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drunkenmonkey
Jul 23, 2002, 7:54 AM
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Guys
assuming the crowds are going to be pumping on the stone in September what are the best routes below A3 on El cap if the route we want to go at has a crowd that would put the olympic games to shame on it. something maybe not everyone would think of...
any thoughts
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passthepitonspete
Jul 23, 2002, 10:05 PM
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OK, discounting The Nose and Salathe Wall, which are superb routes and go as "free as you can lead" with nothing but A1 if you can't, and West Face which goes mostly free even for mortals like me, you are left with Five Trade Routes:
Lurking Fear, The Shield, Mescalito, Tangerine Trip and Zodiac.
LF tends to have fewer crowds because of its long approach. The Shield has the advantage of beginning a thousand feet up. The Trip tends to be less busy than either Mescalito or Zodiac.
A forgotten easier route is North America Wall, which is probably a bit less than A3 and little harder than the five above, and is less likely to be busy.
My recommendation would be to keep your options open if you don't want to wait in the queue, and choose when you get there. You won't likely have to line up for NA or the Trip, though you never know.
Some of the "A3" routes like Sunkist and Dihedral Wall are really not all that hard. Buy yourself some pins, grab a few extra hooks, and take some heads for the few you might have to place, and have at 'em.
Cheers,
Pete
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drunkenmonkey
Jul 24, 2002, 12:40 PM
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Pete
cheers for the info and i think your right were going to approach our first wall with a plan but if its rammed full of parties we'll look for an alternative
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passthepitonspete
Jul 24, 2002, 4:13 PM
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Good on you, mate!
I applaud you for putting your balls on the line.
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freeclmr
Jul 27, 2002, 4:43 PM
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I soloed up Freeblast (the first ten pitches of Salathe) last Sunday and found it to be a TEN STAR CLIMB!!!! So awesome, in fact, that I will solo it again next weekend. This climb is a definate MUST for every climber!
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passthepitonspete
Jul 27, 2002, 6:06 PM
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Holy. You don't mean free solo, do you? Great effort, dude. That's a lot of climbing!
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freeclmr
Jul 29, 2002, 4:57 AM
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LOL, LMAO,.....I only wish I had the balls and confidence to freesolo Freeblast. No, I rope-soloed aid and free up to Mammoth. I am heading back to Yosemite this next weekend, though, where I'll be hooking up with a belay-friend so I can free the ten pitches in fine style!
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