Southern Yosemite Climbing Discussions
Southern Yosemite Categories => Balls Area => Topic started by: John on June 11, 2013, 08:57:19 am
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Did the "Plate Route" - 10a Higgins, Kamps '76
Very fun route.
Start
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g388/jhgodar/Public%20Pics/P1000663_zps36d34b7a.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/jhgodar/media/Public%20Pics/P1000663_zps36d34b7a.jpg.html)
P2. Hmm, which roof to head towards?
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g388/jhgodar/Public%20Pics/P1000679_zpse7ce9345.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/jhgodar/media/Public%20Pics/P1000679_zpse7ce9345.jpg.html)
The gear is the funnest part
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g388/jhgodar/Public%20Pics/P1000690_zps143b140f.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/jhgodar/media/Public%20Pics/P1000690_zps143b140f.jpg.html)
We headed towards an anchor that wasn't the correct belay so we had to move it over to the right and Sue got a bonus pitch.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g388/jhgodar/Public%20Pics/P1000707_zps3de0fca3.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/jhgodar/media/Public%20Pics/P1000707_zps3de0fca3.jpg.html)
This roof is so intimidating from below but ended up being one of the best parts. Poor gear choices but very positive holds in a super airy setting. I know the pictures look like nice weather but it actually started to rain when I started climbing and had to move quick so there could have been more gear placement choices that I missed.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g388/jhgodar/Public%20Pics/P1000711_zpscf39a02f.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/jhgodar/media/Public%20Pics/P1000711_zpscf39a02f.jpg.html)
P3 (P4 the way we did it)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g388/jhgodar/Public%20Pics/P1000723_zps8f58915d.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/jhgodar/media/Public%20Pics/P1000723_zps8f58915d.jpg.html)
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very cool
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Good going. Tackling another old school route. I realized it's now been 12 years since I climbed that dome - too long. And I remember that route looked quite intimidating!
Thanks for the pics!
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Here is a pic of Royal on Tempest, which he dug up and shared several years ago. After seeing your second to last pic, John, I thought it was at the same spot. But it's obviously not, and I believe it to be on the FA of Miranda, although I didn't head that way. IF it is on Miranda, it's likely the start of the last pitch, and I'm not sure the topo is accurate.
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-zurMnLdxxIU/Ubdldgl2hYI/AAAAAAAAAJs/hVQrFBnvAbg/s912/Img003.jpg)
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great pics
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This is an excellent route! Powerful yet delicate moves at the crux. A treat to follow, and needless to say seems it would be a stout lead on P1 for 10a. I'm mostly certain there is more gear opportunity on that upper pitch roof than John placed, too. The rock and air way up there just makes you smile how fun it is.
Love the photo of Royal Robbins. Are those shoes Keds?
Can definitely see why you recalled this shot and thought it might be the same spot, Nate.
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Shot halfway up the second pitch and to the left 30 feet or so where we stopped to recheck the topo on the camera. Nice ledge.
(http://i745.photobucket.com/albums/xx99/susangodar/P1000693.jpg) (http://s745.photobucket.com/user/susangodar/media/P1000693.jpg.html)
The rock in this area feels more like sandstone and is sandy in places. It otherwise reminds me at times of petrified wood or bone.
(http://i745.photobucket.com/albums/xx99/susangodar/P1000722.jpg) (http://s745.photobucket.com/user/susangodar/media/P1000722.jpg.html)
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Are those shoes Keds?
Dunno, but he's pretty stylin' eh?
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John is pretty stylin' too, I must say. But when are you gonna convince him to wear a skid lid on those bold routes? ???
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Appreciate the effort there Nate. He does own one. Just so you know, I request it of him often but haven't delivered an ultimatum yet. Fraid I'm taking one for the team if he ever gets knocked in the head and drops his brake hand (haven't tried that guilt tactic til now). He has worn a helmet climbing... but seems entirely uncomfortable with one. It's like anything at first takes getting used to.
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Yes, Royal Robbins is most definitely styling. Looks like he's running up that thing.
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For the record, this is a reasonable route. I wouldn't recommend it if you were just breaking into that grade, but it does have truly bomber gear placements. They are just occasionally a tiny bit further apart than what most people are used to with bolts yet usually on very positive climbing on excellent rock. That is a major reason why this is so fun and exciting.
It is so refreshing to climb a route like this and I wish there were more just like it, but they are unfortunately super rare.
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I love the RR shot, Nate. Can't get enough of the history of the area.
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this looks super fun just might have to check this route out on the 4th of july week when amy and i are in the area, thanks for the cool pix, mike a.
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Some more Tempest pics
Havana Ball P1
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g388/jhgodar/Public%20Pics/P1000941_zps9fb5ef5b.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/jhgodar/media/Public%20Pics/P1000941_zps9fb5ef5b.jpg.html)
Love the gear
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g388/jhgodar/Public%20Pics/P1000950_zps56492ece.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/jhgodar/media/Public%20Pics/P1000950_zps56492ece.jpg.html)
Vaya Con Dios P3 roof. Super classic, period.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g388/jhgodar/Public%20Pics/P1020786_zps659bdae0.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/jhgodar/media/Public%20Pics/P1020786_zps659bdae0.jpg.html)
Very fun knob climbing on VCD P4 (not the original P3 belay, but we belayed from the Havana Ball anchor and barely made it to the top from here)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g388/jhgodar/Public%20Pics/P1020795_zps94761977.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/jhgodar/media/Public%20Pics/P1020795_zps94761977.jpg.html)
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Very nice.
Is that a bolt to the right of you on p.1 of Havana? Don't have the topo in front of me, but is it an original you didn't use, or a new line? I seem to recall seeing a bolt thereabouts 12 years ago.
One of the only times I've run into other climbers at the Balls was when some fellas came down from Tempest and we were parked nearby. They raved about the quality of VCD, a pretty new line at the time, and kindly shared beta.
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Nate
There is a nice little one pitch bolted route, about 5.8, between Havana Ball and VCD sharing the same start as Havana. From there, the rock is so featured that you could easily continue up to the P2 anchor of VCD if you wanted to.
Vaya Con Dios is gorgeous. Unfortunately, someone added bolts to the first pitch.
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That roof certainly looks like it would be intimidating. Love all those features. Have to Check that thing out. I should be up there Sept 12-15th. Are those routes in the old guide? If not can someone post up in the secret bin or email me some beta. I have only been on Night Watch, Garden Slabs and another that I don't recall which.
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Unfortunately, someone added bolts to the first pitch.
Really sad to hear this. Like Sahib on Chiquito, this was one of those lines that you look up at with wide eyes and wonder, and as I told the FAists, with my knees knocking! It was something to inspire to do someday, when you were feeling really confident and solid (as I really don't thrive off of fear in climbing). It sure got the accolades of the guys I ran into, who said it was on par with the very best routes at Tuolumne.
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Sean and Josh linking the 5.8 to the P2 anchor of Vaya Con Dios. Apparently a little exciting.
There are some old fixed pins to the left of the P1 anchor for Vaya Con Dios suggesting that someone has been through here.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g388/jhgodar/Public%20Pics/P1050107_zpsd0e548d9.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/jhgodar/media/Public%20Pics/P1050107_zpsd0e548d9.jpg.html)
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P3 of Odyssey- 5.9
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g388/jhgodar/Public%20Pics/P1050129_zps38a1be1c.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/jhgodar/media/Public%20Pics/P1050129_zps38a1be1c.jpg.html)
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Yeti on unknown route btw Havana Ball and Vaya con Dios
(http://i745.photobucket.com/albums/xx99/susangodar/P1050089.jpg) (http://s745.photobucket.com/user/susangodar/media/P1050089.jpg.html)
John on Vaya con Dios - original route
(http://i745.photobucket.com/albums/xx99/susangodar/P1050088.jpg) (http://s745.photobucket.com/user/susangodar/media/P1050088.jpg.html)
p.s. The photos will straighten out. They are oriented correctly in Photobucket, but pb just needs to catch up.
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where is Odyssey? Looks great!
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Odyssey is in the Spencer guide and is what I would describe as the left-front of Tempest Dome. Feels like a first ascent when climbing it due to the very careful routefinding and gear fiddling needed. Good route and good rock but a bit real up on P3 I thought. I still don't know if we took the right line but it all seems to match the guide.
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Dug up my tricams for climbing at Tempest that day and enjoyed using all of them.
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Greaaaat photos Sue!!!
What's a tricam?
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I actually used one! It felt kinda funny.
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Here are a few shot of the triple direct route finishing on Con Dios.
(http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/joshmucci/DSCN0297_zps38340334.jpg) (http://s300.photobucket.com/user/joshmucci/media/DSCN0297_zps38340334.jpg.html)
Awesome 5.8 pitch.
(http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/joshmucci/DSCN0303_zps54c6a065.jpg) (http://s300.photobucket.com/user/joshmucci/media/DSCN0303_zps54c6a065.jpg.html)
Pretty tricky here, this section had 2 fixed pins in a small corner off the belay.
(http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/joshmucci/DSCN0304_zps949b66bd.jpg) (http://s300.photobucket.com/user/joshmucci/media/DSCN0304_zps949b66bd.jpg.html)
This one is for you JEFE! ALL TRICAM BELAY. Boom!
(http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/joshmucci/DSCN0305_zpse93ae999.jpg) (http://s300.photobucket.com/user/joshmucci/media/DSCN0305_zpse93ae999.jpg.html)
Easy .6 jaunt up to the roof and over to P2 anchors on Con Dios.
(http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/joshmucci/DSCN0308_zpsa3e3392a.jpg) (http://s300.photobucket.com/user/joshmucci/media/DSCN0308_zpsa3e3392a.jpg.html)
Super Steep, felt like a badass pinnacles climb.
(http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn12/joshmucci/DSCN0311_zpsd67cd477.jpg) (http://s300.photobucket.com/user/joshmucci/media/DSCN0311_zpsd67cd477.jpg.html)
Oh yeah, we forgot to bring water on the climb, training I say.
Some of the best stone I have been on yet.
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Your faces say it all... THAT is an awesome route!
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Sick!
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Plush
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(http://i956.photobucket.com/albums/ae47/setageus/P1020770.jpg)
Got some love for this direct variation - it's got soul and is very memorable following the black streak.
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Find out who did it yet? Impressive wall, that.
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Alas, it remains a mystery
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A friend took a long, clean fall on Higgin's Plate route and was ok, but what happened was a hold broke in an area that looked solid. Just an FYI.
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Finally got around to checking out this forum -- good stuff. If people are still wondering who did the FA of Vaya Con Dios, that would be me and Jocko Holmgren, early '90s. Ground up, in one push. One of the very best routes we did in SoYo in the several years we were pretty active there. ~Sam Davidson
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Hi Sam! Welcome to the sweet spot on your internet dial!
Any other lines you enjoyed putting up in the area?
cheers,
MungeRob
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Welcome Sam! Do tell some stories - you and Jocko had some good ones.
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So nice to see you here Sam - Welcome!
John and I met you once about two summers ago, more or less, when we were climbing around Boulder Garden. We were happy to have just climbed Vaya con Dios and to get to meet you and talk about it however briefly. Beautiful line VCD!
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Hey Susan -- I actually remember meeting you guys at BGS that day. And Nate and I carried on via email a couple years back about some of the routes we did.
The Tempest is one of my favorte formations in SoYo. I climbed pretty much every route on it (at least those that were in the Spencer guide) with one partner or another. One day I climbed from the belay on Pitch 1 of Havana Ball to the second pitch belay on VCD -- not sure if it had every been done before or not but it's a good variation. My notes say 5.7-5.8.
In that area I did two other new routes, one up and left of BGS on No Name Ridge (2 pitches, 5.9 face and crack) and another one further east, on the formation near the entrance to Bowler Campground (5.8, goes over a bulging headwall down low). I also led the short crack on the summit boulder atop Boulder Garden Slab (5.9) -- not sure if that had ever been done before or not. Probably Robbins did it in the Hinterlands era.
As I told Nate previously, climbing with Jocko Holmgren was always an adventure. Jocko was (is) a quirky guy and arch-traditionalist, who was an avowed agnostic yet would yell "Stand up for Jesus!" whenever he was faced with a crux move. No one could better place a bolt from a dicey stance than Jocko, and he was cool in the clutch. He put up a number of gnarly routes at the Pinnacles and seemed to relish the climbing more when the rock quality declined.
Jocko and I both admired Tom Higgins as a master of the Old School, and we scared ourselves silly trying to climb Higgins' routes around SoYo. In June 1991 Jocko and I climbed Elegance on Chiquito Dome. As Jocko was the better face climber we decided he should lead the crux pitch (which we rated 10.d -- neither of us thought it was quite 5.11). All of the bolts on that climb, at that time anyway, were 1/4" and the hanging belays were two quarter-inch split shafts. As with so many Higgins routes, there are substantial runouts on that climb. I was gripped belaying Jocko on the crux pitch, hanging there in the middle of that wall, even though that pitch is the best protected on the route, thinking that if he fell and any force were applied to the anchor we would both be out of there. But Jocko styled the pitch, crowing "Stand up for Jesus!" and "Lord Almighty!" repeatedly.
BTW the second pitch of that route is serious -- the real business of the climb. You have to do 5.10c moves well above protection with a fall there landing you squarely on your belayer's head. Still, Elegance is one of the best routes for the grade, anywhere. I made an annotated topo of it that I can scan and share if anyone's interested.
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Hi Sam
Great to hear from you and look forward to you possibly telling more stories and hearing your comments. Jocko maybe? He is a fun character to chat with.
Hey, did you perhaps leave a piton in the path you took from Havana ball to VCD? we found one in that neighborhood and i asked Higgins about it and he said they would not have used/left a piton there.
That P2 of Elegant Inclinations looks terrifying! The crux is before the only bolt if I remember correctly? Steep, steep steep. Turned around when I looked at that one. Shoot, I almost bit it on P1 when a hold broke.
The Plate Route on Tempest is awesome.
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BTW the second pitch of that route is serious -- the real business of the climb. You have to do 5.10c moves well above protection with a fall there landing you squarely on your belayer's head. Still, Elegance is one of the best routes for the grade, anywhere. I made an annotated topo of it that I can scan and share if anyone's interested.
Load er up!! This crowd loves that stuff! :)
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Hey Sam,
I know I prodded you and Jack many times before, but if you do happen to dig up any pics you might have taken on your excursions, scan and post 'em up!
Was the climb you did on the rock above Bowler a crack I presume? Just one pitch? Ever draw a topo of that or the pitch on No Name Ridge? Sketches in the Spencer guide? Many routes have been done on those crags in recent years, and of course Royal and crew played around there a lot, without recording much on the smaller crags, so the history is very fuzzy.
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Sam, Awesome post! I finally got a quick break from work, but already almost done enjoying it, getting to read the cascade of posts this morning. Great stories!
Love it - Stand up for Jesus!
Definitely felt like yelling something uplifting when I tried to lead the first pitch of Elegance. I was so shaken from what felt to be a dicey run after making it to if I recall correctly what I think was the last protection bolt before the anchor. I offered the rest to John and lowered. When he was finishing, that's when the hold broke on him. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have held it together like John did. John did wander up a little ways on the 2nd pitch, and hit reverse. It'll still be there we like to think.
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One day I climbed from the belay on Pitch 1 of Havana Ball to the second pitch belay on VCD -- not sure if it had every been done before or not but it's a good variation. My notes say 5.7-5.8.
Is Havana Ball to the left of VCD?
Sean and I connected that 5.8 sport pitch to the left of VCD with a scary .10aR second pitch that ended at VCD P2 belay.
That dome kick serious ass.
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Yeti, that is the pitch where Sean said he found a pin.
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Not sure how to embed an image in a post -- I've attached my annotated topo for Elegance. My notes say the rack was RPs, wireds, TCUs (0-4), 1 each Friend #1-3.5 (Camalots #.5-3) -- and lots of long slings.
The first and second pitches of that route are definitely runout with mandatory harder moves pretty far out from pro. I went up and down the opening sequences of that second pitch a bunch of times before committing -- it was one of the most serious leads I had done at that grade. My notes show 5.8 moves right off the belay, then the 5.10c crux well above that first bolt and I was able to place a cam in a pocket before clipping the second bolt. Talk about relief.
Higgins was a master at mind control -- and without sticky rubber!
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Sam-
Maybe this will help you for posting photos: http://southernyosemiteclimbing.com/SMF/index.php?topic=26.0 (http://southernyosemiteclimbing.com/SMF/index.php?topic=26.0) we would love to see more.
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Re: the connection between first pitch belay on Havana Ball and the second pitch belay on VCD... I could have placed a pin. We pretty much always carried a few knifeblades and small LAs when we were new-routing. I don't find anything about that in my notes, though. I have a dim recollection of seeing a fixed pin off to the left of the first pitch belay on VCD when we did the FA, but that wasn't on the line we took to connect HB and VCD.
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There is still a pin on HB right next to the P2 anchor of VCD. The roof of HB is only like 8-12' to the left.
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That sounds right. The roof pitch on HB was intimidating from that belay.
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Sam, thank you for posting your Elegant Inclinations topo. Great notes! That is some proud climbing for sure.
B must be Sahib?
Have you been back over and seen Chiquito these days?
Getting a little too hot there for me anyway this time of year.
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Sam, Did you ever topo the other routes you mentioned doing in the BGS area?
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Susan,
Haven't been to Chiquito for some years, but I climbed a bunch of the routes there in the '90s (never Sahib, though, which is indeed Route B in the topo I posted -- that route looked even scarier than Elegance).
I'm starting to dig through boxes of old climbing stuff to see if I have topos of some of the other routes we did in those days. Some new routes we did we thought might have been done previously or we thought other folks should have the same opportunity for adventure so I didn't make topos of everything.
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Good intentions those.
Would love to see more of your topos, photos, and stories too!
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Sure would be nice to see you out there again Sam. Would be really something if there were ever a group gathering also capturing earlier climbers of the area.
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There is that Big Sleep gathering this weekend. Mainly Supertopo folks. Guy Keesee has climbed hereabouts bitd..
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Wish I could make it. Sounds like a raffle is happening too. Have fun, Ger!
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Glad you'll be getting out there this weekend Ger.
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Guy Keesee has climbed hereabouts bitd..
Does he have any routes there?
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Not sure John......but it will be kinda fun putting faces to names.
G-gnome is I believe Jan McCullum (sp?).