Ascents in The Royal Arches

We got off route!!!

Superb friction! The rap stations were almost as exciting as the route itself!

Linked both pitches. Trying to offwidth the layback was not the smartest move even tho it worked, took forever lol. Something to work on. Nice cracks on the 2nd pitch .

Started in the dark to beat the heat, but it took us 10 hours to climb&rap anyway. Got a tiiiny bit hot on the raps Goofy lead first 3 pitches, then we switched leads.

Definitely worth linking both pitches.

Our rest day didn't feel like a rest day, baking like lizards on hot slabs. Had to do it mostly in approach shoes cause the rock was so hot and out feet were cooking in our climbing shoes. 215up 145down.

What a superb climb! Such fun!

head was shaky, unsurprising for trying to start the season at my limit (it was the only line free that looked good)

as single pitch. did a Dane and decided that following recommended gear was for the weak; didn't take into account gear lists being per pitch, nor the offwidth variant (clearly the nicer line). gear beta from climbers on next route gave me the confidence to try for the anchors instead of pitching it out. I'm sure being 5m above a tipped out unextended #4 in an insecure offwidth is good training for something

adventurous but brief: got a few droplets while Shane led p1; agreed to go until we got rained off. low crack transfer on p2 looked vegetated so i spent a while contemplating the big committing slab traverse higher up, not liking the friction or potential swing (or invert if i stepped on the sling). thankfully the weather escalated before i had to wuss out. the granite was soaked before i started lowering, and we were getting lashed with hailstones by the time i was at the belay.

getting off was the priority so i started the rap down p1 without looking at the topo. tried to think heavy thoughts as i sorted out the rope; kept going given the thunderstorm and knowing i had a full rack. turns out a 70m won't get you to the ground from p1 anchors but will get you to pinscars ~3m up where a #.75 and #.1 will hold even submerged in a minor waterfall, which will get you off the rope to work out next steps. not necessarily saying my decisions were good but they were deliberate and (quickly) considered, with risks and contingencies in mind

World record! Most bails in a single day. Let me explain my rationale. The night before, tony and i had poured through the guide to decide on the ultimate 'big day'. We had decided to wake up at 530. Unbeknownst to us, this would serve perfectly to maximize bail opportunities. Tony even was ready on time in the morning. We started up royal and after i lost the route and accidentally simul climbed off route into a 10+ roof traverse, we got back on track only to see the rest of the actual route covered by a turbulent waterfall. To be fair, we had actually been told about this, but we thought it would be a 'japanese trad waterfall'. We retreated, and also let the opportunity to link into crest jewel via the hiking summit go to the wayside. 2 bails and its not even 10am. Luckily astroman goes into shade at 1030! Unluckily we forgot to borrow dylans rps. 3 bails. Drove to el cap for south by south west. Left the car, realised it faces south or south west or some combination there of and would be copping intense sun. East buttress was consulted but yosar was doing rescue training. 5 bails down, we spied the moratorium. Known for seasonal wetness on the last pitch, we were ready to climb wet 11b just to get something done. After 1 (albeit incredible and varied corner) pitch, i brought tony up. He gingerly clipped in and told me that he had shat his pants and needed to go down. We sat on this el cap standard belay ledge admiring the beautiful day that had somehow forced 6 multi pitch bails on us in the space of 9 hours. We went back to the camp 4 toilets so i could bash the mirror with my head and tony could bash the toilet with his insides.

Lead 1st and second. Felt hard ahah

Day 1 yosemite (real day 1 after dylan and i hoofed up some 9s near camp yesterday. Serenity sons link up was pretty wild climbing. Quite like angels in buffalo except with a whole pitch manufactured with pin scars. How very american.

Pitch 2

Serenity Sons Link Up.

Serenity Sons Link Up. First thing we did when we arrived in the Valley. Got mild heat stroke. Classic.

Amazing! Linked p1 and P2, and P3 and P4. Up and down in 3.5 hours - type 1 fun for sure