UKC

Heading back to Yosemite this October, for some bigger stuff this time, instead of just a potter about.

Obviously would like to get on the Nose, Salathe and NW face of Half Dome. Seeing as these are some of the busiest routes out there, could anyone recommend some less travelled alternatives? Not keen on queueing or being hounded.

Anything goes really, but would prefer clean aid for the first trip...

Thanks in advance

Trist

In reply to Smelly Fox:

Zodiac goes mostly clean and is shorter and has more straightforward hauling.

In reply to kipman725:

It has quite an intimidating grade though... not clean either. Ive heard of people having epics on it also...

One for the next year maybe!

In reply to Smelly Fox:

Just remember on the Nose 70% of people bail before El Cap Tower so if you can stick it out in the Stovelegs you should be OK.
Zodiac is just as popular as the Nose at peak times. Much harder technicaly though.

E

In reply to Smelly Fox:

Zodiac has gone clean for years. My biggest regret was getting the hammer out once in the dark on the Nipple pitch. Be hard to have an epic on it because bailing would be easy.

E

In reply to Smelly Fox:

I just had a thought. The easiest El Cap route is Lurking Fear and is many peoples first route. This gets crowded too though.

E

In reply to Enty:

Some good advise there thanks.

In reply to Enty:


The mind boggles. Aye, these Lancs lads... from Brownstones to the Big Stone.

Mick

In reply to Smelly Fox:

Do you have a ledge? If the Nose is packed you can almost kip where you want (within reason) We took a double ledge and all the bivvies were so much more comfortable. C4, 5 and 6 are horrible without a ledge. Well worth the hassle of hauling it.

Another option if The Nose is really packed is the Triple Direct - the advantage is you arrive in the upper reaches of The Nose which won't be anywhere near as busy as the lower third (for the reason i put in my first post) The big negative side of the 3D is you miss alot of the Nose classic pitches like The Stovelegs, The Boot and The King Swing. Although missing The Texas Flake isn't a bad thing

E

In reply to Enty:

No, but we have talked about getting one.

Had looked at TD in the guide earlier, definitely looks good given your tip about the top of the Nose being less busy.

I'm not too worried about ticking "classic" pitches, but my climbing partner is pretty "Nose obsessed" so I'll have to see. I'm more interested in avoiding crowds...

Cheers

In reply to Smelly Fox:

The upper camps would be horrible if you meet another party - especially C4 and C6. We did on C4 and the ledge proved invaluable.

E

In reply to Smelly Fox:

The prow if you have a ledge, or try and do it as a day route after fixing to a high point the day before.

If no ledge then leaning tower.

Both popular routes but easy to work around people.

In reply to Smelly Fox:
Friends did Southwest Face of Liberty Cap which they said was good and quiet I think: http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/c.php?i=38898

Zodiac was our second wall. We tapped in a few peckers but didn't place any proper pegs. Get a set of Totems (not the Totem basics, well, you could get them too...) and you won't need the sawn-offs. It's steep, and pretty wild but not really too bad once you get going. There's no real time pressure unlike the nose. Most people seem to take a similar approach (they certainly did when we were there - fix the first 3 pitches on Day 1, blast off to pitch 7 on day 2, then to 10 on day 3, up to 13 on 4 and top-out on day 5.

Sort out a proper poop tube. Take at least 2 beers, per person, per night and a big bag of tasty crisps. When you're zonked from a big day, you need a chill out beer and a refuel after getting the ledge sorted but before getting stuck into dinner.

In reply to Fultonius:

Good advice.

I'm quite proud of my ascent. I only used Beaks too so no real big deal, just gutted I need the hammer at all.

We also fixed to 3 but I'd only recommend fixing to 2. That 250ft free hanging jug was horrible at 5am after half a bottle of tequila

We got to the top of The Nipple on the first proper day of climbing and topped out day 3 so only one bivvy on the route. Well chuffed.

Topping out on Zodiac is awaesome, it's like rolling over an edge onto a sand beach. Best bivvy spot ever!

All this talk has already got me planning 2015!!

E

In reply to Fultonius:

Cool, thanks. Will bear these tips in mind.

In reply to Smelly Fox:

Have a click through this site:

http://www.fishproducts.com/index.html

E

In reply to Enty:

Nice one thanks... hadn't come across these guys before.

In reply to Smelly Fox:

South Face of Watkins. Convey my regards to the hornets.