...in Yosemite. I spent the last weekend climbing in the Valley with Sam. We drove up Saturday morning, with the intend to have a mellow, relaxing weekend. I hadn't been to the Valley in almost a year, and hadn't climbed on gear since August. In fact between August and last week I only climbed outdoors once, at the Pinnacles. On the way we decided to check out the Five Open Books area and climb Committment, if the route seemed dry enough.
The conditions seemed well enough from the base of the climb, so Sam started off on the first pitch. I led the second pitch, and of course the slabby part in the beginning was wet and slippery. It took some navigation, but I managed to piece together a patchwork of dry spots... Sam finished the route leading the third pitch.
Back at the base we noticed that no one was on Munginella, so we figured we'd run up it real quick. Real quick it was! We climbed the route in two long pitches instead of three, me taking the first.
The next day we went to Pat & Jack Pinnacle, where we climbed Makayla's Climb, and the bolted line right of it, which was in neither of our guidebooks. Both of us led both routes. Neither of us had climbed Golden Needles before, so we decided to give it a shot. The first pitch follows a corner with perfect hand cracks, which I led to a huge belay ledge. From there the second pitch follows double cacks to a bulge, which was rather nasty. Sam did an awesome job leading this section. At the top we waited for the party behind us and shared the rappel with them.
A perfect mellow weekend in Yosemite! I can't believe that ithad been so long since I had been up there!
Showing posts with label climbing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label climbing. Show all posts
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Friday, August 14, 2009
Guest Post: Dan's view of the Matterhorn Peak trip
Ugh... I am lacking behind on posting again!
Until I whip up a report of the trip to Matterhorn Peak, Daniela and I made a few weeks ago here's Dan's report!
Thanks Dan!
Until I whip up a report of the trip to Matterhorn Peak, Daniela and I made a few weeks ago here's Dan's report!
Thanks Dan!
July 27 2009
Matterhorn Peak – North Arete
Friday evening, Bjorn and I did the usual rush hour crawl out of the bay area and arrived at a campground just off of Twin Lakes Rd in Bridgeport just about midnight.
Before 6am, we hopped in the car for a short drive to the Twin Lakes trailhead. Our trek started out at 615am. The trail headed through another campground then followed the creek upstream. We passed rushing waterfalls, beautiful wildflowers and enjoyed the views of the mountains surrounding us. Soon we could see our destination in the far, far distance. The path was easy going until we headed away from the creek and up steep sections of rock and boulder field. The going got even harder about 3 hours into the approach when we reached the lake. I, having only a pair of trail runners, had very little grip on the glacier and scree sections which made this approach more difficult then it had to be. Bjorn made quick work of the difficult sections with his trekking poles and solid approach shoes, digging out steps for me to follow in the last steep glacier. I basically crawled the rest of the way up and reached the beginning of the climb at noon.
A pair of very happy climbers was descending the east side and verified we were in the correct place to start to the first pitch. Bjorn led the entire climb, combining the 2nd and 3rd pitches to speed things up. Rock quality on the 1st and 2nd was shotty but it became increasingly better as we made our way to the summit. We reached the top in good time and I couldn’t have been happier. Thanks to Bjorn, I was able to complete my first “successful” alpine climb. It was about 4p, storms were in the distance, and we made our way off the summit, back to the gear we left at the first belay and got ourselves geared up for the hike back. We knew it would be dark before we arrived at the car and wanted to be passed the lake and hopefully back on well-traveled trail before sundown.
We couldn’t help but create mini rock slides all the way down the scree section to the top of the glacier…that kind of terrain is very tricky and I haven’t mastered a good technique. The glaciers also proved themselves to be just as problematic down as they were going up. After some time of trying to make my way down as if I were descending a ladder (thank god I brought gloves), I said F-it and slid down the whole way on my ass. Oh and by the way, Prana pants are NOT waterproof. Bjorn was making good time above me with his poles and started making incredible time when he slipped, landed on his ass, and zoomed past me heading down to the rocks below. Thankfully we both made it to the boulder fields without injury...only very cold and wet backsides. Shortly after that, we could see the lake and knew the hardest parts of the day were behind us. We followed the trail back to the creek, picked up the pace and made it through most of the remaining boulder hopping before we broke out the headlamps. Arriving back at the car around 1015p, were too tired to do anything but head back to the campground. We were lucky enough to find the same little spot to lay down for a few hours before the alarm went off again for an early start back to the bay area.
Awesome trip and very excited for the next alpine adventure.
Monday, July 27, 2009
A good training's weekend
Ugh! I am way behind on my postings... What a new, exciting job does!
Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I went to Tuolumne Meadows (again!) with Linda. After our successful and quick trip up Cathedral Peak, we figured we'd give the West Ridge of Mount Conness a shot. We left from my place in kind of a rush on Friday night, only to get stuck in traffic on HW680. This was not the last delay of the weekend though: As we stopped at the Taqueria El Algave in Oakdale a couple of hours later, I look down at my feet and see flip-flops... I had forgotten my approach shoes! There goes the plan of an early start the next morning, since a 4-6 hour approach in sandals didn't seem very appealing.
Fortunately the climbing store/ gas station in Tuolumne Meadows had a good deal on 5.10 Tennies, so I wasn't set back too much... We moved the weekend's goal to Sunday, and decided to keep it easy on Saturday. (It was too late to start up Conness after the store opened).
The first objective was Golfer's Route, according to SuperTopo, a great introduction to TM runout climbing. I can only agree to this since it took me a few tries to lead the thing all the way to the top. But ever since I like to come back and enjoy the knobby climbing. This morning however, we found a long line of people at the base of the climb, some obviously intending to set up a TR. Black Widow, a few feet to the right was deserted though, so we hopped on that. Good thing, since I had never done this climb before... By the time we were done, the line at Golfer's had gotten even longer, so we left Low Profile Dome, and headed over to Daff Dome, where I wanted to give Wicked Witch of the West a try. It is a somewhat run-out 5.9, and a felt a bit squeezy at some points, but made it to the anchors alright. After Linda cleaned the anchors and rapped off we did the climb right of WWotW, which seemed a bit easier, and better protected. I don't know the name, though, it's neither in SuperTopo, nor in the Reid guide.
The rest of the day was spent at the beach and having a beer in the meadows before heading to the Mobil Station for dinner. Before hitting the bivy spot we made quick trip the the South Tufas of Mono Lake, where we saw a fantastic sunset. Too bad that the lightning we saw on the horizon caused wildfired in Inyo National Forest...
On Sunday the alarm went off at 4:30AM, in order to give us a good, early start on Conness. Just as I woke up I realized that I felt pretty shitty, but decided to give it a go anyway. By 6AM we were at the parking lot of Sawmill Campground and started hiking in. We were warned that it's a long, steep and confusing approach. All the warnings were correct, as we discovered about three hours later: We had missed a turn off from the trail and ended up in the wrong bowl... After hauling our gear over talus fields, scree slopes and swampy meadows for three hours... At this point we made the best of it, had lunch with a beautiful view and called the day a good workout.
We got back to the car exactly seven hours after we had left.
The West Ridge will have to wait for a bit, but I'll be back!
Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I went to Tuolumne Meadows (again!) with Linda. After our successful and quick trip up Cathedral Peak, we figured we'd give the West Ridge of Mount Conness a shot. We left from my place in kind of a rush on Friday night, only to get stuck in traffic on HW680. This was not the last delay of the weekend though: As we stopped at the Taqueria El Algave in Oakdale a couple of hours later, I look down at my feet and see flip-flops... I had forgotten my approach shoes! There goes the plan of an early start the next morning, since a 4-6 hour approach in sandals didn't seem very appealing.
Fortunately the climbing store/ gas station in Tuolumne Meadows had a good deal on 5.10 Tennies, so I wasn't set back too much... We moved the weekend's goal to Sunday, and decided to keep it easy on Saturday. (It was too late to start up Conness after the store opened).
The first objective was Golfer's Route, according to SuperTopo, a great introduction to TM runout climbing. I can only agree to this since it took me a few tries to lead the thing all the way to the top. But ever since I like to come back and enjoy the knobby climbing. This morning however, we found a long line of people at the base of the climb, some obviously intending to set up a TR. Black Widow, a few feet to the right was deserted though, so we hopped on that. Good thing, since I had never done this climb before... By the time we were done, the line at Golfer's had gotten even longer, so we left Low Profile Dome, and headed over to Daff Dome, where I wanted to give Wicked Witch of the West a try. It is a somewhat run-out 5.9, and a felt a bit squeezy at some points, but made it to the anchors alright. After Linda cleaned the anchors and rapped off we did the climb right of WWotW, which seemed a bit easier, and better protected. I don't know the name, though, it's neither in SuperTopo, nor in the Reid guide.
The rest of the day was spent at the beach and having a beer in the meadows before heading to the Mobil Station for dinner. Before hitting the bivy spot we made quick trip the the South Tufas of Mono Lake, where we saw a fantastic sunset. Too bad that the lightning we saw on the horizon caused wildfired in Inyo National Forest...
On Sunday the alarm went off at 4:30AM, in order to give us a good, early start on Conness. Just as I woke up I realized that I felt pretty shitty, but decided to give it a go anyway. By 6AM we were at the parking lot of Sawmill Campground and started hiking in. We were warned that it's a long, steep and confusing approach. All the warnings were correct, as we discovered about three hours later: We had missed a turn off from the trail and ended up in the wrong bowl... After hauling our gear over talus fields, scree slopes and swampy meadows for three hours... At this point we made the best of it, had lunch with a beautiful view and called the day a good workout.
We got back to the car exactly seven hours after we had left.
The West Ridge will have to wait for a bit, but I'll be back!
Monday, July 6, 2009
Photos after all!
Fortunately Clement took some pics this past weekend. Thanks a lot!
Super Chicken
Me leading Goldmember (with alternate start)
West Face of Eichorn's Pinnacle from the John Muir Trail
Clement on pitch 1 of the West Pillar
Summit shot!
Super Chicken
Me leading Goldmember (with alternate start)
West Face of Eichorn's Pinnacle from the John Muir Trail
Clement on pitch 1 of the West Pillar
Summit shot!Sunday, July 5, 2009
Tuolumne... again!
I spent the 4th of July weekend in Tuolumne Meadows, almost a tradition by now...
I picked up Clement at 6 AM on Friday morning, and we got to the Meadows around 11, thanks to the line at the park entrance. Well, it was a holiday weekend after all...
On the way we decided to climb on Medlicottd Dome on Friday, and kept some options for Saturday.
We started out on Super Chicken, a two pitch 5.9, where I led the first pitch witch a flaring 5.8 section, and Clement led the stellar second pitch. A really nice route! After rapelling off we moved over to the base of Shagadelic and Piss Easier. Our goal was to climb Goldmember... Clement led the first pitch of Piss Easier, I took the second lead...
Once at the base of Goldmember we weren't quite sure if we wanted to actually try the route...
It was supposed to have 9 bolts in 190ft of sustained face/slab climbing on Tuolumne gold-polish... The problem was that we only spotted two of the bolts from the start. We started thinking about a backup plan, but I decided to give it a shot... I clipped the first two bolts, and moved straight up, which (as I later found out) was off route, but actually easier. I managed to place a few pieces of gear in a small roof, and found the remaining bolts. Yay! It turned out to be a very nice route...
To finish off the day we climbed 'D'Oh', and toproped 'Beer' and 'Donuts'.
On the way to dinner we picked our goal for Saturday: The West Pillar of Eichorn's Pinnacle.
Eichorn's Pinnacle is located on the western slopes of Cathedral Peak, so it requires a lengthy approach along the John Muir trail and some cross-country travel to reach its base. Once there the route follows an obvious wide crack. The first 5.9 pitch is not bad though, although the crack is wide, the protection is good and there a plenty of knobs on the outside, which make good footholds. With 160ft it is rather long though, so that we ran out of gear towards the end. The second pitch is a completely different story! I didn't enjoy the pitch a bit... first one has to traverse a slab section, which was fine, rounding the blank arrete was little fun though... followed by a roof with a flaring wide crack. Once that is passed, there is another roof/chimney/OW combination which was also little fun to climb (especially with a backpack).
From there on the climbing eased off. I led the third pitch, long wandering handcracks. A traversing pitch brought us to the base of a 5.9 flake, the last obstacle before the summit...
After the rapell we gained the shoulder of Cathedral Peak and took the trail back to the car.
It took us ten hours car to car.
No pics this week :-(
I picked up Clement at 6 AM on Friday morning, and we got to the Meadows around 11, thanks to the line at the park entrance. Well, it was a holiday weekend after all...
On the way we decided to climb on Medlicottd Dome on Friday, and kept some options for Saturday.
We started out on Super Chicken, a two pitch 5.9, where I led the first pitch witch a flaring 5.8 section, and Clement led the stellar second pitch. A really nice route! After rapelling off we moved over to the base of Shagadelic and Piss Easier. Our goal was to climb Goldmember... Clement led the first pitch of Piss Easier, I took the second lead...
Once at the base of Goldmember we weren't quite sure if we wanted to actually try the route...
It was supposed to have 9 bolts in 190ft of sustained face/slab climbing on Tuolumne gold-polish... The problem was that we only spotted two of the bolts from the start. We started thinking about a backup plan, but I decided to give it a shot... I clipped the first two bolts, and moved straight up, which (as I later found out) was off route, but actually easier. I managed to place a few pieces of gear in a small roof, and found the remaining bolts. Yay! It turned out to be a very nice route...
To finish off the day we climbed 'D'Oh', and toproped 'Beer' and 'Donuts'.
On the way to dinner we picked our goal for Saturday: The West Pillar of Eichorn's Pinnacle.
Eichorn's Pinnacle is located on the western slopes of Cathedral Peak, so it requires a lengthy approach along the John Muir trail and some cross-country travel to reach its base. Once there the route follows an obvious wide crack. The first 5.9 pitch is not bad though, although the crack is wide, the protection is good and there a plenty of knobs on the outside, which make good footholds. With 160ft it is rather long though, so that we ran out of gear towards the end. The second pitch is a completely different story! I didn't enjoy the pitch a bit... first one has to traverse a slab section, which was fine, rounding the blank arrete was little fun though... followed by a roof with a flaring wide crack. Once that is passed, there is another roof/chimney/OW combination which was also little fun to climb (especially with a backpack).
From there on the climbing eased off. I led the third pitch, long wandering handcracks. A traversing pitch brought us to the base of a 5.9 flake, the last obstacle before the summit...
After the rapell we gained the shoulder of Cathedral Peak and took the trail back to the car.
It took us ten hours car to car.
No pics this week :-(
Monday, June 29, 2009
Tuolumne
Happy!
Kicked off the Tuolumne season last weekend...
Beautiful as ever!
We drove out on Thursday evening, so that we could get an early start on Friday to head up Cathedral Peak. It was my fourth time on Cathedral, but it's always a treat! A nice, mellow alpine climb with fantastic rock and unbelievable views...
What was even nicer, was the weather: T-shirts were sufficient, even on the summit, quite rare conditions!
We ended the perfect day of climbing with dinner at the Mobil station in Lee Vining, where we also camped for the night.
Waking up to these views is incredible!
The morning got even better... Pancakes from the TM grill for breakfast :-)
After the long day on Friday we choose to take it easy on Saturday and go top roping on the Western Front. We climbed 'Green Eggs and Ham', 'March of Dimes' and 'New Tricks for Old Dogs' before heading back to the Meadows to enjoy a beer ...
Tuolumne Meadows and Cathedral Peak
Hoping for a sponsorship from Mammoth Brewing Company!
Kicked off the Tuolumne season last weekend...
Beautiful as ever!
We drove out on Thursday evening, so that we could get an early start on Friday to head up Cathedral Peak. It was my fourth time on Cathedral, but it's always a treat! A nice, mellow alpine climb with fantastic rock and unbelievable views...
What was even nicer, was the weather: T-shirts were sufficient, even on the summit, quite rare conditions!
We ended the perfect day of climbing with dinner at the Mobil station in Lee Vining, where we also camped for the night.Waking up to these views is incredible!
The morning got even better... Pancakes from the TM grill for breakfast :-)After the long day on Friday we choose to take it easy on Saturday and go top roping on the Western Front. We climbed 'Green Eggs and Ham', 'March of Dimes' and 'New Tricks for Old Dogs' before heading back to the Meadows to enjoy a beer ...
Tuolumne Meadows and Cathedral Peak
Hoping for a sponsorship from Mammoth Brewing Company!Monday, May 25, 2009
A few days in Tahoe
End of May I spent a few days at Lake Tahoe. Driving up to Tahoe City on the Thursday afternoon before Memorial Day.
The days were not particularly planned out, but it turned out to be an awesome trip, including some climbing at the 90-foot-wall at Emerald Bay, hiking the Rubicon Trail and the Sherryl Creek Canyon trail. Furthermore I scoped out the Luther Spires climbing area on my way back, didn't do any climbing there though.
The days were not particularly planned out, but it turned out to be an awesome trip, including some climbing at the 90-foot-wall at Emerald Bay, hiking the Rubicon Trail and the Sherryl Creek Canyon trail. Furthermore I scoped out the Luther Spires climbing area on my way back, didn't do any climbing there though.
Monday, May 11, 2009
First Mosquito Bites, First Sunburn...
... A good weekend! :-)
I spent the weekend in the Valley with the SAC crowd. After driving up on Friday night we all met up at Swan Slab Saturday morning, where we placed several TRs... Oak Tree Flake, Grant's Crack, the line next to Grant's, the Aid Route, and Lena's Lieback. After TRing and just chilling for a while Paul came up with the idea of trying to free the 11b part of the aid route. Since the moves are well protected I was happy to give it a few goes... I guess that's what's called "working a project"... We both failed miserably... We'll have to come back and try with some aggressive shoes, since we identified that improper shoes were the only reason we couldn't make the crucial move ;-)
At the end of the day I jugged up the line to clean the TR. It has been a while since I last practiced aiding and I had forgotten how hard it is to jug... Good practice for an attempt on something big, which will hopefully come later this summer.
On Sunday I took Sam and Leo to Glacier Point Apron, where we climbed Harry Daley. Sam led the first pitch, Leo the second. We ran into two other parties from Stanford (well, the extended community) Linda and Heather and Mary and Ashley... It was quite cozy at some of the belays.
After rapping the route with TWO ropes we set a TR on 'Variation of a Theme', a 10b slab climb, before heading back to Yosemite Lodge to meet up the rest of the gang...
I spent the weekend in the Valley with the SAC crowd. After driving up on Friday night we all met up at Swan Slab Saturday morning, where we placed several TRs... Oak Tree Flake, Grant's Crack, the line next to Grant's, the Aid Route, and Lena's Lieback. After TRing and just chilling for a while Paul came up with the idea of trying to free the 11b part of the aid route. Since the moves are well protected I was happy to give it a few goes... I guess that's what's called "working a project"... We both failed miserably... We'll have to come back and try with some aggressive shoes, since we identified that improper shoes were the only reason we couldn't make the crucial move ;-)
At the end of the day I jugged up the line to clean the TR. It has been a while since I last practiced aiding and I had forgotten how hard it is to jug... Good practice for an attempt on something big, which will hopefully come later this summer.
On Sunday I took Sam and Leo to Glacier Point Apron, where we climbed Harry Daley. Sam led the first pitch, Leo the second. We ran into two other parties from Stanford (well, the extended community) Linda and Heather and Mary and Ashley... It was quite cozy at some of the belays.
After rapping the route with TWO ropes we set a TR on 'Variation of a Theme', a 10b slab climb, before heading back to Yosemite Lodge to meet up the rest of the gang...
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Yosemite: Knob Hill
Or: Never stop exploring!
Last weekend's trip definitely sparked the 'climbing outside bug' again, so I needed to get out again as soon as possible. During the week it seemed unlikely that I would be able to make it out due to a pretty big work load. But by the timeFriday came around things didn't look too bad. On Saturday Dan and I decided to drive out to Yosemite in the evening and climb on Sunday.
Our destination was Knob Hill, where I had never climbed before, but it seemed like a nice crag to get back into the groove of leading outside.
We wanted to start out on 'Just for Beginners' and scouted the rock to find the route. At some point I saw a few bolts higher up and figured it had to be the route... I racked up with a few draws ans started up. Just as I clipped the third bolt two guys show up and ask how things are...We chat for a while, when one of them asks: "You know that you need gear up there, right?" After what the following conversation starts: "Hm, the book says just 7 draws..." "Nope... that climb is not in the book" "huh, ok!" "I can bring you your rack!" "Cool, thanks!" "You need some tiny stuff ..." At this point the second guy whispers: "It's his route!" "Oh, you're Eric then!"
It was quite fun to bump into the guy who set up the route and get beta from him. We apparently climbed "Beanie Wienie" or something like that... Quite the nice climb... 4 bolts to a 5.6 flake, protectable with the orange Metolious and the blue Metolious TCU.
After topping out we made our way over to 'Just for Beginners'. Here I took my first Yosemite lead fall of the 10a crux down low. Dan caught me nice and soft though. No harm done. I was quite excited that I was able to get right back on to the climb and even face the runout sections high up without freaking out.
Next were 'Sloth Wall' and 'Anti Ego Crack' both fun climbs. To finish the day I led 'Pot Belly' via the undercling start.
The high temperatures took their toll: By 4PM we were pretty exhausted and decided to call it a day, although we would have had a few more hours of daylight. Back in the Bay Area at 7:15PM.
Last weekend's trip definitely sparked the 'climbing outside bug' again, so I needed to get out again as soon as possible. During the week it seemed unlikely that I would be able to make it out due to a pretty big work load. But by the timeFriday came around things didn't look too bad. On Saturday Dan and I decided to drive out to Yosemite in the evening and climb on Sunday.
Our destination was Knob Hill, where I had never climbed before, but it seemed like a nice crag to get back into the groove of leading outside.
We wanted to start out on 'Just for Beginners' and scouted the rock to find the route. At some point I saw a few bolts higher up and figured it had to be the route... I racked up with a few draws ans started up. Just as I clipped the third bolt two guys show up and ask how things are...We chat for a while, when one of them asks: "You know that you need gear up there, right?" After what the following conversation starts: "Hm, the book says just 7 draws..." "Nope... that climb is not in the book" "huh, ok!" "I can bring you your rack!" "Cool, thanks!" "You need some tiny stuff ..." At this point the second guy whispers: "It's his route!" "Oh, you're Eric then!"
It was quite fun to bump into the guy who set up the route and get beta from him. We apparently climbed "Beanie Wienie" or something like that... Quite the nice climb... 4 bolts to a 5.6 flake, protectable with the orange Metolious and the blue Metolious TCU.
After topping out we made our way over to 'Just for Beginners'. Here I took my first Yosemite lead fall of the 10a crux down low. Dan caught me nice and soft though. No harm done. I was quite excited that I was able to get right back on to the climb and even face the runout sections high up without freaking out.
Next were 'Sloth Wall' and 'Anti Ego Crack' both fun climbs. To finish the day I led 'Pot Belly' via the undercling start.
The high temperatures took their toll: By 4PM we were pretty exhausted and decided to call it a day, although we would have had a few more hours of daylight. Back in the Bay Area at 7:15PM.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Yosemite: Reed's and Pat & Jack's
After a long break from climbing outdoors I went to Yosemite with Clint this weekend.
We carpooled with Vince and Eu-Jin on Saturday morning and got to Reed's around 10AM.
While Vince and Eu-Jin started on Eujesta, Clint and I eyed the Regular Route on Reed's Pinnacle. I led the first pitch, but freaked out two moves below the belay... Unbelievable!
After trying different options I lowered off. Clint led on the the chains at the end of the second pitch, on a huge ledge.
Here we had the option to either continue through the big chimney, or to lower off. (Continuing on Reed's Direct did not seem appealing.) Clint led the squeeze section as shown below... Unfortunately I got stuck following him. It was possible to get either my hips or my chest through the narrow section, but not both... We had to reverse our steps and lower off the chains after all.
Back on the ground we went over to Ejesta, where I led the first pitch, and Clint the second.
Sunday's goal was Pat & Jack's Pinnacle.
Here I started out leading the bolted line left of Suds. It's a pretty new route, not featured in a guide book. Next was the semi bolted line right of Suds. I only took draws, since I did not realize that I'd need gear on the upper part. Reaching the last bolt I lowered off and Clint finished off the climb. Next was Makayla's Climb. Led it with a small hang at the 3rd bolt.
To finish off the day Clint led Boneheads with an alternate start avoiding the slippery face moves down low. I TR'ed afterwards.
Pretty cool trip! A nice way to get back into climbing outdoors... Last year around this time I had spent 3 days in J-Tree and a few days at the Pinnacles already... Hope things will pick up from here!
We carpooled with Vince and Eu-Jin on Saturday morning and got to Reed's around 10AM.
While Vince and Eu-Jin started on Eujesta, Clint and I eyed the Regular Route on Reed's Pinnacle. I led the first pitch, but freaked out two moves below the belay... Unbelievable!
After trying different options I lowered off. Clint led on the the chains at the end of the second pitch, on a huge ledge.
Here we had the option to either continue through the big chimney, or to lower off. (Continuing on Reed's Direct did not seem appealing.) Clint led the squeeze section as shown below... Unfortunately I got stuck following him. It was possible to get either my hips or my chest through the narrow section, but not both... We had to reverse our steps and lower off the chains after all.
Back on the ground we went over to Ejesta, where I led the first pitch, and Clint the second.Sunday's goal was Pat & Jack's Pinnacle.
Here I started out leading the bolted line left of Suds. It's a pretty new route, not featured in a guide book. Next was the semi bolted line right of Suds. I only took draws, since I did not realize that I'd need gear on the upper part. Reaching the last bolt I lowered off and Clint finished off the climb. Next was Makayla's Climb. Led it with a small hang at the 3rd bolt.
To finish off the day Clint led Boneheads with an alternate start avoiding the slippery face moves down low. I TR'ed afterwards.
Pretty cool trip! A nice way to get back into climbing outdoors... Last year around this time I had spent 3 days in J-Tree and a few days at the Pinnacles already... Hope things will pick up from here!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Week 14
Mon: Rest
Tue: Spin class at PG SV. My first spin class ever. I liked the workout but the instuctor was really bad. If one does a count down it should be consistent and not something like 5-15-8-5-3-3-3-2-1. WTF??? On another note: I think the marathon in SD is not going to happen for me. My ankle is still very unhappy if I try to run. However the chances of me getting a road bike are increasing...Need to do some research on that. Look out for the post!
Wed, Thu, Fri: Off
Sat: Climbing: Reed's Regular: first two pitches, Ejesta
Sun: Climbing: bolted routes on Pat & Jack's Pinnacle
Tue: Spin class at PG SV. My first spin class ever. I liked the workout but the instuctor was really bad. If one does a count down it should be consistent and not something like 5-15-8-5-3-3-3-2-1. WTF??? On another note: I think the marathon in SD is not going to happen for me. My ankle is still very unhappy if I try to run. However the chances of me getting a road bike are increasing...Need to do some research on that. Look out for the post!
Wed, Thu, Fri: Off
Sat: Climbing: Reed's Regular: first two pitches, Ejesta
Sun: Climbing: bolted routes on Pat & Jack's Pinnacle
Monday, March 2, 2009
AAAAHHHHHH!
With the spring climbing season just about to start and a trip to Red Rocks planned for the end of the week things seem fine... Until the gym climbing session at PG SF yesterday, where I pulled a tendon in the first digit of my left index finger. Bummer!
At them moment I rest and pop some anti-inflamatories. By Wednesday I'll decide if I go to Red Rocks or not... Given the rain during the weekend, the conditions in the Sierras should be awesome for skiing. That would be an alternative.
At them moment I rest and pop some anti-inflamatories. By Wednesday I'll decide if I go to Red Rocks or not... Given the rain during the weekend, the conditions in the Sierras should be awesome for skiing. That would be an alternative.
Friday, February 27, 2009
week 8
Sat: Wanted to do the weekly long run of 11 miles, but at about 3 miles in the tightness in m IT Band I had noticed the day before and some GI issues forced me to turn around and cut the run short: Ended up running 7 miles.
Sun: Too wimpy to stick to the plan and make up for the failed long run on Saturday. Climbed at PG B instead. Did a handful of 10's topped off by a couple of 11a's. Finished the day's workout with 90 minutes of yoga with Annika. It was the first time I took her class. It was pretty nice! A good balance between relaxation and exercise. Also good for my ITB.
Mon: Climbing at PG B with Dan. 4 leads 10a-c. 1 TR 10c to cool down.
Tue: 3 miles on treadmill at PG B. Last night I researched IT Band issues on the web: It seems that a combination of strength training, stretching, applications of a foamroller and anti-inflamatories should work to keep things in check. As a first step I stretched 20 minutes right after getting up, followed by some 'rolling'. I stretched for another 2o minutes after my run, before I hit the weight room for some deadlifts and squats. The deadlifts were a surprise! It was the first time I "went heavy" and worked my way up to body weight. Not to bad for the beginning. My legs were tired after the workout, but felt good otherwise. Also learned that a few more spots opened up for the Big Sur 21 miler...Need to sign up!
Wed: Skipped the scheduled 6 mile run. Stretched and rolled for 10 min just after getting up. Went climbing with Ben at PG SV in the evening. Awesome session! A few TRs to warm up, 10a, 10d, 11a, 11c and then some easy leads (9s & 10a). Now I am wired and can't go to sleep :-(
Thu: Coughing and sneezing... AGAIN! :-( Rest day!
Fri: Rest Day, try to recover enough for tomorrows 8k Juana Run in Palo Alto.
Sun: Too wimpy to stick to the plan and make up for the failed long run on Saturday. Climbed at PG B instead. Did a handful of 10's topped off by a couple of 11a's. Finished the day's workout with 90 minutes of yoga with Annika. It was the first time I took her class. It was pretty nice! A good balance between relaxation and exercise. Also good for my ITB.
Mon: Climbing at PG B with Dan. 4 leads 10a-c. 1 TR 10c to cool down.
Tue: 3 miles on treadmill at PG B. Last night I researched IT Band issues on the web: It seems that a combination of strength training, stretching, applications of a foamroller and anti-inflamatories should work to keep things in check. As a first step I stretched 20 minutes right after getting up, followed by some 'rolling'. I stretched for another 2o minutes after my run, before I hit the weight room for some deadlifts and squats. The deadlifts were a surprise! It was the first time I "went heavy" and worked my way up to body weight. Not to bad for the beginning. My legs were tired after the workout, but felt good otherwise. Also learned that a few more spots opened up for the Big Sur 21 miler...Need to sign up!
Wed: Skipped the scheduled 6 mile run. Stretched and rolled for 10 min just after getting up. Went climbing with Ben at PG SV in the evening. Awesome session! A few TRs to warm up, 10a, 10d, 11a, 11c and then some easy leads (9s & 10a). Now I am wired and can't go to sleep :-(
Thu: Coughing and sneezing... AGAIN! :-( Rest day!
Fri: Rest Day, try to recover enough for tomorrows 8k Juana Run in Palo Alto.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Another week...time flies!
Ok, here's the next weekly activity/training update:
Saturday:
5 miles running on the SCT at race pace. The 8 min miles felt tough today...especially mile 5.
45 minutes bouldering at PG Belmont rating 10 (I sucked!)
90 minutes Yoga class. Was awesome... nice and relaxing, just what my legs and I needed!
Sunday:
I was way to tired to get out of bed for a long (8 mile) run this morning, so I decided to switch Monday and Sunday on the training schedule, and cross trained by hiking up Mission Peak .
Monday:
'Long Run' of 8 miles: Figure 8 consisting of "The Dish" and "Campus Loop" starting from the driving range.
Tuesday:
3 miles on the treadmill at PG B.
Climbing at PG with Daniela. I haven't climbed in a while, and haven't lead in even longer. So I was overgripping a lot. After about 5 leads my forearms were shot... Added a couple of topropes at the end.
Wednesday:
5 mile run around campus.
Thursday:
Climbing at PG Belmont with Ben. Forearms still toast... some toproping on the harder side.
Although the running schedule asked for 3 miles today, I did not run and decided to do Saturday's 5 mile pace run on Friday, due to exciting weekend plans.
Friday:
5 miles at race pace. This time it felt way better than previous Saturday...
Mileage this week: 26 miles (Sat. - Fri.)
Signed up for the 'Juna Run' in Palo Alto on Feb 28. Should be a nice fast 5 miler!
Saturday:
5 miles running on the SCT at race pace. The 8 min miles felt tough today...especially mile 5.
45 minutes bouldering at PG Belmont rating 10 (I sucked!)
90 minutes Yoga class. Was awesome... nice and relaxing, just what my legs and I needed!
Sunday:
I was way to tired to get out of bed for a long (8 mile) run this morning, so I decided to switch Monday and Sunday on the training schedule, and cross trained by hiking up Mission Peak .
Monday:
'Long Run' of 8 miles: Figure 8 consisting of "The Dish" and "Campus Loop" starting from the driving range.
Tuesday:
3 miles on the treadmill at PG B.
Climbing at PG with Daniela. I haven't climbed in a while, and haven't lead in even longer. So I was overgripping a lot. After about 5 leads my forearms were shot... Added a couple of topropes at the end.
Wednesday:
5 mile run around campus.
Thursday:
Climbing at PG Belmont with Ben. Forearms still toast... some toproping on the harder side.
Although the running schedule asked for 3 miles today, I did not run and decided to do Saturday's 5 mile pace run on Friday, due to exciting weekend plans.
Friday:
5 miles at race pace. This time it felt way better than previous Saturday...
Mileage this week: 26 miles (Sat. - Fri.)
Signed up for the 'Juna Run' in Palo Alto on Feb 28. Should be a nice fast 5 miler!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Trainings notes
For the coming Fridays I'll try to summarize the past weeks activities and workouts. Mostly to keep track of things.
This week stood out a bit, since it was pretty much the first 'regular' week at home since mid-December. So much of it was used to get back into the rythm of daily life.
Despite a cold I managed to go to the gym on Saturday. Did a few climbs -on which I felt very weak, really struggling on a 10c- and 90 minutes of yoga, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I felt the benefits of the core workouts I had done in Germany and New Mexico.
Sunday I did a quick 5.5 mile hike at Wunderlich County Park, which inspired me to watch 'The Fellowship of the Ring'... and that was the rest of the day :-)
Tuesday was the first day of the 18-week marathon training plan. Based on my experience in Las Vegas I decided against going with the Crossfit Endurance plan and for the Inermediate-I Marathon Plan from Hal Hidgeon. Back in Vegas I hit the wall, or better my legs hit the wall, exactly a mile further than my longest run was. I blame to little mileage, hence the plan with a higher mileage. The Intermediate I plan starts with 24 miles/week and peaks at 44 miles/week.
Also I'll run 5 days a week compared to 3 days as I did before Vegas following the RW smartcoach.
Anyway, the first run on Tuesday was a really mellow 3 miles on the SCT. Afterwards I did a short workout on the Rock Rings in the backyard.
Wednesday saw the second run, it called for 5 miles, I did 5.3 on the SCT.
The third run was scheduled for Thursday. I ran the 3 miles on the treadmill at PG Belmont. Something remarkable about this: It was the first run on a treadmill I actually enjoyed! Funny. The second part of the Thursday workout consisted of bouldering. For the first five minutes I stayed on the wall without a break, doing a bunch of consecutive V0's and V1's. Following this I tried to do through problems quickly to work on strength and stamina. The 'Boulder Rating' for the evening was 22 (or 23 don't remember exactly).
Today is a rest day.
The plans for the weekend include a 5 mile run at marathon goal pace on Saturday and a long run of 8 miles on Sunday. The later one will probably be at Rancho San Antonio. I'll also try to get some yoga and climbing in tomorrow afternoon.
Oh, yes, I signed up for the San Diego RnR Marathon in May...
There's also some preliminary talk about a climbing trip to Red Rocks in March.
This week stood out a bit, since it was pretty much the first 'regular' week at home since mid-December. So much of it was used to get back into the rythm of daily life.
Despite a cold I managed to go to the gym on Saturday. Did a few climbs -on which I felt very weak, really struggling on a 10c- and 90 minutes of yoga, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I felt the benefits of the core workouts I had done in Germany and New Mexico.
Sunday I did a quick 5.5 mile hike at Wunderlich County Park, which inspired me to watch 'The Fellowship of the Ring'... and that was the rest of the day :-)
Tuesday was the first day of the 18-week marathon training plan. Based on my experience in Las Vegas I decided against going with the Crossfit Endurance plan and for the Inermediate-I Marathon Plan from Hal Hidgeon. Back in Vegas I hit the wall, or better my legs hit the wall, exactly a mile further than my longest run was. I blame to little mileage, hence the plan with a higher mileage. The Intermediate I plan starts with 24 miles/week and peaks at 44 miles/week.
Also I'll run 5 days a week compared to 3 days as I did before Vegas following the RW smartcoach.
Anyway, the first run on Tuesday was a really mellow 3 miles on the SCT. Afterwards I did a short workout on the Rock Rings in the backyard.
Wednesday saw the second run, it called for 5 miles, I did 5.3 on the SCT.
The third run was scheduled for Thursday. I ran the 3 miles on the treadmill at PG Belmont. Something remarkable about this: It was the first run on a treadmill I actually enjoyed! Funny. The second part of the Thursday workout consisted of bouldering. For the first five minutes I stayed on the wall without a break, doing a bunch of consecutive V0's and V1's. Following this I tried to do through problems quickly to work on strength and stamina. The 'Boulder Rating' for the evening was 22 (or 23 don't remember exactly).
Today is a rest day.
The plans for the weekend include a 5 mile run at marathon goal pace on Saturday and a long run of 8 miles on Sunday. The later one will probably be at Rancho San Antonio. I'll also try to get some yoga and climbing in tomorrow afternoon.
Oh, yes, I signed up for the San Diego RnR Marathon in May...
There's also some preliminary talk about a climbing trip to Red Rocks in March.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
PG session
Last night I had a great climbing session with Dan at Planet Granite in Belmont. It was almost a month since I had climbed last at PG, and only once in Germany. As a consequence my expectations were pretty low, since I was also still sporting a jet lag from coming back from Germany.
Accordingly I started out on a 5.9, went to a long 10a, a long 10d, a short 11a, an attempt on a 11c, some 11b's... It felt really good! Especially since I felt strong. Usually I can tell when I gain some weight. Not this time though. I guess the weight work outs I did back home worked! They constisted of the Mountain Athlete barbell complex. I found this to be an easy but efficient whole body workout.
Accordingly I started out on a 5.9, went to a long 10a, a long 10d, a short 11a, an attempt on a 11c, some 11b's... It felt really good! Especially since I felt strong. Usually I can tell when I gain some weight. Not this time though. I guess the weight work outs I did back home worked! They constisted of the Mountain Athlete barbell complex. I found this to be an easy but efficient whole body workout.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Hardest things I have done
Finishing my first marathon last Sunday brought up a question I had pondered about a few times over the past year: What is the hardest thing I've ever done? Thing meaning athletic/ adventurous endeavour. I am actually having a hard time coming up with things. Sure, the marathon was hard, it wore out my legs, and I cramped a lot, but endurance-wise I could have gone further. So what qualifies as hard? The amount of excertion during the activity? The time it takes to recover from the activity? The rating of the climb? I don't know.
Here's a few candidates though:
Here's a few candidates though:
- North Ridge of Mt. Conness with a late start and getting lost on the way back to the car
- Mt. Shasta
- Mt. Diablo 25K
- Las Vegas Marathon
- On Conness we had a late start, and both our headlamps died.
- On Shasta I didn't eat properly.
- Before Mt. Diablo I didn't run any hills, especially no downhills.
- Before Vegas I was sick and didn't stick to the long runs according to my plan.
Friday, November 28, 2008
This weeks workouts
Monday: rest
Tuesday: 5.5 mile easy run on SCT
Wednesday: climbing at PG Belmont w/ Daniela 10 climbs
Thursday: mountain biking at Monte Bello w/ Lesley and Marcus (approx. 1hr 15 min)
Friday: bouldering/climbing at PG Belmont w/ Ben 5 boulder probs/5climbs
Saturday: 5 miles easy on SCT
Sunday: yoga w/Eric at PG SV
Tuesday: 5.5 mile easy run on SCT
Wednesday: climbing at PG Belmont w/ Daniela 10 climbs
Thursday: mountain biking at Monte Bello w/ Lesley and Marcus (approx. 1hr 15 min)
Friday: bouldering/climbing at PG Belmont w/ Ben 5 boulder probs/5climbs
Saturday: 5 miles easy on SCT
Sunday: yoga w/Eric at PG SV
Monday, November 24, 2008
48 hours: From the Warfield to Yosemite and back
Last weekend started, like many weekends, with me stuck in traffic... I was not trying to leave the Bay Area, but heading to San Francisco to see In Flames play at the Warfield. The show was well worth the drive and the traffic jam! In Flames entered the stage around 10:30 after the 36crazyfists, Gojira and All That Remains finished their sets. They played a good selections fof their songs with empasis on material from their latest album 'A Sense of Purpose'. The only downside was that they didn't play 'Only for the weak' :-/
I was back at my car at 12:30 and back at my place at 1:05... Gosh my alarm would go off at 5!
Fortunately I had packed already, so I only had to throw the bags into my car and could leave at 5:30 in the morning to pick up Clint in Palo Alto. One advantage of leaving the Bay Area in the early morning is the non-existent traffic: Palo Alto - Fern Spring in Yosemite Valley: 3 hrs 20 min.
On the way we had decided to climb the Regular Route on Higher Cathedral Spire, one of the first rock climbs in Yosemite, which had its first ascent in 1934. It was also one of the first former aid climbs which were free climbed later on. From the Cathedral Rocks pullout we hiked up the tallus field to the base of the spire in a little more than an hour. After eating a bite and zipping some water I started leading the first pitch. From there on we swung leads, until I got off route on the third pitch. I was following some chalk marks up a good looking dihedral with quite a few jugs left and right, until I hit a bulge. I remembered that the topo said something about a powerful 5.9 bulge somewhere, so I gave it a few shots, but I didn't know how to climb the section. To the right was an arette and an other dihedral, so I tried to traverese over, but the rope drag got pretty bad. After a while Clint lowered me to an intermediate belay. He climbed up to my highpoint, checked out the situation and said "That's not 5.9!"
He cleaned my gear, down climbed for a bit and found the traverse around an arette to the left to the chimney... Saved!
The 'powerful 5.9 bulge' was on the fourth pitch :-)
The last two pitched led us to a beautiful summit with amazing views of the Valley and the snow covered peaks of Tuolumne. Five rapells brought us back to the base of teh climb, from where we hiked back down the gully to the car, where we arrived around 6:15. After a quick dinner at Church Bowl we found a campsite and hit the sleeping bags.
Sunday morning we woke up to another amazing day... It was pretty cold though, and I had to scratch the ice from the windshield of my car. During breakfast at Church Bowl we were able to warm up in the sun though. The plan for the day was to climb Serenity Crack and Sons of Yesterday. We got to the base of Serenity, around 9AM, and there was no one there! Exciting!
Clint led all the pitches, except for the first one on Sons... By the time we reached the other pitches which were within my capabilities I was so spent, and my feet were hurting so badly, that I didn't feel particularly anxious to lead more. After 8 fantasic pitches we rapelled down to the base (one 70m rope is sufficient!) from where we hiked back to the car in the Awahnee parking lot. It was Sunday evening 5:45. Exactly 36 hours after we started our trip in Palo Alto :-)
The ride back was easy and eventless...
I am glad that I was able to do these routes before the winter! Thanks Clint!
I was back at my car at 12:30 and back at my place at 1:05... Gosh my alarm would go off at 5!
Fortunately I had packed already, so I only had to throw the bags into my car and could leave at 5:30 in the morning to pick up Clint in Palo Alto. One advantage of leaving the Bay Area in the early morning is the non-existent traffic: Palo Alto - Fern Spring in Yosemite Valley: 3 hrs 20 min.
On the way we had decided to climb the Regular Route on Higher Cathedral Spire, one of the first rock climbs in Yosemite, which had its first ascent in 1934. It was also one of the first former aid climbs which were free climbed later on. From the Cathedral Rocks pullout we hiked up the tallus field to the base of the spire in a little more than an hour. After eating a bite and zipping some water I started leading the first pitch. From there on we swung leads, until I got off route on the third pitch. I was following some chalk marks up a good looking dihedral with quite a few jugs left and right, until I hit a bulge. I remembered that the topo said something about a powerful 5.9 bulge somewhere, so I gave it a few shots, but I didn't know how to climb the section. To the right was an arette and an other dihedral, so I tried to traverese over, but the rope drag got pretty bad. After a while Clint lowered me to an intermediate belay. He climbed up to my highpoint, checked out the situation and said "That's not 5.9!"
He cleaned my gear, down climbed for a bit and found the traverse around an arette to the left to the chimney... Saved!
The 'powerful 5.9 bulge' was on the fourth pitch :-)
The last two pitched led us to a beautiful summit with amazing views of the Valley and the snow covered peaks of Tuolumne. Five rapells brought us back to the base of teh climb, from where we hiked back down the gully to the car, where we arrived around 6:15. After a quick dinner at Church Bowl we found a campsite and hit the sleeping bags.
Sunday morning we woke up to another amazing day... It was pretty cold though, and I had to scratch the ice from the windshield of my car. During breakfast at Church Bowl we were able to warm up in the sun though. The plan for the day was to climb Serenity Crack and Sons of Yesterday. We got to the base of Serenity, around 9AM, and there was no one there! Exciting!
Clint led all the pitches, except for the first one on Sons... By the time we reached the other pitches which were within my capabilities I was so spent, and my feet were hurting so badly, that I didn't feel particularly anxious to lead more. After 8 fantasic pitches we rapelled down to the base (one 70m rope is sufficient!) from where we hiked back to the car in the Awahnee parking lot. It was Sunday evening 5:45. Exactly 36 hours after we started our trip in Palo Alto :-)
The ride back was easy and eventless...
I am glad that I was able to do these routes before the winter! Thanks Clint!
Plans for 2009
It's Thanksgiving week, the year is coming to an end... Time to look back, but also time to look ahead. I have accomplished quite a few of the goals I had set for myself for this year, not all of them, but given the circumstances I am quite happy with what I managed to complete.
During the year a few things came up which I want to do next year:
Running:
During the year a few things came up which I want to do next year:
Running:
- do more races (5k - half marathon)
- improve PRs
- do trail races
- run an ultra (50k)
- increase weekly mileage (and run consistently)
- Palisades Traverse
- become a more solid leader, I know this is hard to quantify...
- Mt. Whitney East Face/East Buttress
- East Buttress of El Cap
- a bigwall (Half Dome, Washington Coloumn, Leaning Tower?)
- a trip to Red Rocks
- a trip to J-Tree
- Mt. Shasta
- Mt. Lyell/Mt. Maclure
- Matterhorn Peak
- Asia, South America or Central America: I need to do international travel again! I haven't done any (besides Germany) since 4 years! I miss it!!!
- Hawaii
- Skiing in New Mexico, Colorado
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)