Photos from a Summer in Tuolumne

The first snow has fallen and summer is officially over. The store and campground in Tuolumne closed weeks ago. The granite domes are now empty, no longer occupied by the summer flock of climbers.

The Meadows are a wonderful semi-alpine escape from the heat of Yosemite Valley. High elevation grants reasonable temps from June until October. The landscape, wide and varied, strikes a beautiful contrast to the vast walls of Yosemite proper. It was another fun summer in the Meadows, but most of my focused energy was on the Hulk, so I did more exploration and socializing than serious rock climbing. I was fortunate to climb OZ and the Gram Traverse, check out the exciting Inverted Staircase, and do a lap on Tenaya Peak, Stately Pleasure Dome, and many others. I got to explore my slab climbing weakness and hike up to the extraordinary Blues Riff. With a few more areas explored, I’m even more curious to get off the beaten track in Tuolumne.

Here are some photos from my various weekends in TM:

Drug Dome!

Casey works through the face climbing crux on OZ.

Keith onsighting the corner on OZ

Jonathan cruises the beautiful corner on OZ

Keith post crux on the P1 of the Gram Traverse

Keith leads the second pitch of the Gram Traverse

Casey leading the crux pitch of the Gram Traverse

Luke after climbing Phobos

Crazy crowds on Tenaya Peak

A friendly marmot on Tenaya Peak

Luke and Mark on Tenaya Peak

Chris and Lizzy on Tenaya Peak

Chris mantels the summit block of Tenaya Peak. (cruxy!!)

Summit success

James follows the first pitch of Hoodwink

James at the end of the 3rd pitch of The Sting