Y OSEMITE BIG Second Edition WALLS Chris McNamara Erik Sloan The Definitive Guide To Yosemite Big Wall Climbing 15 New Routes! Y OSEMITE Yosemite Big Walls Second Edition By Chris McNamara and Erik Sloan 5 FOR CURRENT ROUTE INFORMATION, VISIT SUPERTOPO.COM Contents Introduction 15 The Players 178 Drive times 15 Staying Alive 192 Monthly precipitation 16 By John Dill Climber Impacts 18 Mystery of Two Icy Deaths 194 By Mark Fincher By Tyson Hausdoerffer Taking Care of Lessons of a Fatal Plunge 198 The Big Stone 23 By Tyson Hausdoerffer By Steve Grossman Appendix Aid Climbing Ratings 24 Wall tips 202 Free Climbing Ratings 26 Big wall cuisine 203 Suggested reading list 204 Cam Sizes by Brand 28 Route Index 206 Understanding the Maps 29 About the Authors 207 More from SuperTopo 208 Camp 4: Ground Zero for American Wall Climbing 30 Yosemite Overview Map 32 SuperTopos Ribbon Falls 34 El Capitan 40 Lost Arrow Spire 126 Washington Column 132 Mt. Watkins 150 Half Dome 154 Liberty Cap 164 Leaning Tower 168 7 FOR CURRENT ROUTE INFORMATION, VISIT SUPERTOPO.COM Warning Climbing is an inherently dangerous sport in which severe injuries or death may occur. Relying on the information in this book may increase the danger. When climbing you can only rely on your skill, training, experience, and conditioning. If you have any doubts as to your ability to safely climb any route in this guide, do not try it. This book is neither a professional climbing instructor nor a substitute for one. It is not an instructional book. Do not use it as one. It contains information that is nothing more than a compilation of opinions about climbing the Big Walls in Yosemite Valley. Those opinions are neither facts nor promises. Treat the information as one man’s opinions and nothing more. Do not substitute these opinions for your own common sense and experience. Assumption of Risk There may be errors in this book resulting from the inadvertent mistakes of the authors and/or the people with whom he consulted. The information was gathered from a variety of sources, which may not have been independently verified. Those who provided the information may have made mistakes in their descriptions. The authors may have made mistakes in his conveyance of the information in this book. He cannot, therefore, guarantee the correctness of any of the information contained in the book. This book was published by the author. No independent publisher checked the contents. The topographical maps, the photo-diagrams, the difficulty ratings, the protection ratings, the approach and/or descent information, the suggestions about equipment and other matters may be incorrect or misleading. Fixed protection may not be where indicated, may be absent, or may be unreliable. You must keep in mind that the information in this book may be erroneous and use your own judgment when choosing, approaching, climbing, or descending from a route described in this book. DO NOT USE THIS BOOK UNLESS YOU ASSUME THE RISK OF ITS ERRORS OF REPORTAGE OR OF JUDGMENT AND OF ITS OTHER DEFECTS. Disclaimer of Warranties THE AUTHORS AND PUBLISHER WARNS THAT THIS BOOK CONTAINS ONLY THE AUTHOR’S OPINION ON THE SUBJECTS DISCUSSED. HE MAKES NO OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR PURPOSE, OR OTHERWISE, AND IN ANY EVENT, HIS LIABILITY FOR BREACH OF ANY WARRANTY OR CONTRACT WITH RESPECT TO THE CONTENT OF THIS BOOK IS LIMITED TO THE PURCHASE PRICE OF THE BOOK. HE FURTHER LIMITS TO SUCH PURCHASE PRICE HIS LIABILITY ON ACCOUNT OF ANY KIND OF NEGLIGENT BEHAVIOR WHATSOEVER ON HIS PART WITH RESPECT TO THE CONTENTS OF THIS BOOK. 8 YOSEMITE BIG WALLS SUPERTOPOS Preface the big names in climbing history. The new first ascent histories (and first free ascent histories) in this book reflect the enjoyment Erik and I got from getting the likes of Layton Kor or Jim Bridwell on the phone and reliving the first ascents. On a sad note, many of the people we wanted to call again after writing the first book had passed on. Warren Harding, Chuck Pratt, and Galen Rowell, although no longer with The goal of this book is simple: create the best us physically, continue to inspire through the TYosemite big walls topos and combine them stories presented here and elsewhere. with inspiring photos and first ascent stories. This is an ongoing project, and we want new Since 1999, the stack of first edition Yosemite ideas and corrections for the next book. Please Big Walls has been stored in my parents’ garage send me an email. What do you like? What can near San Francisco. It started the size of a small be improved? car, shrunk to the size of a portaledge, and then Hope to see you up on the Big Stone! to a haulbag. When the once 5,000-pound mass reached the size of a cragging pack, I realized I would have to stop admiring the shrinking pile, get off my butt, and write another book. I wasn’t up for writing the new edition of Chris McNamara Big Walls alone. My climbing interests, once E-mail: [email protected] singularly dominated by El Cap, now extend to other Sierra Nevada areas and beyond. Luckily for me and you, Erik Sloan joined the project. Erik, a longtime friend and climbing partner, has climbed El Cap dozens of times. Erik not only climbed, topoed, and replaced bolts on most of the new routes in the book, he also wrote and edited much of the new first ascent info. Tom Frost greatly influenced the first edition by encouraging me to include first ascent histories and classic photos. He inspired the Players section, which is bigger and more comprehensive in this edition. Tom also suggested topos for more moderate big walls. The inclusion of Liberty Cap, Mt. Watkins, Mideast Crisis, Gold Wall, and Lost Arrow Spire give more C1 and C2 wall climbing options. Of course, we couldn’t resist throwing in more El Cap routes. Included in this book are the semi-obscure classics Never Never Land, Magic Mushroom, Son of Heart, Aquarian Wall, and the West Buttress. As with the first edition, one of the best parts of writing the second book was interviewing Half Dome at sunset. Photo by David Safanda David by Photo sunset. at Dome Half 12 YOSEMITE BIG WALLS SUPERTOPOS MISSION SuperTopo Mission • Help climbers ascend and descend routes quickly, efficiently, and safely by creating the most accurate and informative climbing topos ever published. • Capture the mystery, adventure, and humor of climbing by publishing the histories, anecdotes, and outrageous stories of each route. • Promote clean climbing by publishing the most up-to-date rack info as well as hammerless ratings for each pitch. • Stress the importance of low-impact climbing and promote stewardship of the environment. Visit www.SuperTopo.com Before Each Climb There is much more beta available for free on the SuperTopo web site: www.supertopo.com. This information may be more current than the beta available here. The web site offers additional free beta for each climb: • photo galleries • trip reports • route condition updates • closures and rockfall warnings • route beta email alerts The web site is packed with general Yosemite Big Wall info: • free downloadable color topos • road and weather conditions • everything you need to know about staying in Yosemite Valley • good routes for first-time Yosemite climbers • general trip planning info 13 FOR CURRENT ROUTE INFORMATION, VISIT SUPERTOPO.COM Introduction When to Climb Yosemite has the best weather of any big wall climbing area on earth. That said, note that it could storm at any time in Yosemite, and often heavily. Climbers should always prepare for the worst on a multi-day big wall by bringing adequate bivy gear (see Staying Alive, page 192). The best times to climb here are in the spring and fall. The summer can also be great once Welcome to big wall paradise. In Yosemite Valley you get a few pitches up and out of the heat. In Wstand some of the most exquisite rock formations the winter, the Valley empties of both tourists on the planet. Enjoy. and climbers, giving a much more pristine feel Getting There to the climbs. Winter can have good climbing weather but can also have months of uniquely The closest international airports to Yosemite wet and severe Sierra storms. The effects of are Oakland International and San Francisco these storms are made clear in the story on page International. The Oakland airport is preferable 194 of the two Japanese who died climbing as it is less chaotic, easier to navigate, and closer to The Nose in a storm. Road and weather reports the Valley. can be found on the Internet sites listed in the Many people stay in Yosemite without a car. appendix or by calling (209) 372-0200. It is possible to reach most climbing areas by a free shuttle bus. Note that the shuttle does not General Weather and Crowd Trends in serve areas west of Camp 4, including El Capitan, Yosemite Valley Leaning Tower, Cookie Cliff, and Arch Rock. To reach these areas without a car you will need to Nov 15–March The walls and Valley are relatively hitchhike or ride a bike. empty with usually at least one five-day spell of good weather per month. During a mild winter one to two weeks of great weather per month are Driving Times and Distances to common. On any winter ascent prepare for the Yosemite Valley absolute worst, as Pacific storms can last up to a From Time (hours) Distance (miles) week or longer and bring heavy snow and rain.