MudNCrud Forums
Climbing and ... Climbing => Everywhere Else => Topic started by: Brad Young on September 28, 2012, 03:44:13 PM
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I finished the last two topos and the last of the text today: in short I am now done with all of the field research that I need to do for the Climber's Guide to the Sonora Pass Highway, Second Edition. Stated another way, if it snowed ten feet right now I'd be in excellent shape to finish the book. Until things close down I'll be tracking people's end-of-season new routes (preferably finishing ongoing projects - I'm not likely to go research completely new stuff at this point). I've also got between five and 12 FAs of my own I want to get to.
It's been intense - six summers now in a row during which over 90% of my climbing each summer has been on this pass and for this book.
And here's the single best result of all this climbing: I've had the privilege of climbing at least some with virtually every climber who's done any climbing up here. The second best result is that, having nearly finished our second guidebook together (over 800 pages of guidebook assembly together), Dawson is again an even better friend than when we started.
The book is already assembled up just past 400 pages. Our goal is to have it to the printer by the end of January.
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Mungie...what's about our projects????
Shall we call them 5.9?? ;)
Good work brad!
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congrats Brad!!! - i know you must be jazzed to be in the final phases - AND we are all anxious to see the finished project - i'm sure it will be awesome!
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And remember Brad...Eastern Front routes....****!
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And remember Brad...Eastern Front routes....****!
For you F4, $100.00 per route per star. And cash.
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congrats Brad
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Cliff will gladly pay.
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woohoo!!
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Nice Brad!
I have had a great time, the few times I have been up there. Quality, was on the menu, and even some choss to boot.
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Sonora Pass is closed right now at Kennedy Meadows. We've had fires in the wood stoves the last three nights. Damn, winter's coming after all.
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I was pleased yesterday to climb my 100th new Sonora Pass area route of 2012 ("new" to me - only about 35 of them have been FAs).
Wishing now for a good, strong storm to shut me down up here, and to shut down other pests like Robert.
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It's not winter just yet.
Mungie and I had a project to finish this weekend!
It will be ****!
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It's not winter just yet.
Mungie and I had a project to finish this weekend!
It will be ****!
"Had" a project to finish? What changed?
And pests like Factor.
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Right on, Brad. And don't you worry, Winter's knockin' at yer parlor door.
I'll definitively check out your guide...Cheers!
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Sheesh, we have a project or 2 to finish.
Tough crowd.
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you'll definitely get the tour when you come down. Just say the word. Plenty of Forested Gems.
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Worked on it with Steve all day. Now at 437 pages, not including any intro materials or appendices. About 50 more to go.
And two pests did more routes up here today. But I came home to word that said pests had stopped by the house and that they had thrown sticks for dog. Big points, outweigh peskiness.
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We've got one fire going upstairs and one going downstairs and the snow is swirling in big, thick flakes outside. And that's it for the Sonora Pass season.
And I just got in two warm, fantastic days at the Gorge before the storm blew in (climbing out of county to celebrate finishing the SPH research).
And I don't have to be at work early tomorrow. And we threw a few snowballs for the dogs who are (figuratively) in canine heaven.
Soon it will be time to crawl into a nice warm bed. Maybe an eggnog first while I clean the third to last SPH topo.
Life is soooo good.
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Cold doesn't stop new routing!
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Cold doesn't stop new routing!
It's snowing at Standard and chain line is at the bottom of the T.H. Grade. So you're thinking new routes on the West Side or East Side ('cause you ain't doing them up here)?
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We've got one fire going upstairs and one going downstairs and the snow is swirling in big, thick flakes outside. And that's it for the Sonora Pass season.
And I just got in two warm, fantastic days at the Gorge before the storm blew in (climbing out of county to celebrate finishing the SPH research).
And I don't have to be at work early tomorrow. And we threw a few snowballs for the dogs who are (figuratively) in canine heaven.
Soon it will be time to crawl into a nice warm bed. Maybe an eggnog first while I clean the third to last SPH topo.
Life is soooo good.
when you say Gorge do you mean Owens River?
just wondered if you and T girl got to go east.
egg nog and fires sound like Christmas...think i'll go to the beach today :)
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Yep, the Owens River Gorge.
And, no, T and I did not get to the East Side; school and weather interfered.
We normally are doing fires way before Christmas up here. It's our primary source of heat in the afternoon and at night (in the morning the forced air propane comes on as we wake up). Do you and KC even have a heater in your house? :D
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It's snowing at Standard and chain line is at the bottom of the T.H. Grade. So you're thinking new routes on the West Side or East Side ('cause you ain't doing them up here)?
hrm, challenge?
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More bolts would have been done were it not for a lack of beer.
Next year I say cache a cooler full of beer out there. Get a solar deal to run the chiller unit on it.
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Yep, the Owens River Gorge.
And, no, T and I did not get to the East Side; school and weather interfered.
We normally are doing fires way before Christmas up here. It's our primary source of heat in the afternoon and at night (in the morning the forced air propane comes on as we wake up). Do you and KC even have a heater in your house? :D
the Gorge looks fun with lots of hard climbs!
bummer that you guys didn't get your trip to Mono.
we actually have a pellet stove insert in the fireplace that doesn't get used much - i installed it after our first CA "winter".
some heating "leftovers" in the house too - an old electric wall heater in the upstairs bathroom knocks off the chill and a baseboard heater in the master bedroom that never gets used.
i want to get back up/over to the Alabama Hills but i think KC has her heart set on checking out JTree
we'll be on the West side (Sunday) and probably High Peaks (Monday) this weekend.
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hrm, challenge?
Oh no, not a challenge at all. I'm not dumb enough to dare you.
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Well, last weekend totally shifted my mind to Pinns climbing. Although it'll be after Thanksgiving before I can get down there again.
Meanwhile, bored with an evening of guidebook work, and with another storm coming in to put a final, final end to the SPH season, I thought I'd say goodbye to climbing on our pass (for now) with some photos from two of my favorite recent SPH first ascents.
With Jim Lundeen I did a fabulous route called Beyond the Yellow Brick Road:
D. Beyond the Yellow Brick Road 5.10b *** A very clean 5.10b crack leads to a very clean 5.10b slab. Pro: tiny to one 1½ inch piece.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8200/8189935300_08b1f4257f_b.jpg)
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8348/8188856039_704b723d9b_b.jpg)
(Notice in those photos my twinsie shirt that I can wear when I climb with J.C.)
And here's another favorite that goes a full 90 feet on perfect granite. We looked at it from below and thought it would be 5.11 for sure, and probably hard 5.11 (it's totally smooth and steep looking). By the time we led through we couldn't believe it had gone so easily (actually we thought 5.10a, but it's had half a dozen leads since and a slight majority of the climbers thought 5.9!!). Dave Harden leading:
A. The Source 5.9 *** Start on the right, large granite block. Easier climbing past four bolts leads to a beautiful, curving arch. Pro: many small to one inch with one 1 ½ inch piece:
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8058/8188864697_cf7ba468d4_b.jpg)
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8488/8189944954_de1d45b9e3_b.jpg)
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Both look stellar Brad- nice weather too. More for the next time!
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really pretty rock. Nice leads. You know, I'm really glad you got in to that spot Brad. I know what that sensation of new good rock is all about. Savor every minute.
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really pretty rock. Nice leads. You know, I'm really glad you got in to that spot Brad. I know what that sensation of new good rock is all about. Savor every minute.
It's good rock, but - as you know - we've now officially used it all up. When it comes out the new guidebook will be current forever, there will be no new routes established since the resource is now gone.
It was fun while it lasted.
(Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha...CLUNK, he says as he laughs his head off).
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\picks up rolling head and says "Alas, poor Brad. I knew him Mudncrud."
;D
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With Jim Lundeen I did a fabulous route called Beyond the Yellow Brick Road:
(Notice in those photos my twinsie shirt that I can wear when I climb with J.C.)
were you singing Elton?
both those routes look awesome!
belly laugh on the twinsie comment... :)
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were you singing Elton?
both those routes look awesome!
We were singing Elton. There is also another route that starts left of Beyond the Yellow Brick Road, crosses it from left to right, and then goes up the slab to its right (to the left of me when looking at the photo. I did not onsight this one, but I got a perfect/redpoint lead on my third try. Naturally we had to keep with the same theme:
C. The Dogs of Society 5.11b *** A shallow, crackless groove leads to and across Beyond the Yellow Brick Road. Continue right before climbing straight up past a very thin crux. Join Beyond the Yellow Brick Road for an easy top-out. Pro: bolts, runners and a few pieces to one inch.
And then there's a route "from the same album" on the same formation over to the right:
G. Harmony 5.10b ** Start barely right of My Belle (and stay right). Pass a bolt and continue up and right in a crack/seam. Clip a second bolt before diverging left and up. Four more bolts lead to a two-bolt anchor.
And another of my favorites (from across the canyon). Every person who's walked under this one (including me) has looked at the rock and said words to the effect: "wow that'll make a great 5.9 or 10a."
The footwork is so ultra thin on this, and so sustained (and no handholds at all that are bigger than fingernails) that I had to wait for cold conditions last year to pull off the redpoint:
G. A Walk in the Park 5.11c *** The well-protected and deceptively steep face just right of (around a blunt arete from) Hind Tit. Six bolts to a two-bolt anchor.
Nice stuff, but it's perfectly OK now to say goodbye, at least for six months, and get going on Pinns.
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WHere abouts be this granite? In the Enchanted Valley run by Lord Mungie??
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And here's another favorite that goes a full 90 feet on perfect granite. slight majority of the climbers thought 5.9!!).
A. The Source 5.9 ***
hmmmm...slight majority...my perception is you climb with a bunch of SPH bad asses who've long forgottten what it's like to have 5.9 as their upper limit of leading - i'll make a proactive note about that climb so i can mark it as a sandbag when i get my hands on the book :)
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We were singing Elton.
I got a perfect/redpoint lead on my third try.
C. The Dogs of Society 5.11b ***
And then there's a route "from the same album" on the same formation over to the right:
G. Harmony 5.10b **
(and no handholds at all that are bigger than fingernails)
G. A Walk in the Park 5.11c ***
Hind Tit.
Get back Honky Cat!
third try? ouch! probably multiply that by 10 for me :)
the same album? what are you 100? - i forget - you don't watch TV
no bigger thn fingernails?
i guess some day if i develop super powers - maybe you know of some radioactive spiders somewhere?
now shouldn't that last one be Hind Teat?
is there a Sugar Teat somewhere? If so, I may need to start on that next season...
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hmmmm...slight majority...my perception is you climb with a bunch of SPH bad asses who've long forgottten what it's like to have 5.9 as their upper limit of leading - i'll make a proactive note about that climb so i can mark it as a sandbag when i get my hands on the book :)
Well, Dave Harden led it and thought 5.9, and he's 60 years old now. (I can't believe he's 60!! I've been climbing with him since he was 35.)
In my experience rating climbs, there are two people who's opinions are almost always (maybe even always) the same as my own. Dave's one of them. Rob is the other. I can't really recall ever differing with either about how hard a given climb is.
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And, actually, come to think of it, I think I did disagree with Rob this last summer about ratings on a couple climbs he'd established a few years ago at Chipmunk. I thought he'd undergraded them.
But that's a rare disagreement. He and Dave have long been my human gauges regarding whether I am rating routes properly.
So, that's long series of sentences that prove decisively (don't they?) that there's been no sandbagging.
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Vicki actually named the route A Walk in the Park. When we came home after doing it we hadn't thought of a name. We talked about the route, and especially about how much harder it actually is compared to what it looks like it will be.
Vic has this weird and inaccurate notion that I underestimate the length of hikes and that I way underestimate the amount of time they'll take. On those rare occasions when I have so underestimated she calls the resultant death-march type activity "a walk in the park with Brad." She thinks she's so damn funny.
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Vicki actually named the route A Walk in the Park. When we came home after doing it we hadn't thought of a name. We talked about the route, and especially about how much harder it actually is compared to what it looks like it will be.
Vic has this weird and inaccurate notion that I underestimate the length of hikes and that I way underestimate the amount of time they'll take. On those rare occasions when I have so underestimated she calls the resultant death-march type activity "a walk in the park with Brad." She thinks she's so damn funny.
excellent work on her part.
you do have a knack for hiking fast over rough terrain - plus - you know how slow i am!
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Well, Dave Harden led it and thought 5.9, and he's 60 years old now. (I can't believe he's 60!! I've been climbing with him since he was 35.)
In my experience rating climbs, there are two people who's opinions are almost always (maybe even always) the same as my own. Dave's one of them. Rob is the other. I can't really recall ever differing with either about how hard a given climb is.
in my defense - yes he may be 60, but think about how long he has been climbing and leading compared to me. i have a hard time with ratings but i am getting better. lately when i thought something was harder than listed - jut for fun - i checked Rubine's rating and found some to be a grade higher. i also make sure i look at the FA info on those to see if they are old school climbs - definitely keeps things interesting!
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(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8488/8189944954_de1d45b9e3_b.jpg)
So, has the groove, right of the corner gone? If not, you should do that! Features!
I'm still trying trying to speculate about where it is. The pines on top are throwing. Has the feel of Burst, but what I think is an oak forest below looks like Enchanted Valley.
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So, has the groove, right of the corner gone? If not, you should do that! Features!
I'm still trying trying to speculate about where it is. The pines on top are throwing. Has the feel of Burst, but what I think is an oak forest below looks like Enchanted Valley.
Here's the route to the right (which, surprisingly, is harder than The Source):
B. The South Fork Subway 5.10a ** The flared crack right of The Source. Pro: many micro and small, and one six inch piece.
Rob, this whole area is in the book now, and you'll have the most recent draft of that on Sunday. But the name of this route should give you some ideas.
And where is the Enchanted Valley?
J.C., here's a list of routes that you'd enjoy in the same area. All are on a different formation across the canyon from Beyond the Yellow Brick Road. These are on absolutely bullet granite and all are 65 to 75 feet long:
B. Playing Chicken 5.7 * Climb up and left on a very easy, knobby face 35 feet to a bolt (it’s near a black knob). Continue up and left and then straight up past three more bolts. End at a two-bolt anchor 75 feet up.
C. The Unfergettin’ 5.8 ** This route looks blank, and yet holds appear every time they are needed.
D. Memory Loss 5.9 **
E. Forget Me Not 5.9 ** Very fun, well protected knob climbing. Pro: a few small pieces (for the crack up high).
F. The Pro-Fessional 5.6 ** This is an excellent crack for leaders new to placing protection. After finishing, move left to the Forget Me Not anchor. Gear: small to three inches.
G. About Face 5.9 *** A clean slab route with fun knobs. The first bolt is 20 feet above and slightly right from the ledge belay bolt.
H. Forget Me 5.10c Move left at the second bolt, then continue up to join About Face.
I. Giant Purple Gorilla 5.9 ** This route starts 20 feet right of the single belay bolt.
J. Slab in the Face 5.8 *** This is an unusual and fun slab route in that its first half is defined by a series of scoops in the granite.
K. Just Say No 5.7 There are four cracks/crack systems just to the right of Slab in the Face. This route starts in the (clean) third crack from the left. After about 40 feet traverse left on a knobby slab. Continue moving left past a left facing corner before finishing straight up to the Slab in the Face anchor.
L. Busko Rides Again 5.10a * (Not shown on topo.) Start 20 feet right of Just Say No. Six bolts lead up and slightly left to the top of the slab. Move ten feet left to belay at the Slab in the Face anchor.
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hrm, that doesn't leave me much time to figure it out.
I've scanned the entire length below the lake, so I'm thinking it's up. Now the question which side, and how far up.
hrm... will return to this after dinner
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What Lake?
And, where's Enchanted Valley?
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J.C., here's a list of routes that you'd enjoy in the same area.
I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a guidebook today!
you're killin' me! makin' me wish i'd spent every remaining weekend in the Pass.
we've had tons of fun over the last few months though - no regrets coyote.
i recorded my 77th onsight at Pinns in my climbing log today.
can't wait to get on some of those sweet SPH routes.
that is a most excellent list! definitely. fer sure.
i can warm up on a 6 and then tick off a 7, some 8's and some 9's - all starred!! almost too good to be true!!!
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is this it?
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8337/8192470160_700d44d0fc_o.jpg)
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You answer my questions and then I'll answer yours ;D
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J.C., here's a photo of the first ascent of one of the routes I listed for you:
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8070/8192660460_17805ce116_b.jpg)
That's a pretty wall. And here's one of a different crag, the start of a 140 foot long 5.8 crack on South Fork Slabs - Center (there's a good argument on this one that the start is 5.9 - but it's stayed at a 5.8 rating and is super well protected):
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8350/8191577277_e0421a8b5f_b.jpg)
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J.C., here's a photo of the first ascent of one of the routes I listed for you:
those look and sound really nice! thanks for sharing.
i just added in my onsights from Alabama Hills, Red Rocks and SPH bringing my total onsight tally to 99.
Kat stepped out of her comfort zone again last weekend and led Dos Equis -woohoo!
Photobucket is tweakin' right now or i'd upload a shot...
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Looks sweet
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PC Lake
Enchanted Valley is a euphemism F4 used for down on WW area.
The recent pics are telling the story. It's on the south side of the river, upstream.
edit- maybe not south side after all if the shot was in the morning.
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There's a lot of rock there on both sides of the river. Should I post the intro text from the book, or wait to hand it to you on Sunday?
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Actually fair is fair, you answered my questions and, as must be obvious now, you nailed South Fork Slabs - Left (and the route The Source) on Google Maps (as far as I can tell you did anyway).
It's a nice area. Here are some of the intro texts:
South Fork Stanislaus River
The South Fork Stanislaus River originates near Cooper Meadow in the northern Emigrant Wilderness. From Cooper Meadow it flows through a deep and wild canyon all the way to Pinecrest Lake. Large slabs of granite line much of this canyon; these extend from below Burst Rock/The Gianelli Edges to below Frankensteins (which looms above Pinecrest Lake). The rock here is almost all excellent quality granite. The setting is definitely one of the prettiest on the whole Sonora Pass Highway. The area is also relatively low in elevation. On hot days, the crags here (especially the southeast-facing South Fork Slabs) get quite warm. However, the close presence of the river can make up for this; a dip in the ice cold water provides immediate and wonderful relief.
Climbs here are more than two miles upriver from the reservoir. Although it is possible to hike around Pinecrest Lake and then up-canyon, a more practical approach is made from easily accessible, dirt Gooseberry Road. Gooseberry Road connects the Burst Rock/Gianelli Trailhead area to Dodge Ridge Ski Resort and Dodge Ridge Road (it can also be used as an alternative driving route to Burst Rock as shown on the Herring Creek Road chapter map at page xxx).
Drive to Gooseberry Road by exiting Highway 108 on Pinecrest Lake Road (to the right when driving east/toward Sonora Pass). This exit is 1.9 miles past the Crabtree Road exit. Drive on Pinecrest Lake Road 0.3 miles before turning right on Dodge Ridge Road. This road continues uphill toward Dodge Ridge Ski Resort. As Dodge Ridge Road approaches the resort it becomes a one-way, loop road (this change occurs 3.3 miles from Highway 108). Gooseberry Road leaves Dodge Ridge Road near the end of this loop, so reaching it requires driving to and through the actual ski resort (to do this, turn sharply left at the start of the ski resort parking lot). At 4.1 miles from the highway, dirt Gooseberry Road appears on the right (the Forest Service road designation, Road 4N34 appears on a post 50 feet up from the pavement). Continue uphill, through many curves (good bouldering is found among these curves, especially on the left, seven-tenths of a mile up this road). At 6.5 miles from the highway, (2.4 miles from Dodge Ridge Road) follow a dirt side road to the left. This leads in 50 feet to a large, flat, open area on the right. Park here (GPS for parking: N38 11.816, W119 56.105).
It takes about 30 minutes to hike from parking to Ski Lift Cliff - Left, and five to ten more minutes to walk down and around to the center and right parts of this formation. The South Fork Slabs are 35 to 40 minutes from parking. Start the approach by walking east on the dirt side road. The road quickly passes a closure gate and then curves left and starts steeply downhill (in the winter, this part of the road is part of Dodge Ridge ski run #8). After one third of a mile on the ski run/road, arrive at the run’s bottom lift and first aid hut. Continue just past these structures, then turn left and walk north through a dense aspen forest (this can be marshy early in the season). The forest ends at a low granite slab about 100 yards from the lift. Go up the slab and onto the top of a low, open granite ridge. Once on top of the granite ridge, turn right (northeast); walk 300 yards along the ridge top (the river and the South Fork Slabs come into view during this walk, Ski Lift Cliff is below, to the left, facing the river). After 300 yards, drop slightly down and left to arrive at the northeast end of Ski Lift Cliff (identify this northeast end by locating Cheyenne and Sierra, two very noticeable, 20 foot high crack routes on the end of the cliff).
Ski Lift Cliff
Ski Lift Cliff is the river side of the low granite ridge that makes up the last part of the approach to the area (it is down and to the left when walking northeast along the granite ridge top). The cliff faces northwest (toward the South Fork Stanislaus River). Most of the climbing routes on Ski Lift Cliff are in the shade most of the day....
South Fork Slabs
The longest and best routes in the South Fork canyon are found on the right (northwest) side of the river (“right” is measured as the river flows.) Approach them by walking down easy, open slabs from the northeast end of Ski Lift Cliff (from near the short crack routes Cheyenne and Sierra). Crossing the river is a critical part of this approach and may not be possible until at least mid-season. Although these slabs get all-day sun and can get hot, the river is only a few feet away from each slab and relief from the heat is therefore quick, easy and fun....
It's a wonderful place and there is still untouched rock there. One formation in particular that has nice rock and, as of yet, no routes, is 1/4 mile west of Ski Lift Cliff (Ski Lift Cliff - West?). I've got at least two steep slabs I want to do on already-climbed formations that will be in the 5.11 range. Jim and Alan and I have a hard ass crack that we've tried too on South Fork Slabs - Right that we still need to get clean (and Alan and Steve have a sick crack project that I think they'll get next year which is in the "easy" 5.12 range). The offwidth Heavy Mettle is also on South Fork Slabs - Right.
And all the bolts on all the routes are 3/8" stainless steel.
We'll get down there as early as next season allows (if any of you are willing to go).
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Nice
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Brad-place sounds really great and i think and beside wifey having son --#2 my Summer plans are starting to build. Looks like a good spot
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Please! Would love a tour!
Tim and I kept threatening to explore the other side of the river. Nothing to see tho, move along. :)
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Well, last weekend totally shifted my mind to Pinns climbing.
Although it'll be after Thanksgiving before I can get down there again.
That'll work since it looks like it's going to be a climbless weekend.
It's raining cobbles and flakes with no clearing in sight.
Maybe it's a good weekend to go onsight Wet Kiss, Wet Paranoia or Wet Willie...
Other good choices might be any of the water chute routes or anything with big polished slopers :)
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Please! Would love a tour!
Tim and I kept threatening to explore the other side of the river. Nothing to see tho, move along. :)
Yes, a tour early next season. But a tour presents a difficult question: do we do a "first tour" with or without a bolt kit?
It's interesting that the South Fork canyon can be seen plainly when driving up Highway 108. Massive amounts of granite are visible to the naked eye. But it all looks low angle; in fact all of the stuff is very low angle, except for the cliffs close to the river, and those can't be seen from any distance away, anywhere.
And to the extent there is curiosity about what's there, the hike in looks so damn long as to not be worth it. Not even close (it's a long hike up from Pinecrest Lake - Tricia and I did the hike in reverse last July 4th and it took over three hours - and she isn't a slow hiker).
In June or so of 2011, Tim asked me if I knew of anything up in that canyon. I told him, truthfully, all that I knew about it then: that Jim had gone in there and done three or four lower angle crack routes. That's what Jim had told me. And he was being truthful with me too. Casual in his comments, but truthful. The story is that his girlfriend Leslie had been looking for a backpack destination for her and her dogs and had hiked down in there through horrible, horrible brush and talus. Looking for a less desperate way out, she'd stumbled upon the ski lift and runs, and voila (!), she found easy access. That same summer she and Jim went in there and did a few of the easier crack routes. Then she moved away and two summers later (August 2011), Jim took Joel and I there. Now, by rough count, there are 50 routes and counting.
Rob, you'll want to review the FA list too about some of the crazy stuff Jim's done down there, onsight, first ascents, free solo, without anyone even knowing that he was out climbing. He gets into this zone sometimes where he is like Superman in his strength and concentration, but it also scares me. As an example, he did the first ascent of the route Slab in the Face onsight, free solo, and all alone. He asked me to bolt it later, which I did on the second ascent (I left it a little spicy to respect his FA). This route starts up a gorgeous set of scoops that positively ask to be climbed. Then, 35 feet up, the wall goes blank. There is one knob that allows a crux move, and then, once a climber is on top of the knob, there's another crux on a blank slab, now 40 feet up. And a fall from either crux would have resulted in a ledge hit at the start of the route, and then a 100 foot tumble down class four to a vertical 30 foot cliff! The debate about the route is whether it is 5.8 or 5.9 (it's as hard as 5.8 can get). It's also three stars for sure.
Some more photos, showing first a good chunk of the South Fork Slabs from the top of Ski Lift Cliff (but, significantly, the river is mostly invisible due to the Ski Lift cliff-line):
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8200/8194166832_b3b4719a52_b.jpg)
The river in late season, directly out from South Fork Slabs - Left:
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8482/8194171948_21f8ed052c_b.jpg)
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without kit, for my part. You've supported many of my FAs. I should return the favor.
my screen shot was the opposite side. you can see it in your later pic, if you know what to look for.
Even though it's a ways in from the lake. Early season overnight trips on the south facing stuff could be amazing!
That effectively could cut Pinns season by a couple months, depending on the snow line, and how much ice is on the trail on the SE shore of the lake.
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Early season overnight trips on the south facing stuff could be amazing!
That effectively could cut Pinns season by a couple months
Damn brudda - you just got back in the Pinns and you're already talking about cutting the season short!
I get it - that granite is sweet!
Don't worry - I'll take up the slack for ya!!
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Don't worry - I'll take up the slack for ya!!
good man!
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Three things would make early season trips up from Pinecrest extremely difficult:
One is the sheer distance combined with short days.
The second would be some of the terrain heading up-river. Although there is a very good trail to Cleo's Bath, from there there are places where one has to do class four, or go way up into brush and trees to get around steep cliffs and drop-offs.
Third, and of most concern: the river becomes a raging torrent as the season gets wetter. This is actually of scary proportions in the spring, as the melt-off starts, but even now, high water from these storms would make the whole hike noticeably harder.
Still, I'd be happy to spend a day doing the hike without a lot of weight (or at least trying it) if you've got a non-Pinnacles weekend day free. There is also some rock of interest above Cleo's, but it's not good enough for me to hike up that far with gear to climb it.
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We added 37 pages today (!!!), which brings the book up to 474 pages. After about 15 more pages, the guide portion of the book will be done. Then we start adding introductory materials and appendices and the like. One more good work session and we'll be down to reviewing it for errors and typos.
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We added 37 pages today (!!!), which brings the book up to 474 pages. After about 15 more pages, the guide portion of the book will be done. Then we start adding introductory materials and appendices and the like. One more good work session and we'll be down to reviewing it for errors and typos.
that's great news! i can feel your enthusiasm!!
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relieved is what I heard on the phone. ;)
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The "guide" portion of the book is done as of 20 seconds ago. That part is 488 pages.
I may have a beer tonight. Maybe two.
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Whoa whoa whoa Brad, 2 beers? Don't go crazy now;-)
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The "guide" portion of the book is done as of 20 seconds ago. That part is 488 pages.
I may have a beer tonight. Maybe two.
I think that calls for something harder - maybe a boilermaker?
Cheers!
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I think that calls for something harder - maybe a boilermaker?
Cheers!
One beer makes me pretty buzzed. A boilermaker? You gotta be kidding; I'll be comatose.
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One beer makes me pretty buzzed. A boilermaker? You gotta be kidding; I'll be comatose.
Hot sake is nice on a winter night :)
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I just finished one IPA. I'm done.
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Lol
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Baileys
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Steve and I finished assembling the introductory materials yesterday. Among other things, these include an 11 (!) page history.
There remains to be done some proofing, the table of contents and the few tidbits that come before it, and the appendices and index. Oh, and then we have to have it printed. I've got two very good companies lined up to do the printing once we're ready to take that step.
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Moe editing this weekend, although we're really getting down to it.
I've now finished the texts that come before the table of contents. This is from the preface (I think Rob will enjoy it):
"Creating this guidebook has been a long, long labor of love. Its release culminates the intense efforts of more than a dozen Sonora Pass climbing fanatics and the help of many, many others who climb here less frequently.
Huge thanks are due to the following fanatics; each of these climbers spent days and days, season after season, developing routes here, documenting those routes and helping the authors track the efforts of other climbers: ..."
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Now we're down to:
1. Cross checking the FA Appendix (page by page, route by route, just like I did with the Routes by Rating Appendix and the Index);
2. Inputting about 15 edits in the text;
3. Inputting corrections to the Index;
4. Inserting the photo(s) and text into the dedication page;
5. Finishing the front cover.
Then it goes to the printer. Given my and Steve's schedules, I think it will go to the printer about mid-March. Their current printing schedule is such that it looks like it will take four to six weeks from receipt of the print-ready document until they ship 3,500 books to my garage. What's that, end of April or so?
While we're waiting, I have Jerry's permission to post here the front cover photo he took of Tonya Nilsson leading Cassiopeia on the First Buttress at Chipmunk Flat (5.10b, three out of three stars). This will be a "full bleed" cover, that is, the photo will go from the edge of the book to the edge of the book.
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8238/8493891302_a5707be789_b.jpg)
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I'm in that pic too!... well, maybe, deep in the forest on the south side of the creek. ;)
hey, take this 'mountain' 'granite' stuff over to that other site. This site is for mud n crud, and clearly that cover shot is neither!
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After several very vigorous sessions of editing with Steve and Tonya over the last two weeks, I printed the book again today. I just spent nearly two hours reviewing all of our recent edits and generally looking each page over for anomalies.
I found a single period that was out of place (1). I can't conceive of a smaller "error." I'm half tempted to leave it in so we can get to hear all the bitter complaints that will result.
Tonya and I will continue to look it over while we are in Joshua Tree during the next week.
The cover is done and it is gorgeous. I tried to get Steve to post it here, but he's not got much extra time right now.
Although it's later than I'd hoped, it'll go to the printer during the first week of April.
And then...
I'm out of the guidebook making business FOREVER!!
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Nice- cant wait to repeat many of these
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Tonya and I will continue to look it over while we are in Joshua Tree during the next week.
I'm out of the guidebook making business FOREVER!!
You can drop a copy by my place on your way to JTree - I'll be glad to look it over while I have the wrong week off.
I'm glad you were careful to use forever in your last line instead of something with "never" - a sure jinx.
I guess the "birthing" celebration for the new book can double as a wake for your career as a guidebook author!
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Sweet, how about a Pinns select guide?
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Yeah, the new Pinns guide is needed.
Nice cover picture. She deserves it.
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Sweet, how about a Pinns select guide?
A guide for 7 routes?
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Lol