Trip Report

Ah, to be in the Valley in late April under sunny skies with the Dogwoods a-bloom and the waterfalls a-pounding.

“I’m in the parking lot.”

“We’re in the parking lot too, but I think we’re two towns over.”

Thus began our first outdoor rock climbing trip of the season....

The weekend went well with only the minor mishap of Tim and I missing a trail turn off.  Mark, Tim and I camped in the woods Saturday night, where we would be sheltered from the wind.  Sunday, Tim and I skied to North Peak with the intention to climb the Crescent Moon Couloir. 

The couloir was in condition but unfortunately Mike was not, we dropped our skis and extra gear when we elected to climb the West Ridge instead.  The West Ridge is an enjoyable climb with one steep snow section.  We summitted around 10:30 AM - in our rather clumsy ranndonee ski boots.  The decent is fun, once you can start glissading.  Contrary to Tim's video of me doing a very slow glissade, the upper part gets up some good speed.  We picked up our skis and headed out.

Fall has come to the mountains.  The afternoon thundershowers of last month are gone. The days are clear, bright and warm.  The nights chilly. (Ice formed  in Lea's Camel back left out on the bear box.)  The trip was a great success, with the unusual feature of a rotating cast of climbers.  Some people came up early and climbed Fri and Saturday, some climbed Saturday and Sunday then beat the traffic by going home. And a few climbed Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Dozier Dome was again popular, as was Stately Pleasure Dome, and a few ventured onto the thin faces of the South Flank of Daff (such as Hogwash, 10c.)  Campfires were great with important conversations about safety, as well as general conversations about life.

The CCC had two related trips this past week. We started with a weekend in Tuolumne Meadows, with a group campsite.  For a weekend in Tuolumne at the height of its season, we had light attendance, only 12 people. The weather was perfect and people ran off to do many of the "normal" routes on Stately Pleasure and Pywiak, plus an ambitious few attempted long routes like Mathes Crest.

We had a good turnout at the Leap, with 14 people.  Conditions were great, with familiar route names on the tick list.  The planets were cruel to the Pauls, however.  Paul Stucky forgot to bring his warm clothes, and he and Mark I had to turn around in Placerville and go back to Paul's place in Davis to get the stuff.  On the up side, they got to explore a new 5.9 route on Dear John Buttress that's shown in Supertopo.  I forgot my tent poles and only averted marital meltdown by pressing into service one of the backbacking tents I brought to secure sites--otherwise I might still be up there today!

Mark Ingles and I [Paul M] climbed Royal Arches a couple of weeks ago [May 12], and a few people have asked about it, and others have expressed some interest, so I thought I'd provide some information for anybody interested.

Ah! The first club Valley weekend of the season! What a great trip with a big turnout. Many of us traveled up on Friday morning to squeeze in a bonus day of climbing. We were greeted by warm temps, sunshine, and lush green scenery as we approached the Valley. Not to mention the raging Merced River and the waterfalls that drain into it. Sonja, myself and two visitors to the club stopped to climb at Reeds Pinnacle and Five and Dime on our way into the Valley. The pull-out was abnormally full (especially for a Friday morning!) and we just barely squeezed in. We clamored up The Original Route (5.9, two pitches), bruised our knees on Bongs away left (5.8 OW), and attempted (and failed) a clean ascent of Stone Groove (10b).

Three more days of climbing and 20+ more routes on the collective list.  The weather has been colder and windier than earlier in the week.  Wednesday we were in Indian Cove, which is usually a little warmer.  Thursday we went back into the main park and were mostly in the Hidden Valley Campgrounds.  Today, Friday, we went to Playhouse and Hemmingway but by mid-afternon we had to stop when it started hailing.  Øyvind and Øyvind joined us Friday evening for dinner as they near the end of a two week climbing trip.

The first CCC climbing trip of the 2012 season has started out great.  Ann, Lea, Tim and I arrived Saturday night and got three great days of climbing in the main park.  The days are warm with a light breeze to keep it from getting too hot.

During the first three days, our collective route list includes: