Tuolumne Climbing - Sep. 3-5, 2005
9/03/2005
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Climbs:
Witch of the West (5.9, sport)
West of the Witch (5.8, sport)
Mere Image (5.7, mixed)
Great Circle (5.10a, mixed)
Fairview Dome, Regular Route (5.9, 6 pitches, trad)
Needle Spoon (5.10a, 2 pitches, mixed)
Summary
Brian Z emailed me saying he wanted to do Fairview Dome via the Regular Route. I had been lusting after that
climb for a while as well, so I immediately accepted. Stephanie and Sandhya were also coming for part of the
trip, so we would climb with them for a day, then hit the main attraction. We accomplished our main goal,
with a few extra bonuses to boot.
Day 0
Brian and I drove in to Porcupine Flats and grabbed his favorite spot. It was getting cold at night (subzero)
already and I forgot my rain shell and fleece pants. I would suffer a bit every night. Steph and Sandhya
drove in a few hours later and we hit the sack early due to the cold.
Day 1
We got up pretty late and headed over to Daff Dome to see if West Crack/Blown Away was open. There was a slow party
up at the 1st belay and party waiting at the start, so we decided to sport up the climb to its right.
Sandhya lead the first go, then Steph pinkpointed it afterward. I somehow got on the unknown sport route
next to it while taking pictures. I soloed up to a ledge and snapped some photos, then Brian egged me to lead it
and I accepted. He threw me a rope and Sandhya got me on belay. I ended up leading it in my approach shoes,
but not really knowing its rating was the scary part.
Afterward, we packed up and headed to the Bunny Slopes for some more leads for the ladies. Steph got
first go on Mere Image, a runout 5.7 sport with one gear placement. Pretty heady stuff. I followed
with another rope and walked her through rapping down with two ropes. Sandhya had a go at it and likewise
styled it up. Calling it a day, we drove out to the Lee Vining Mobil Station restaurant on Brian's beta and
had some awesome food! The girls left that night and Brian and I prepared for Fairview.
Day 2
Our initial plan was to get up early and be the first on the rock. We racked up the night before and
got to the Fairview parking lot at 8am. There was already one car. We waited around a while since it was
freezing cold and saw two climbers heading back from the Dome. 'They couldn't be finished already!' was
my initial reaction. I curiously hailed them and they said the route was too cold! One guy said he took a
40' whipper once because he could feel his fingers. Brian and I decided to wait until the afternoon and
blitz it. In the meantime, we headed to the Store, took a nap, then headed to the South flank of Daff, since
it would probably have sun. We did the Great Circle in 2 pitches. P1, lead by Brian, was a 5.7 crack with
gear to 2 bolt 5.9 slab. P2 was 5.10a insecure slab and pretty scary. I took a wrong turn and went up
the left side of a large dish. It was super scary, but luckily I didn't fall. By the time we finished, it
was close to 12, so we headed over to Fairview again. When we got to the base, it was 1pm and the last
party was already at the 1st belay. We geared up and Brian took the first lead. We knew we had to go fast,
so we did P1-3 in 2 200' pitches, belaying at the tree. Each took an hour. P3 took 45min, P4 30min, P5 was
a linkup of P6-7 and took 45 min., then P6 was a simul climb of the remaining pitches. I barely plugged
any pro due to the primarily 3rd/4th class scrambling, mostly wrapping the various trees I met along the way.
We topped out at 6:45, making our climbing time 5:45, which I felt was faster than anything I could have
imagined. I know people have done it faster, but this was a first for me. It was good we finished with
ample day light, but I didn't enjoy the climb as much as I thought I would due to the pressure. Plus, I
was a bit sloppy and almost slipped once on the first pitch crux. Regardless, we thoroughly enjoyed the
summit and the 360deg panoramic view of the entire Tuolumne area. This felt like a major accomplishment
and by far the longest route I've ever done. On the descent, we ended up on some super-exposed 4th class
downclimbing, of which I can only say, stay to the left when heading down the south face. Again, we headed
to Lee Vining to feast on some gourmet gas station grub.
Day 3
Another chill day, we got up late and headed to Pywiak Dome to do one of Brian's tick list climbs. He
lusted after it six seasons ago, when he went up Dike route, he saw two fat guys to his left, heading up
a climb he didn't know. Later, he found out the name: Needle Spoon: 5.10a. "Well, if two fat guys can
send it, I should be able to as well!" was his response. Finding the damn start was a pain. We ended up
4th-classing across a thin ramp that took us 1/3 of the way up the face. The ramp starts way to the left
of the face, near the trees, and heads right and slightly up, taking you under but past the prominent hole
in the middle of the Pywiak NW face. Two bolt anchor is the start. I opted for the easier 1st pitch, which
goes at 5.9+. I almost wet myself. The climbing was sustained 5.9/5.9+ slab with not a secure hold or
foot anywhere. There was severe runout between bolt 1 and 2 which I realized afterward would cause me to
fall onto the belay if I had missed the clip. I was super gripped the whole time, even though I wasn't pumped.
I loved it. The second pitch ended up being a one-move, well-protected 5.10a high-step up a vertical
bulge, to easy climbing, of which Brian dispatched handily. He gave me the last two pitches, having
done them many times before, since it's shared with Dike route. P3 was a no-pro 5.6 slab to the right-facing
corner. Wrap a chockstone and use some big cams for the anchor. P4 was a 5.7 wide crack/corner which
involved liebacking and stemming. I had one 3.5 cam with me, which I slid up as I went along. The topout
was also pretty amazing, harboring a view of Tenaya Lake and Peak. We walked East and rapped down the short
section, then headed down the NE side talus. We drove home and hit surprisingly-little traffic at the end
of the Labor Day weekend.