Ascents in United States of America

the first outdoor climb. literally so glad i didn’t die

the first outdoor climb. literally so glad i didn’t die

Set off for this one at 4pm with gen on what was supposed to be my rest day. I was imagining sporty cracks but in reality yosemite multis are rarely just sporty cracks and this one turned out to be 90% v-groove thrash. There were some doubtful moments as the sunline travelled slowly up the hill behind us and light faded 2 pitches from the top but i got to have a lash at the top in bright enough conditions (i wish i could use that as an excuse for not sending). Heartbreaker flared finger jam slip 4m under the chains. Gens answers as to why i was rushing us so much lower down were revealed at the top: i forgot my headtorch. She lent me her phone torch and we rapped to the ground and ate a depressing 10pm dinner in camp 4.5 parking lot.

Orange diamondy holds

Purple roundular holds

Yellow slopers

Blue crescents

12.5hrs car to car. Pretty glad we planned it this time and started at 530 instead of 9! 3 person party with audrey and ariel. Solid nav efforts from audrey kept me from running after the wrong approach trail cairns like a puppy. Ariel contributed with the surprise mini fireball bottle at the top right as the clouds consumed us. Nicer climbing than i expected and good spirits only started to diminish on the hell of a hike back afterwards. Mandatory snow but slides on the east side of the dome were checked off. I booked the last 5k of the hike so i could make dinner for 25min before the girls arrived. Little did i know they were only 3min behind me! Bit of a dog act making them wait for my pasta to boil

2nd go, fell at top on OS attempt

By far the highlight of the trip for me so far and will probably live long in the memory. Three day ascent with a fix to sickle and a bivy at Camp 5 and el cap tower. Overall suprisingly smooth with only a longish second day and a dead car battery on the approach. Highlights for me were simul drooling in psych as we had el cap tower to ourselves at golden hour, aiding changing corners, boot flake whippers, sunset on the summit, king swing and the endless clean splitters. Leads were sickle - el cap tower, boot flake - grey bands, camp 5 - a pitch after changing corners. Had the route mostly to ourselves due to a minor arvo storm on the second day and which was totally worth shivering through one belay for. After having this in my mind for years so psyched to get it done after various things during the trip and in the year before popping up convincing me it wouldn't happen.

.10a on Mountain Proj and I think it's fair. Rather awkward and weird route.

Very good! Really enjoyed the slab crux in the middle. Another nice part just before the top.

Very nice section in the middle where you mount a small bulge/roof. Great route!

Warm-up. Went left after the ledge by mistake and thus did the upper part of Reincarnation.

When Henry and I first arrived in Yosemite, my stoke to climb much of anything was pretty low. Our campsite in El Portal was 40 minutes out of the park and offered all the social life that retirees in rental RVs could dream of. Oppressive heat baked every wall, and day by day the Valley seemed more like a concentration camp for hoardes of ill-informed tourists than a climbing destination.

After being cited by park rangers on our third day of climbing I was ready to throw in the towel, and had Henry not been on this trip I probably would have.

Nonetheless, the pile of aid gear we had both amassed beckoned to be used, and with some inspiration from Nick and Dave (and assurance there’s no rangers hiding in the stovelegs) we set off.

I should note that both Henry and I wanted to climb pure alpine style, that is without fixing and hauling to Sickle. In hindsight our early arrival at El Cap Tower meant we could have done this, but on Nick’s advice we compromised by hauling every pitch (including Pine Line and first four) but fixing lines from Sickle and sleeping on the ground. Personally I think this is a big concession in style, but it possibly avoided an epic and got us ahead of the crowds, so I'm happy we did it.

Day 1: Jug to Sickle. Henry led every pitch to arrive on El Cap Tower at 5:20pm.

Day 2: Mini epic on the Texas flake. Originally Henry was to take the first block, but we swapped for me to lead this pitch. Didn’t die. Henry flashed the King Swing and I recovered from a pretty bad bonk to lead from Grey Bands to Camp 5. The Great Roof was seeping with slimy algae, which made backcleaning the entire thing (so that Henry could lower out) a pretty spicy experience.

Day 3: Bit of a slow start while 4 all-star NIAD teams passed us. Triple-crowners Nick and Danford, Connor Herson, Tom Herbert, YOSAR rangers… we felt like the only gumbies on the wall! I led the wild bolt ladder clipping 3 bolts in the top 30 meters and we followed the final NIAD team down to the valley floor.

Overall a pretty cool end to a pretty cool trip, and possibly my last log here. I've started to realise I'm not quite eloquent enough to express how I feel on bigger objectives in writing, and most often I simply don't want to. Back in Sydney in a bit

Not the best warm up.

Took a big fall and puked. Didn't die.

The top is extremely dirty.

Must come back for revenge.

"Devil's Pitchfork"

Weird indeed.

Hard for 5.7, or my lead head needs refreshing?

My first multi-pitch route in Smith Rock with my guide leading. Long slab p1, simple p2 and very open and airy p3.