, hard nectarines, and sometimes strawberries (but don’t try to pack these as they easily get smooshed).
Last weekend was spent in South Lake Tahoe with an international climbing/bouldering crew. My friends Wayne and Minji invited Gabe and I to a weekend of fun with their friends Daniel and Silvina (and mischievous son, Zen). How lucky were we to be climbing with such wonderful company? Since they were pros who have traveled the world in search for the perfect lines, I also picked up a few tricks and tips and enhanced my climbing inspiration.
We planned on climbing at the Eagle Lake Cliff by Emerald Bay on Saturday and then bouldering at Middle Bliss Boulders. If you haven’t picked up the South Lake Tahoe climbing and/or bouldering guides by SuperTopo, I’d highly recommend it.
Checking out the climbing guide, I’m sure you were quickly drawn into the aesthetic crack line photographed on the climbing cover: Space Walk (a 5* worthy 11c) known to be “the best crack in Tahoe”. Naturally, that was a weekend project. Once I made my way to the base of the flaring crack, I chalked up and began the ever-so-overhanging jaunt….
Turns out I was less than graceful and quickly learned what it meant to really finger/hand/foot jam into the most precarious crack. The little ‘helper’ crack to its immediate right helped muscle through along part of the way. I was definitely pumped and a little scratched up once I got to the top, but it was well worth it.
If you want to give it a try, here are the directions/beta to get you there:
On another note, I have fallen for crack climbing and the infamous lay back moves it warrants. I’ll write more on that soon.
Of course, the next day was fantastic too! Bouldering at Middle Bliss Boulders presented many hard problems including tough crimpers, thin slabs, and some big dynos. Here’s Wayne sending some V4/5, which we all agreed was a stiff rating.
PS: would love to check out Daniel & Silvina’s Bed & Breakfast for climbers in Cochamó and other recommended climbing areas in Argentina soon. When I finally make it down there, I wonder what kinds of climbs Zen will be sending!?
My life took a fateful turn when I moved from Canada to San Francisco. I was introduced to a one-season climate and wonderful friends who knew how to take advantage of it by being on the sharp end. It was refreshing, challenging and invited me for more.
I began traveling to the local climbing gym, Mission Cliffs, as a guest with my friends on numerous occasions and then got an intro 10 pass. Finally, on March 24, 2007 I made a commitment. I signed up for a climbing membership and joined friends in on some very memorable climbing trips to Tahoe and Yosemite.
Not long after, we were hitting up some international venues including Squamish, BC and El Potrero Chico, MX. The time had come to establish some goals as any athlete would naturally do. That being said, 1 year later I redpointed a 12a on TR at the gym - w00t!
My skillful partner Gabe and I have been enjoying a Summer of Height (& Madness)…a series of weekend projects, which will train us for some of our more elaborate schemes on El Capitan
Please join me in this journey as I meet wonderful people, climb beautiful routes, and grow as a person (who, of course, happens to climb).
, velcro model for easy on/off during bouldering sessions (he has the male version, the 
). That got me thinking…
? This bag has a built-in strap and chalk brush holder, which proves great for bouldering.
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or the even lighter 
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and/or 
guides by SuperTopo, I’d highly recommend it.
