Yikes it’s been ages since our last blog! Time flies when you’re having fun J Since the last entry we’ve been pretty busy, so this one will cover our adventures up until the end of October.
In our second week in Yosemite, we decided we were ready to get on a Big Wall. For those who are not climbers, this is essentially what it says on the tin…..a wall that usually takes multiple days to climb due to it’s size. This means that you must take everything you need for that length of time with you, i.e. water, food, sleeping bags etc. and haul it up the wall with you. You generally sleep on small ledges on the wall (or take a portable ledge with you if you’re rich), and must carry out all your waste with you as you go….necessitating the use of a “poop tube” (yuk). The climbing on most Big Walls is either all Aid climbing (ascending by placing pieces of gear and then basically pulling on them to get higher) or a mixture of Aid and free climbing, and this means that you need more equipment than normal as well.
After some advice from fellow climbers on Camp Four, we decided on a route for our first Big Wall that would take us roughly 2 and a half days to climb, and be fairly straightforward in terms of approach, difficulty and descent. The wall we picked was the West Face of The Leaning Tower.
It took us a morning to sort all our kit out and pack it into the Haul Bag, and when we then tried to lift the bag it was frightening! We had calculated on 4 litres of water per person per day for 3 days (in retrospect this was more than we needed!) so this alone meant there were 24 kg of water, and along with ropes, climbing gear, sleeping bags, emergency clothing and food we estimated the bag weighed close to 65kg! Although the approach to the route was less than a mile, it involved over 1000ft elevation gain by scrambling up a boulder field……it was never going to be fun carrying that much stuff L
Putting some of the stuff into a rucksack for Gareth to carry to share the load, we set off, slowly…..and then stopped 10 steps further when I realised I couldn’t move on the flat with this much stuff on my back, let alone scramble up over boulders. Even after dumping some stuff for a second trip up, the bag weighed more than half of my own weight and progress was slow and painful. I spent most of the way up swearing and telling myself I would never do a Big Wall again (and that was even before getting to the start of the route). When I eventually made it up, it was a case of dumping the bag then heading down to collect the rest of the stuff before going back up again whilst Gareth fixed ropes across to the start of the climb to protect the exposed traverse that would take us below the Wall.
Amazingly, despite the route’s popular reputation, we were the only team planning on starting the next day, and therefore were able to “fix” the first couple of pitches that afternoon to save us time in the morning. This essentially means that Gareth climbed up the first part of the route, fixed the ropes to the belay, and then abseiled down taking out the protection on the way, so that the following morning we could get on with “jumaring” (mechanical ascenders with a foot loop attached that allow you to move up a rope without sliding down) the ropes to that point, hauling the bag up, and then starting the next pitch. As Gareth abseiled down that evening, it struck me how steep the route was….he ended up 15 metres out from the base of the wall after coming down from the top of the pitch!
We slept at a comfortable spot at the base of the wall that night, although I think both of us were fairly nervous and didn’t sleep that well. The next morning the fun started. Whilst Gareth had me to hold the bottom of the ropes whilst he started jumaring up, I had no such luxury. After getting my jumars as high up the rope as possible whilst still stood on the ledge, I then had to close my eyes and step off, letting the rope swing out a looooong way from the wall and leaving me hanging in space above a very big drop……I’m not embarrassed to say I was pretty scared (an emotion that stayed with me for most of the route!).
Then the hard work of jumaring up started and I was able to forget for a while how scared I was. The third and fourth pitches were difficult to aid, and Gareth took several hours to climb them (I’m glad I wasn’t leading them!), which meant several hours for me hanging in my harness belaying, trying to shift my weight every so often as one leg after another went numb. Gareth had the fun job of hauling the bag after each pitch though, which I didn’t envy at all (although apparently it was easy as the route was so steep so the bag was being hauled through the air rather than dragged up over slabs and roofs etc).
Eventually we reached our ledge for the night (a 10ft by 4ft ledge and fairly flat….a rare luxury in Big Wall climbing!) and after Gareth had fixed the next two (tricky) pitches ready for the next day, we were able to get some food cooked and set up the mats and sleeping bags (with everything attached to stop it being dropped).
I was exhausted and still not convinced I was enjoying the experience, although my fear had subsided slightly at least. However, lying on the ledge, warm and cosy in my sleeping bag, sleeping under the stars far above everyone in the Valley, watching headtorches flicker from climbers high on the walls of El Capitan, I started to realise we were enjoying a situation that few people are lucky enough to experience. We saw masses of shooting stars, and it was an incredibly peaceful and still night, and I didn’t even wake up once thinking I was falling off the ledge! (I had imagined this might be a problem)
The next day involved hours of equally hard climbing, uncomfortable belays and steep and scary aiding and jumaring, but we finally topped out early in the evening, only to realise there was no way we would complete the multiple abseil descents down an awkward chimney in the light. Hence we found ourselves another small flat spot and settled down bivvying for the night, relieved to be off the wall at least.
At least on the descent there was less stuff to carry as the water and food were gone, and the abseils passed fairly quickly. Our return to civilisation (and a shower!) was delayed slightly when we had to assist two American climbers who were retreating from the first couple of pitches, and hadn’t worked out how they would abseil down the steeply overhanging wall without ending up hanging in space! Fortunately we were able to throw them a rope and pull them onto the ledge. After promising we wouldn’t tell anyone they knew the tales of their incompetence they gave us some beers…bonus J
It was strange getting back to the Valley, and both of us had a feeling of not belonging, after spending 3 nights bivvying and being completely self sufficient high on a big wall. Gareth had a slightly surreal moment whilst queuing to empty the poop tube into the pit toilet in the car park, and hearing two women walk past talking about having their dogs’ claws manicured at a doggy beauty parlour!
Over the next couple of days I heard another climber sum up perfectly a description for the type of experience we’d had. He called it “Type 2 fun”…..meaning the kind of fun where it doesn’t seem much fun at the time, but then you realise it was after you’ve finished. Retrospectively enjoyable would be another way to put it! It was certainly an adventure, and despite being scared, uncomfortable and exhausted for a lot of it, neither of us will ever forget it J. Roll on next year for another Big Wall!
We were lucky enough to have timed our visit to the valley with the 50th Anniversary of the First Ascent of Salathe Wall, one of the first and most famous routes on El Capitan. First climbed by Tom Frost, Royal Robbins and Chuck Pratt, the route runs up some huge features on the southwest face of El Cap, and took 9 days to climb on the first ascent. It is incredible to think of the feats of the climbers of this era, considering how hard the routes are still considered today, despite the lightweight modern gear available now. Robbins, Frost and Pratt climbed with big boots, heavy hemp ropes, and hundreds of iron pitons that had to be hammered into cracks to protect the route, and then removed by the follower and carried up for the next pitch. We managed to meet Royal Robbins and Tom Frost whilst they were doing a book and autograph signing, and it was hugely inspiring to be able to talk to two such legends of rock about their climbing experiences and even the routes they remembered doing in the Peak District on trips to Britain! That evening they also ran a slideshow of pictures from their first ascent, and a question and answer session in the valley auditorium, which was packed with climbers, including many famous American climbing legends from the 60’s through to current day. It was a brilliant evening and we couldn’t believe our luck to have been there by coincidence at the same time as the anniversary.
A few days after getting down from the Leaning Tower, after only climbing shorter routes for a few days, we felt sufficiently recovered to be able to have another adventure J
The objective was to climb the Lost Arrow Spire, an amazing pillar of rock high up near Yosemite falls. The route we had chosen was only 2 pitches of aid climbing, but combined with a 3 hour walk-in, and the complex logistics required to get to and from the climb, it was going to be another long day.
Arriving at the top of the cliff just after sunrise, we were greeted by a fierce and freezing cold wind that made me question whether I had enough clothes with me to stay warm on the route! However, once we had abseiled down into “the notch” between the main cliff and the spire, we were out of the wind and baking in the sunshine. The abseil was tricky, requiring passing a knot on the way, something I hadn’t done before, and Gareth had to talk me through it from below as I did it!
Once the climbing started, we were treated to awesome views and fun climbing the whole way. The top of the spire has to be one of the most fantastic places in the whole of Yosemite valley. You can see people on the main cliff but feel like you are miles away on your own isolated little pinnacle. Getting off is the next part of the adventure. We had trailed up the end of our abseil rope behind us, so at the top, after threading it through some bolts, we pulled it tight, tied it off, and Gareth set off hauling himself across the tyrolean traverse Mission Impossible-style! It was an incredible position to be in when you were half way across, hanging from a rope between two bits of rock, high above the valley floor, with lots of tourists staring open-mouthed and taking pictures…….very cool! (Although it definitely didn’t look as smooth and professional as on the films…it was hard work as the traverse up the rope was uphill!)
The long walk down the hundreds of switchbacks got us back down just as it got dark, in time for another evening of sitting round the fire sharing stories of our adventures and hearing those of our friends….good times J
So then we left the valley and headed south, well in need of a few days rest from climbing, and keen to find some warmer weather again! We managed to hit the outskirts of Los Angeles at rush hour, and culture-shock is not a strong enough description of what we were feeling as we queued on the 8-lane highway, surrounded by the urban sprawl of houses, hotels and shopping malls that is LA….a very different place from our home for the last two weeks! We had arranged to meet Cynthia (who we’d met in the summer whilst biking in Whistler) for a day’s biking on her local trails in Orange County, so thankfully were able to pass straight through LA to the much more pleasant area to the south. After a night’s camping on the beach at Dana point, we met up the following morning for a ride in the San Juan hills. Cynthia had kindly brought the early birthday present I had ordered and had delivered to her house……my new Rockshox Reverb hydraulic seatpost J, and after some mandatory technical faffing (no ride can start without this!) Gareth had installed it and we were ready to go. The trail we rode was fantastic….dry, dusty and a lot of fun the whole way round. It felt like we were riding in the desert as we climbed our way up the switchbacks, and I kept expecting to come across snakes around every corner (I didn’t see any). The air was incredibly dry compared to Yosemite, and the scrubby plants, scattered rocks on the hillside, and sandy/dusty ground gave the trail a completely different feel from any trails we had ridden before. My new toy (the seatpost) was even better than I thought it was going to be, and it will be hard work keeping it on my bike and not Gareth’s judging by the jealous looks I was getting from him!!!
We camped that night at a great site in the Casper’s Wilderness area near the trail we had ridden, and spent the following day chilling out at Laguna Beach, and mooching around the shops, including a trip to Crank Brothers (a bike shop) where Gareth was super-happy to get some parts he had been after for a while (so easily pleased….. J ). Joe and Anna, our friends from Sheffield, were flying in to LA the next morning, so we treated ourselves to a luxury outdoor shower (platypus drinking bladder and hose suspended from a tree!) to ensure we didn’t smell too bad to greet them, and spent the evening rejigging the contents of the car and wondering how we were going to fit two extra people in!
