jkdfjkdfjkdfjkd's Logbook (16 ascents)

This is *the* climb to do in El Portrero, especially if you can get a buddy to photograph you standing on top of the spire..and your buddy is high on one of the other walls. This is NOT too runout....and to the chump calling for retro bolting it? Dude. Take up knitting. If you are so wigged by not seeing a bolt every 6 feet, go back to the gym and give up sport climbing..and god HELP you if you decide you want to do trad. Idiots like that guy need to get out of the sport.

Loved, loved, loved this route. I did not find it hard to protect, and although the mantle is committing, just keep paying attention after you do it and you'll be fine. 3 dudes soloing the route reached the crux as we waited off to the side hanging on a tree belay. One of the dudes *almost* fell off that move because he wigged. Happily, he succeeded and they all topped out. I'm going to quote another poster here who said: "Sounds like the person who posted the route info was just pissed because he got his ass spanked on an easy route....Poser!This is a typical yosemite route with greasy fingers, wet sections in early season and lines of gumbies all the way to the top. It is by no means a choss pile, nor is it in any way runnout. If you don't like it, go back to sport climbing you sissy little gromit."

Arrived in late afternoon, waited for German team to finish rapping route. Got on with 2 hours til dark. Brought lots of quicks and a couple tiny cams. Swung leads with Scott, moved pretty fast, no falls for either of us (Scott lead crux)...chatted briefly with winner of Phoenix boulder comp at top of P1, who was wigged by the exposure as he and his partner tried to do "Dream of Wild Turkeys" (5.9). They bailed, we topped out and got caught by dark as we rapped. V Easy to miss the belays in the dark...would have been epic without our headlamps. Also easy to rap off rope in the dark...tie knots in ends. Summary: Great route with lots and lots of exposure (you can pretty much see Idaho from the top) ;-)

I did this the day after 2 gym climbers (apparently) put their rope directly through the rap webbing (without using the rap rings) and so burned through the webbing while lowering off, dropping one of them about 50 feet onto the trail. After the paramedics (finally) got the kid out (he lived, recovered), I lead this route and found it to be thinly protected, but with fun moves, and good pro when it was available.

I lead this when I was onsighting hard 11 trad. Almost a mistake.
Heh,heh. Just about zero gear on this thing...sling a small horn halfway up and then hope not to fall. Cheers.

Don't get suckered into soloing this as a way to reach the top, unless you are very comfortable soloing friction...the last move to top this out is all friction, both hands and feet, and tends to freak a lot of people out. Lots of people are able to solo easily right up to the last move..at which point they think they are going to die. Just sayin...