September is by far the best month of the year. The scorching temperatures of summer are on their way out, the mosquitoes have died down, tourists are dwindling, the leaves are turning color, there is limited rainfall, and alpine climbing is at it's best.
In celebration of September 2008, Nick Storm and I went to Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park. The base elevation of the meadows is around 9,000 feet, and the peaks rise in excess of 13,000 feet. I flew out on September 15th; Nick picked me up in Reno and we headed South.
The climbing in Tuolumne is amazing! There are dozens of exposed granite domes that begin somewhat steep at the base and round out as you climb higher. The rock is peppered with crystalline knobs that make for good hand and foot holds. But the best part is that there is easy access to the peaks of the high sierra. We climbed one of those peaks, Mt. Conness, despite the four hour hike in.
This is what we climbed:
West Crack on Daff Dome (5.9, III, 5 pitches)
Southwest Face of Mt. Conness (5.10c, IV, 10 pitches)
South Crack on Stately Pleasure Dome (5.8, III, 6 pitches)
Aqua Knobby on Pywiack Dome (5.9, III, 4 pitches)
Bear's Reach at Lover's Leap (5.7, II)
Climbing with Nick was awesome. He's getting ready to go to New Zealand to work for NOLS for 9 months. This little trip was a way of getting some climbing in before he departs. We enjoyed each others' company, talked about what it would be like to be Ron Kauk, what the difference between a fruit and a vegetable is, and reminisced about college years.
On Thursday night we headed to Lovers Leap near South Lake Tahoe. Friday morning we climbed Bear's Reach, which is one of my all-time favorite climbs. The climbing is a slightly physical and extraordinarily positive. All sorts of jamcracks and liebacks. I wish there was a 5.10 version of it somewhere.
Have fun in NZ, Nick! We'll miss you!
No comments:
Post a Comment