Upping the ante at the Incredible Hulk

I’ve been in this situation before; I’m nervous and don’t really want to go through with it. The nagging of potential failure is pulling me down. I don’t know why I care so much. They say it is more important to try and fail then to never have tried at all (see Alfred Lord Tennyson). Off we go: another trip, another big plan, a real test of all my physical therapy and my mental fitness.

Snow crunches under my feet as I suck in the ever thinning air. The Sierra season is NOW and I’ve decided to go after it feet first. Fourth of July weekend often signals my first alpine climbing trip of the summer. I feel confident as I hike up the familiar trails to the Incredible Hulk. There are few places in the world that have captured my imagination as much as this piece of amazing alpine granite.

Time to escape the trailer park, aka campground, at the Mono Village

What is a wilderness? What makes something WILD? On the hike up Little Slide Canyon, the remote nature of the Hoover Wilderness is quite evident. I wonder how many people have been up here and how many of the crazy spires that line the canyon have been climbed. As the Hulk shows itself in the distance I get excited. It’s worth the crazy winds, the hours of hiking, the harassment of mosquitoes and the biting cold. We make no fire, store our food in a bear canister and try to make peace with this place. As I look up from our campsite, the angled face lures me in. I want to touch it, know it, be familiar with all of its routes and features.

We can see the Hulk. Wahoo!

Morning breaks, the day starts to heat up and we must go climbing. Remembering the mantra of the Sierra, I climb slowly, keeping my breathing in check. The anticipation of the crux instills fear into my movement. I make sure to climb relaxed, head calm, trying to shake the nerves. I reach a stance, like an island, well above my last gear. The crack has pinched out; my fingers will not fit in the corner. Out come the thin nuts, and I pepper the crack with them:  my only solace from the thirty foot fall that awaits me. I crimp on a credit card edge, feet on golden granite dots. I pinch my way up the arete, marveling at the outrageous sequence.

Jamie ponders life, adventure and ass kicking elevation.

At a small stance I fumble in a nut. Shaking I make the clip. Pods appear back in the corner and I start laybacking. My fingers slide deep into the crack. I start to relax and clip a 1/4 bolt; I hope it is strong enough to catch me. Somehow I’ve transitioned from fear to excitement in a mere five feet. The opening of the crack grows and so does my confidence. I find a good stance below a roof and then jugs, glorious jugs! I’m grinning, convinced I’ve pulled the crux and shake out, getting the blood back into my arms.

I see some chalk, another crux it seems, leading up and right to easier terrain. I try to lock off and can’t reach the next hold. I don’t see the small sidepull that Jamie uses later while following. I put in a 00 C3 to help with my confidence and then I jump. My fingers wrap around the next hold, but it looked better in my head. Feet swinging in the air I frantically match, using opposing pressure to stay on. Stable, I put my foot a previous hand hold and in a swift motion have gained the easy terrain.

Luke enjoys live climber "TV" on the Hulk.

I let out a shout! My heart is beating fast, too fast for this altitude, but the climbing to the belay relaxes me and it is ok. On the ledge I marvel at the last 100 feet of rock. What a unique challenge, what a nice ledge, what a wonderful day on the Hulk.

It’s now mid-afternoon and we are only barely half way up Tradewinds. The first pitch, at super sustained 11a, was a tough warm-up and saw me almost give up. Now I’ve completed the second 5.11 pitch. It is Jamie turn on the sharp end as he embarks on the route finding crux. By using a different belay than suggested in the topo we have the advantage of sight for the next tricky pitch. A pinched out corner leads to a wild traverse and perhaps a 5.11 move to get established on the face. I lead this pitch in a T-Shirt, soaking in the afternoon sun. The typical winds that I have encountered on previous trips to the Hulk are somehow absent.

Looking over at the namesake pitch of Red Dihedral

Looking up at the first of the 5.11+ pitches I am anxious again. I didn’t plan on leading this pitch. The thin corner seems to extend forever. I force myself to believe it is doable.  We brought four thin finger sized pieces for this pitch but one, a green alien, refused to cooperate and came apart earlier in the climb. (The trigger mesh came loose and you couldn’t retract the cam lobes).  I start breathing heavy as I try to cram my fingers into the thin crack. I think of Lizzy and wish she was here leading this pitch.  Climbing stupidly I jam straight in and quickly pump out, my fingers sliding out of a lock as my weight comes to rest on the cam below me.

With some stemming, french free, and numerous points of aid I make it up the pitch. The climbing has eased, with the crack offering a few full sized finger locks, but all of a sudden pinched out at a roof. The next sequence seems impossible and Jamie and I have no clue what to do. A sideways dyno to loose flake? Did I miss a series of face holds? How are you supposed to climb this blank section?

Luke finishes up a tricky 5.11 pitch.

My meltdown and aiding of pitch seven doesn’t give us much hope of climbing the harder 5.11+ pitch eight. Jamie points out the waning light and I figure out the fastest way to bail.  We had planned on rapping The Venturi Effect with our two 70m ropes. Lizzy and I had done this the prior year with a single 70m rope so I knew the location of all the stations.  I end up lowering Jamie 60+ meters off a bolt before tying the ropes together and rapping to him. With our two lines it only takes three more raps and we’re back on the ground in no time.

Back to Terra Firma at sunset and eating dinner by 9pm or so: a full day of climbing despite the late start and our final shenanigans. The difficulty of the day puts a question mark in my mind for Sunday. Can I lead more 5.11 pitches? Will the weather stay clear and warm? I seem to be plagued by these thoughts, my psych is draining. Back in the tent the fly flaps in the wind. Finally my eyes close and I am at peace, doubt and indecision left behind for the moment.

Jamie is all smiles with the warm weather!

The morning comes and we are up late (8am), in no rush to enter the crisp mountain air. As we shake off the soreness of the previous day I am committed to trying. Even if we fail, even if we don’t make it to the top we must try. I must put in a good effort; I must not give up even before taking the first step. As we rack up another party walks over. I had seen them the night before and had secretly hoped they were climbing Sunspot so we wouldn’t have to. I didn’t want the pressure, I wanted to relax.

Conversation shows that we do in fact share the same objective. Even more astounding is that  Jamie and Ryan, of the other party, were friends from college, at Lehigh. We chat and they wander off. I have no problem letting them get on the route first since Jamie and I are still tired. Time passes by as we watch them approach the climb and start up the first pitch. Looking at the watch I get antsy and insist we leave. The leader has just finished linking the first two pitches when we arrive at the base. It’s now past 10 am but Jamie is courteous and waits for Ryan to finish following before starting up.

Climbers on the first pitches of Positive Vibes/Sunspot Dihedral

I’ve climbed these two pitches before as a leader with Konstantin, and a follower with Lizzy. I want Jamie to get some mileage today and insist he leads. Being on the sharp end, dealing with route finding and doubt is important. It is good to know how one fairs at altitude and how to find and follow your psyche. It seems much warmer than the day before as we sit on the nice ledge, often referred to as the terrace, after climbing the 70m first pitch. The team is 50 feet above, having climbed a mini pitch, and are now working on the 3rd pitch, a supposedly pumpy traverse to a thin corner with minimal protection, “spooky” says the topo . The ensuing lead takes over two hours and we are not interested in getting caught on the wall in the dark. Jamie is not so psyche on the protection-less corner on Sunspot and opts to lead the first crux pitch of Positive Vibrations.

Jamie styles this pitch, dispatching the face climbing crux with ease, despite the pro being well below his feet.  The next pitch, while technically easier is much more strenuous. After an exciting moment with a broken hold, Jamie grunts his up the steep cracks for another onsight! With a single #2 and #3 we can’t really go any further. Back on the terrace we decided it would be better to climb these two pitches and rap instead of waiting around to climb Sunspot. Going down would allow us to take advantage of the soft snow and hike out a day early. Two raps and a very speedy 2 hours put us back at the car.

In the Tuolumne Meadows the climbing is less intimidating. We managed to rally the next morning and get to the base of Fairview Dome by 8am. As I expected there is a slowish party on the 2nd pitch of Lucky Streaks. We follow them up the climb, with Jamie leading the somewhat awkward and techy crux pitch. I found all the pitches after the crux to be much more fun than the first few and I am happy that we swap leads all the way to the top. After a celebratory dip in Tenaya Lake I must return home leaving Jamie to recover and enjoy the rest of the week climbing in the Meadows.

Looking back I had overestimated my fitness and the 5.11 pitches on Tradewinds were the hardest I had tried in many months. I am psyched with my two 5.11 onsights and it was good to be able to really push my body. My mind still believes I am stronger so I’ll be putting in some more time in the gym to return to my past fitness. My right shoulder was pain free all trip which is a huge step in the right direction! As always I can’t wait to spend some more time up on the Incredible Hulk.

If you have any questions or comments about the Hulk I’d love to hear it. I’m still trying to find topos for Blow Hard, Solar Flare, Sun Burn (aka Solar Burn), Eye of the Storm and Escape from Poland. Let me know if you have any information!

Some photos and the trip from Jamie’s perspective can be found here.

All the information that I have found on about the Incredible Hulk is here.

- Luke