The reason for being awake is simple. I am filled with anticipation. My alarm is set to go off at 5am. Often dreaded, sometimes splendid, my alarm is a call to action.

Some people wake up instinctively. I wake to consider my plans. My body knows of the alarm and inside it stews fighting between snooze and action. It is easy to go with the flow, resist change, and just keep on sleeping. In the moment the effects of this decision are obvious. Sleep = good. More sleep = better.

Hours later the day starts in a fuzzy like I’ve awoken from a coma. Having overslept the alarm I’m on the verge of being late to work. My body is still moving slowly, ripped from the simple slumbering state.  Forcing down breakfast and running out the door, my body is deprived of endorphins.  I miss the post-run feeling in my legs as I sit at my desk.  I miss the orange glow of sunrise. I miss the feeling that I’m getting the most out of each day.

My decisions come full circle when I am yet again laying in bed. This time the clock reads 10:30 and I just can’t seem to fall asleep. I want to be asleep. I want to rest, to wake up invigorated. How many minutes will pass before I no longer remember checking the glowing red digits of the clock.  Without an outlet for my energy I am denied sleep and enter back into the vicious cycle.

I set my alarm for 5 am again and wonder if I will get up to run. If I keep trying I’m bound to succeed.

-Luke

While winter has barely hit California this year things have been going slowly at DreamInVertical. Expect more frequent posting in the coming weeks.

I wanted to share the two videos below. Very high quality content with different artistic vision. Pat Bagley has a good interview with Austin Siadak, who shot the Desert Life.  Austin also has a very though provoking blog on the  how to tell good stories. The final video shows the making of Yosemite HD. It is proof of all the hard work that goes into these movies.   Enjoy the videos!

A Desert Life from Austin Siadak on Vimeo.

Yosemite HD from Project Yosemite on Vimeo.

Making of Yosemite HD:

Yosemite Timelapse Documentary from Dalton Runberg on Vimeo.

Given some rather radical running goals for 2012 (Tahoe Rim Trail 50k and the Evolution Basin Loop), plus my unfulfilled longing to run more in the Yosemite high country, some trail running was in order. A brief search of the interwebs suggested that trail would be reasonably runnable, so off we headed.

For our first run, after a not-so-good night of sleep at the 9000ft bivy, we planned to go from the Cathedral Lakes Trailhead to the Sunrise Trailhead via the Sunrise High Sierra Camp (~12.7 miles). We locked Luke’s bike to a bear bin at the Sunrise Trailhead for the shuttle back to the car (although he was able to hitch a ride). From the very beginning, we encountered a little bit more snow than we expected, but the trail was well trodden until Cathedral Lakes. After that… there was generally one set of footprints, a few sections of snow-free trail, and enough landmarks to use the map to navigate when we needed to. It was a challenging but extremely rewarding run (try running through snow when you’re plunging through crust every step). I put together a little video about it:

Tuolumne Trail Running from Lizzy Trower on Vimeo.

The next day, despite tiredness from running and not sleeping (again) at the 9000ft bivy, we went out on another run, this time an out-and-back from the Porcupine Creek Trailhead to North Dome (~9 miles round trip). There was barely any snow on this run, and it was actually quite warm on top of North Dome.

Luke takes a break from running on top of North Dome.

Silly faces in the woods on our way back to Porcupine Creek Trailhead.

It was a great way to take advantage of the splitter weather (hey, you get to spend more time in the sun when you’re not in the Ditch!) and the miraculously open Tioga Road. I don’t know how much longer it will last, but do be prepared if you go out there, too. Having a map, extra layers, and plenty of food and water were necessities. Above 8000ft, the trail was more often snow-covered than not, and all the creeks we crossed were frozen solid.

Hope everyone is getting after it in the new year!

Lizzy

- Luke

January – Sport Climbing

January causes chilly belayer syndrome

Wet weekends are good for craft projects

February – Skiing

Epic snowstorm en route to skiing.

Great ski conditions at Kirkwood

March – Indian Creek

A happy Lizzy after sending Sacred Cow.

Luke onsights Extra Lean

April – Vegas vacation and the first Yosemite Tweetup!

Count the climbers. There are four in this photo!

At Upper Yosemite Falls for the Yosemite Tweetup

May – Yosemite Storms and Sending

A bear patrols the El Cap bridge

Looking up at Tales of Power.

June – Wedding and a Honeymoon

We tied the Knot!!

Honeymooning in Canada

July – South Africa and the Steck-Salathe

Lizzy in South Africa doing geology field work

Summit Glory after the Steck-Salathe! (I'm a little bit excited...)

August – Hulk-O-Rama

Luke enjoys live climber "TV" on the Hulk.

Lost in the Sun!

September and October – Running and Climbing in Yosemite

El Cap (look how little the East Buttress is!) from Taft Point.

Amazing views from Clouds Rest

Keith leads the Harding Slot

November – Bishop bouldering

A snowy drive to the east side.

Lizzy works out a technical sequence.

Luke gets some altitude at the Happy Boulders

December – Running

Lizzy during the TNF Challenge Half Marathon

Looking for the trail somewhere near Cathedral Pass

I trained semi-seriously, pretty much the first time ever, for our Spring Break trip to Indian Creek. I had an extreme lesson in humility when I attempted my dream project, Tricks are for Kids, but made up for it majorly with an onsight of the spectacular Sacred Cow.

Success on Sacred Cow

I had expected April and May to bring a climbing lull, as I prepared for quals and getting married (yeah, good planning, right?), but my advisor and I agreed to push my exam back to the fall quarter and so I suddenly had some weekends free to go back to Yosemite. We hosted the first annual (hopefully) Yosemite Tweetup and it was super fun, despite the exceedingly wet weather. I also managed to redpoint Tales of Power, which was a huge mental victory for me. Plus, two 5.12s in a year is a good year for me! Finally, we attempted to climb Lurking Fear in a push, but bailed in the midst of a crazy hailstorm.

Lizzy free climbing on Lurking Fear

After Tales of Power, my gym motivation was waning and I decided to focus my energy on my upcoming long course triathlon (and getting married, which was a week after the race). It was a great learning experience, where I got the full realization of how much more cycling you have to do, relative to swimming and running, for half or full Ironman triathlons, and how much more I like swimming and running, relative to cycling. So maybe Olympic distance will end up being my favorite…

And then, we got married! All the preparation and planning was crazy and more stressful than I would have liked, but the wedding was beautiful and perfect and it was wonderful to share our day with so many friends and family.

Canada bound on our Honeymoon

After getting home from our honeymoon, I had a week to get ready to go back to South Africa for my second field season. I was not particularly happy about the timing of the trip, so soon after our wedding, but had a much more fun trip than before because of the company (other students to hang out and work with!), the insulated skirt my mother-in-law gave me for my birthday (it’s winter down there), and a cell phone so I could talk to Luke every morning. It’s the small things that make all the difference.

Beautiful views on the Bishop Pass Trail

By late summer, I was both out of shape and low on motivation for climbing, so I rolled with it and got psyched on running. Particularly running on awesome alpine trails in the Sierra. My previous longest run had been ~14 miles at sea level, but over 2 months, I went on 4 amazing runs: 13 miles out-and-back to the ~12,000ft Bishop Pass, 17 miles from Tenaya Lake to Yosemite Valley via Cloud’s Rest (~10,000ft) , 14 miles in Yosemite via 4 Mile, Panorama, and John Muir Trails, and an 18 mile trip along the south Valley “rim” via the Pohono Trail. This all by the girl who really thought I hated running a few years ago. Major thanks and love to awesome running buddies SK and Julie

Amazing views from Clouds Rest

Finally, the last couple months have been singularly focused on one of the biggest hurdles of my graduate career: my qualifying exam. I’m happy to report that I passed and am now a PhD candidate! I’m definitely exhausted, but also full of motivation for my research, as well as some major extra-curricular goals for next year, including:

1. Trip to the Red River Gorge for Spring Break! I don’t want to chase the numbers too much, but it would be great to finally climb 5.12 on bolts
2. Be able to spend more time in the Sierra this summer, both to climb and for goal #3:
3. Running to Bishop Pass planted the seed of running the ~56 mile loop through Evolution Basin. It would probably be ~9000ft elevation gain, over three 12,000ft passes, with some ridiculously incredible scenery. I know this is a big jump from what I’ve done so far, so it will require some major training, but I’m super psyched on it.
4. I ran the TNF EC half marathon in the Marin Headlands again this year, and thought, maybe I should just do the Gore-Tex 50 Mile next year… if all goes as planned, I’ll have already run 50+ miles for the Evolution Loop and there’s so much more singletrack on the 50 Mile than the half!

So there you’ve got it. I think this year has taught me a lot about balancing work and play, following my psych, and becoming a more well-rounded athlete. I think these skills will really be beneficial for me next year and I should have a little more free time (and energy) to blog about it all, now that I’m post quals!

Lizzy

We pre-ran the half marathon course back in November

But even with all this, running and trail racing are unpredictable and the race just didn’t go as planned. To make a long story short, although the rest of my body felt great, my stomach felt awful, which meant I only ate 3 shot bloks in the first 8 miles (including what I managed to choke down before starting) and bonked really hard on the last hill. Although I’d made good time until that point, all I could muster was slow walking (my body really wanted to sit down, so any movement was a victory), and I finished about 6 minutes slower than last year. I was disappointed, but I actually learned a lot through this experience, including:

(1) Sometimes routines that work well for training don’t work the same for racing.

I know most advice out there for racing is not to try anything new on race day. I imagine, then, that the implication is to test everything out while training, then use the same routine for race day. I learned, however, that there’s a bit more complexity. In the past, my pre-race breakfast has been one banana 1.5-2 hours before the start, with ~3 shot bloks 20-30 minutes before the start. However, on all my long mountain runs, I switched to eating a ProBar (way more calories than 1 banana, which was a good thing) and a couple shot bloks. In combination with salt pills taken every hour during the run, my stomach behaved perfectly.

Fast forward to Nike Women’s 13.1 in October: I ate a ProBar 2 hours before the start and my stomach was unsettled the whole race, but I thought it was just nerves. So come TNF race morning, I had a ProBar again. I already told you what happened… So clearly although the ProBar is a great breakfast for a long mountain run, on a race morning, when I’m already a bit anxious and tense, it’s not the way to go.

Solution? I’m not sure yet. A single banana is almost certainly not enough for some of the longer events I want to do. I know a lot of people swear by oatmeal, but I’m not sure I could manage to eat that when I’m nervous. I’m thinking about quinoa with a little sugar and some dried fruit, but I’ll have to think more about the digestive implications. Any suggestions would be welcome!

This sign says 482 miles to Oregon... (this photo is also from November, there were many more people here on race day)

(2) Listen to your body.

If I had just slowed down or stopped earlier on to calm my stomach down and get in some more calories earlier, I would probably have been a lot less miserable, and faster, on the rest of the course. This will probably be especially important the longer I want to run.

(3) Maybe it would be a good idea to use aid stations…

Since I got my sweet running pack, I’ve basically been able to be self-sufficient, which was really important for long runs in the Sierra. I figured I’d just do the same thing about the race, but in retrospect, it would have been a good idea to actually stop at the aid stations. Stopping would probably have helped me actually eat something, plus I could have benefited from drinking some sports drink. On all our long mountain runs, we did actually stop to eat food on a semi-regular basis, so this is probably something to incorporate into my racing strategy as well.

Cloudy, but scenic on our practice run of the course. It was beautiful and sunny on race day - too bad I was zombie Lizzy by this point, though.

(4) Recovering quickly is good for the soul.

I pretty much felt like death after the race. My body was just so messed up from all the exertion with so little fuel. But by Tuesday I was basically back to normal and I had a great 5 mile run on Thursday, just 4 days after the race. I suppose if I just wanted to be faster, I’d be more upset about not PRing, but since I actually want to go longer, I’m pretty psyched about my speedy recoveries. It works for psych, too. After the race, I just felt grumpy when I saw people running. A few days later, I was planning my next race…

(5) Although I prefer trails to roads, not all trails are created equal, and I’m totally a single-track snob.

My very favorite section of the course was the only bit of single-track on the half marathon course, a fun semi-technical downhill where I could just fly by tons of people. I was basically constantly saying, “on your left!” Single-track, with it’s more variable and often more technical terrain, is much more suited to my skills and IT’S JUST MORE FUN. So I can stack the deck in my favor, race mentality-wise, by finding courses with lots of single track.

Anyways, despite my complete nutritional explosion and theoretically disappointing result, I’ve kept a surprisingly good attitude and am more psyched than ever about taking on some much more ambitious and exciting goals in 2012. But you’ll have to wait for my end-of-the-year post to hear about those. Suffice it to say, 2012 WILL BE AMAZING!!!

Lizzy

Many people associate haul bags with aid climbing, Yosemite, and El Capitan. But I think that haul bags are just as useful for free climbers, especially when you are trying to add a bit of comfort or climb closer to your limit. When climbing multi-pitch routes, you are often going for hours at a time and the weight of all of that food and water really adds up. Typically climbers split this up into backpacks but they can become quite heavy. A few extra pounds may make the difference between sending the crux pitch, or following a pitch clean. Having a haul bag (of the right size) can allow a team to bring more stuff (jacket, water, etc.) without causing the follower to suffer. Hauling is especially efficient if you are already planning on bringing a second rope to rappel the route.

Large assortment of Haul Bags

The big variables for choosing a bag are durability and size. At first I tried hauling small back packs that I had but these instantly sprouted holes. Even the Metolius Porta-a-cord, which seems to be designed as a lighter weight haul bag, failed me. After these unsuccessful attempts, I bought a Metolius Zodiac haul pack.

The Zodiac is the smallest “haul pack” that Metolius makes, at 16 liters. At the time I was unsure of what size I would need and found this one at a good price. It has no waist band, which can be annoying, but is super durable and can fit  three Nalgene water bottles and a few jackets. Unlike the rest of the Metolius haul bags, the shoulder straps on the Zodiac  do not store away in the pack and can catch on features when hauling.

The Zodiac haul pack on the Rainbow Wall in Red Rocks

After six months of use, I wanted to be able to bring more stuff and purchased the Metolius Shield. This “pack” is much bigger (31 vs 16 liters) and has a removable waist belt and stowable pack straps. The Shield is a little large to wear when climbing but it fit two pairs of approach shoes in addition to water and jackets. It’s large enough that I even brought it on the El Capitan as a sub-bag. One missing item is a sternum strap which could add some comfort when hiking and climbing.

Rappelling with the Metolius Shield

For big wall and aid climbing I have a Metolius Half Dome, 125 Liters, and the A5 Grade 7 bag, a massive 180 liters. (seen in the first photo) The Half Dome has better suspension (with a sternum strap!) but does not have enough room for more than 2 days on the wall. When I climbed the Salathe we used the A5 as our main bag with more frequently used items and food in the Shield. Hauling two bags gives both climbers a bag to carry on the way down. This worked well enough but the loads were lopsided (31 liters vs 180 liters)… Since then I’ve purchased the Metolius Quarter Dome. This is more reasonable size for a second bag at 69 liters and could be even be paired with the Half Dome instead of using the monstrous A5 bag.

Haul bags a plenty on El Cap Spire

One thing I’ve learned is you almost always want a bigger haul bag. I often bring the Shield instead of the Zodiac on free routes to make packing easier.  This is especially true when at hanging belays or on El Capitan. The one counter point is that it is nearly impossible to get to the bottom of huge bags like Metolius El Cap, Half Dome or the Grade 7 A5 bag. Either way you want to be able to get at food and water easily so you consume enough during the inevitable long days. I find that sorting your gear into mesh bags (with clip in loops) will help you stay organized and prevent you from dropping anything. It would really suck to drop your approach shoes off of El Cap!

Gear Recommendation:

For multipitch free routes like Astroman, The Rostrum, Rainbow Wall, Sheer Lunacy and Moonlight Buttress, I would suggest the Metolius Mescalito, Shield, or Express. For Black Diamond, the Stubby also works (it’s the same size as the Shield). Anything larger would be overkill. These packs will fit your approach shoes in addition to 3-5 liters of water, food and jackets.

Tag Lines and Hauling

One of the big down sides of having a haul bag is getting it up the wall.  I’ve had haul bags that weighed as much as me, which made hauling no small chore. For the most part I’ll to talk about hauling on free routes, which is much simpler since complex pulley systems are unnecessary.

Roberto trailing our 5mm haul line on the Rainbow Wall

Since the whole idea of having a haul bag is to climb with less stuff you want to make sure you have the right kind of haul/tag line. For most climbs I use either a 5 or 6mm cord unless I plan on doing a lot of rappelling. The 6mm is compatible with the Petzl Mini-Traxion which is great for hauling loads under 50 pounds.  My 5mm line is 40 meters long which is adequate for many free climbs. I use this with a DMM revolver or just pull up the bag hand over hand. I purchased it based on “half” pitches which are usually 30 or 35 meters.  My 6mm line is a full 60 meters which allows me to haul a bag on longer pitches like the Enduro Corner on Astroman.

When I’m climbing at the Incredible Hulk, I tend to rappel instead of walking off. This is best executed with two 70m ropes and I use a 8.2mm x 70m Petzl Dragonfly. This is a dynamic rope that I sometime use as a double. As a haul line it feeds like butter through the Mini-Traxion and is not too heavy. It is much bulkier than the 5 or 6mm lines and takes up much more room in your pack, so I usually trail it. Anything in the 7.x-8.x mm range will work well as a rappel line. They can usually be found by searching for a Twin or Double rope.

The process of hauling a small bag is fairly simple when it weighs less than 50 pounds. I put the mini-traxion on the anchor (as high as possible), and then pull up the slack through by hand (no ascender required). My usual technique is to have one hand on each side of the mini-traxion so that I’m pulling both up on the weighted side and down on the free side. This works best for lighter loads. The bag can get stuck so I generally haul while the second is climbing. This way your follower can help free the bag. This requires the use of an auto-locking belay device, like an ATC-Guide or Reverso.

One trick that I have found with smaller diameter cord is that it is worthwhile to switch ends after each haul. Thin cords get easily twisted and you don’t want to lose time having to re-flake the rope at each belay. Thus like climbers swapping leads, I flake the line when hauling the pack, and then re-attach the haul bag at the other end. This makes the rope much less likely to snag when the leader is climbing.

For free-climbing with light bags I also tend to add a sling and biner to the haul bag so it is easy to dock it to the anchor. When big wall climbing a munter mule is much better so that you can lower out the bag when you are hauling.

If you are bringing a haul line that is shorter than your rope, you will have situations where you can’t haul the bag. In case of emergency you can use your haul line as a pull cord to allow for longer rappels. This is especially important when climbing big routes, or dealing with fickle weather. Having a second rope can be the difference between getting down safe and calling for a rescue.

Overall I find that climbing without a pack increases my enjoyment on climbs more than the effort required to haul a bag. Logistics and rope management are more important with the additional gear but the small weight difference may help you send that route of your dreams! It is also nice for the leader to haul up the bag and be able to put on a jacket in colder weather.

Time to relax and enjoy the climbing!

- Luke

Morning Light on El Capitan

Casey 4th classing up the huge approach ramp.

I was on this trail at this early hour three months before, almost to the day. Back in July, twilight was already filtering through the Valley and we were sweating before we even left the car.  This day I wondered if we had packed enough jackets because there would be no sun on the Chouinard-Herbert.

We started 5th class climbing here (just to the left of the big pine in the sandy gully)

Casey and I hiked up the climbers’ trail, with the sun helping show the path. The air was crisp and multi-colored leaves covered the hillside.  We made our final preparations at the base, sorted our gear, and tightened our climbing shoes. We scrambled up the ramps, quickly working our way towards the route.

Casey on the last chimney before Chessman Pinnacle

We deviated from the topo, taking a more direct and fun variation, but eventually made our way to Chessman Pinnacle. Occasional marks of chalk showed signs of prior parties on the seemingly abandoned route.  The Sentinel was ours, the shade and cold our partners for the day.

Casey took the sharp end off the Pinnacle and smoothly onsighted a less than straightforward pitch. The cracks demanded attention as they varied in size and angle before blanking out at the belay. Casey picked his way over the slab, approaching the first crux. As he worked past a smattering of fixed gear, he was looking good until his foot slipped. The crack was barely a finger’s width across.

Casey leads the first 5.10 pitch off Chessman Pinnacle

Casey right before the first crux section.

As I started climbing my confidence was wavered and I had Casey drop a loop of rope to haul the pack. Unencumbered, I worked my way up the tips crux. Foot high, I tried to locate a good spot in the crack. My body tensed as my foot came off, but I recovered.  I got my breathing back under control and reset my foot, quickly smashing my fingers into the crack and snagging a good fingerlock. Moments later I too was on the ledge.

Psyched for a chilly but fun day on the Sentinel

The plan was to swing leads for efficiency, so I racked up for a face climbing challenge. Despite having already climbed five hundred feet, I felt rusty or perhaps just tired. The pitch was leaning and I had to transition mentally to the new style of climbing. Pitons guided me up the face.  With plenty of gear left, I linked into the next pitch. I moved nervously careful not to pull the wrong way on the hollow and loose flakes. Finally at the belay, I relaxed on the spacious ledge. The two new ASCA bolts instilled some confidence and mellowed my attitude.

Casey links pitches 9 and 10.

Casey swung through and easily climbed the next two pitches bringing us to the base of the my first 5.11 lead. I started up the offwidth, thrutching slightly and spending far more effort than then 5.8 rating implied.  The crack narrowed down below a roof and I fought to keep my pump under control. Swinging my legs up over the lip, I slipped. My arm was still wedged in the crack, so I caught my self and struggled to avoid falling.  Casey would show me an easier sequence when he followed, but for now I still had more climbing to do. My mind was fried and at the next hard sequence I gave up. The crack thinned out and I could see neither hand holds nor gear placements. I faltered.

Casey make quick work of the long 5.11 corner (pitch 11)

After cleaning out some dirt, I fought my way up, pumped to the max, and eventually clipped the oddly placed anchors. Casey barely struggled, climbing smoothly with our pack to the belay. I tried to regroup, but it seems that my mental energy was gone. The hundreds of feet of climbing had slowly chipped away my armor.

Mandatory shot of Afro-Cuban Flakes (not very big in person!)

The Afro Cuban Flakes were next and I worked up to the traverse. With the picture of Honnold fresh in my mind, I crimped and crossed up into the underclings. The flakes were loose and rotten so I traversed to a better stance and fired in an anchor’s worth of gear. But from here I was faced with the unknown. With my mental energy sapped and my arms filled with lactic acid, I hung. It is so funny how small mental shifts can be the difference between sending and giving up.

Inobvious holds and body positions lead over the roof and eventually I worked my way to the belay, resting on pins and gear to save my energy. I don’t know what I was keeping it for, since the next few pitches quickly flew by. Casey was able to fire the crux with my running beta and we linked and simuled to the top, where we were treated to warming rays of the setting sun. Sadly there was no time to dawdle or soak in the views.

Casey is totally psyched (to finish climbing in the daylight)!

The descent gulley was loose and long, but rarely technical and not as bad as the hype. We made good time and arrived back at our packs just in time for the darkness to surround us once again. Headlamps illuminated our steps as we trudged back to the car.

It’s been a while since I’ve gotten up in the dark and returned to camp in the dark. We got back to the car just under 12 hours after leaving it. I’ve waited a while to try the Chouinard-Herbert and was glad I squeezed it into this fall. I know I’ll be back!

- Luke

Rough topo of the Chouinard-Herbert

Many climbs, years, and goals later I’m living in the Bay Area. Yosemite is now my “home” crag and I spend as many weekends there as possible. Last fall began with a trip up Astro-Hulk, a rainy day on the Rostrum, a send of Astro-Boy and eventually success on the Rostrum. Yosemite requires mastery of wide cracks and despite a  newly gained proficiency at hand-stacking I was unsure of my ability to climb the overhung Harding Slot.

Keith leads the second pitch with the Enduro Corner just visible above.

After not climbing together for most of the summer, Keith and I were able to make October plans for Astroman. After getting a late start, we saw two parties on the route, with the lower one taking falls on the Enduro Corner. We figured out the Boulder Problem and then did the Enduro Corner, a masterpiece of thin hand jamming. Unfortunately, we could then see the next team struggling on the Harding Slot.

Keith re-racks after sending the boulder problem.

Eventually I had to start climbing and linked the pitches to the base of the Slot. This was our first time on the 6^th pitch and I was thrilled by the sporty laybacking despite my thrutching on a lower wide hands section. When I arrived near the anchor, the team was still grunting up the slot and the second opted out of climbing and jugged the pitch. All of this had made me quite nervous and I climbed poorly, struggling on the moves up to the base of the Slot. I didn’t quite have the right gear and was unsure of how or what to commit to.  I hung, and then desperately aided into the Slot. Once securely wedged I was able to squeeze up, happy to be chimneying. Keith cruised the start but slipped out of the slot and had to hang. It was now 4:15pm and we were uncommitted to a late night on the rock. It was time to bail, we were still only boys.

Over the next day and on the drive home we talked about the Slot. All the other pitches had given us no trouble, but I was unconvinced that I could lead it successfully. Keith was optimistic and had figured out some good beta. We decided to swap pitches and he would get the Slot for the following weekend. As the week passed, I was unsure of our chances, but we discussed this openly and decided it was better that success was uncertain. More of an adventure… (gulp)

Saturday morning we left Hardin Flat at 6am to drive into the Valley. It was still dark, but we were both well rested and focused. We had sorted gear already and were hiking up to the route shortly after 7. By 7:30 we could see the route and two people were atop the first pitch and I heard noises that suggested two more people might be near by. We were not, however, prepared for the six people that were ahead of us! Making matters worse, there were some fixed lines of unknown origin on the route.

I started climbing at 8 am and the Astro-JAM began. We chatted, crawled, and waited our way up to the Boulder Problem. I had the lead this time and sent the pitch once the next ledge became less crowded.  It felt secure, a welcome change from the weekend prior. A few foreign climbers showed up and started jugging the lines that went all the way up to the Harding Slot. Everywhere there were people leading or hanging or following. A huge cluster slowly oozing their way up the route.

Luke is psyched for ASTRO-MAN!!

As I began the Enduro Corner, two more parties showed up on the route. We had now reached 14 people on the first 6 pitches! At the overnight ledge Keith and I got comfortable. It’s pretty easy to link the next two pitches but none of the parties above us had done this. The sun was out, the day was beautiful so we relaxed and eventually had a nice long conversation with the Canadian party behind us. Two hours passed before the clog had moved through the slot. We had expected the jugging climbers to continue up the route but they luckily decided to bail. It was go time and I quickly dispatched the next two pitches.

With the gear beta dialed  Keith set off up to the Slot. He cruised the overhung layback and steadily worked himself up to the point of no return. Past the last good hold, he  jammed his way into the slot. “I’m at the jugs” he exclaimed proudly. He was now fully committed and almost assured of success. Not long after he had wiggled his way to the top and it was up to me.  I got up to the last hand jam and the small right foot, but I couldn’t move higher. Uncertain what to do, I frantically called for slack and down climbed to the ledge. Going back up, I used a different foot, squeezed my left hand in the thin crack and squirmed up higher. Over the next five minutes I fought, swore, and inched my way into the Slot, totally lacking Keith composure. Once in I had to calm my breathing before I could continue to the belay.

Keith leads the Harding Slot

An hour earlier, sitting on the overnight ledge, we had firmly decided on bailing. We would try the Slot and then go back down. The hour was too late and we were sure to get benighted. Upon finishing the Slot it was the exact same time as the week prior, 4:15pm. Now the circumstances had changed, we had sent the pitch and the decision was instant so we charged up. At the next belay we ran into another party who were doing a the FA of Quantum Man. The party ascent raged on.

Keith follows the Harding Slot (from our 1st attempt)

Keith then onsighted the Changing Corners pitch without much trouble and we had caught back up to the parties from earlier in the day. Jammed up again, we waited, chatting with the Quantum party. It was late, after 6pm when I started the changing corners. I had a few dicey moments, not wanting to fall, before making it to the belay and taking over the lead. A toally crazy and wild pitch! It’s hard to imagine Alex, Dean or Peter soloing this pitch.  The moon had risen and it was now dark. I relished in the easier climbing and was forced to bump my big gear and run it out on the 60+ feet of #3 camalots.

Setting up the belay on the final ledge, I had a spectacular view of the wall dropping off below me illuminated by the full moon. The Washington Column is a big wall and I relished the 1000 feet of air  on the perfect fall night.

Keith took over the lead for the last pitch and dispatched the scary crux by headlamp. A few balance-y moves were the final test between us and success. My foot slipped while following, 15 feet below the anchor on a mossy rock. My core tightened to maintain body tension and prevented the fall.

From the summit of the Washington Column we had a spectacular view of the entire Valley. North Dome loomed above, magically lit up. We had committed to the darkness and succeeded in climbing Astroman. The success was slightly surreal. Hours before we had given up but now we had met our fall goal! The adventure was more than we bargained for and the many hours of darkness added to the memory.

I think we will both go back to climb the route again, but for now we have peace with our accomplishment. It would be nice to be able to climb at the front of the line, unrestricted by external conditions.

Cheers,

Luke

While researching our previous run (4 Mile Trail to Panorama Trail to JMT), I came across some backpacker and hiker accounts of the Pohono Trail, a ~13 mile section of trail running along the southern “rim” of Yosemite Valley from the parking lot at Wawona Tunnel to Glacier Point. It is much less traveled than other trails (like the trail to Half Dome or the Yosemite Falls Trail, for example) with arguably way more views. I was able to tempt Julie into joining me and we made it into a longer run by taking the 4 Mile Trail down to Swinging Bridge and finishing at Yosemite Lodge.

I think the photos tell the story well, so I’ll just give you a few more details about the run. It was ~18 miles total, with a lot of up (maybe ~6000ft, my Garmin overestimated again, I think), because the “rim” of Yosemite Valley is not at all flat like I imagine the rim of Zion might be (Garmin data at the bottom of the post if you’re interested). One of the best parts was so many different (and new to me) views of El Cap. I wouldn’t say I’m used to seeing El Cap (it still amazes me how big it is), but it was really fun to see it from a whole different perspective. We could really see how tiny the East Buttress (which Luke was climbing) is compared to, say, The Nose. More photos are in this album.

View from the parking lot at Wawona Tunnel. All the tourists who stop here clearly don't know what they're missing.

El Cap from Stanford Point

Lovely portion of trail through the trees.

El Cap (look how little the East Buttress is!) from Taft Point.

El Cap in Profile, from a point on the trail almost at Sentinel Dome.

The lovely view of Half Dome from Glacier Point, which we enjoyed in our zombie-like state amidst flocks of tourists who had driven up here.

Back down at the Merced with very tired legs.