scotchie's Logbook (46 ascents)

.

Climbed it a couple weeks ago. We could hear a lot of buzzing coming from the bushes in the gully near the belay ledge. Only one or two bees were scouting around then, but after all the winter rains and the wildflowers getting ready to come out, the hive will probably be real busy pretty soon.

The climb itself was fantastic. It's a beautiful looking line. It looked difficult from the ground but was actually a piece of cake. Lots of nut placements. Excellent footholds abound if you look for them.

2 parties ahead of us, 2 parties behind. Probably only a sampling of the people climbing Munginella that day. Not the best climb we did in the Valley, but still worth doing. Did this pretty quickly after checking into Camp 4, and still had time left over to take pictures at Lower Yosemite Falls. A few moves seemed difficult and scary from below but turned out to be easy.

Felt more like 5.6. Anyway, went around to the rightside lieback. Totally missed the chimney. Not bad climbing, but now I want to try the chimney. Next time.... Got spooked out on the approach. It was a lot less scary once someone showed us the 2nd/3rd-class way to do it.

One of the most fun climbs I did in the Valley. And yes, probably the best 5.6 I have ever done also. Pitch 2 is the real money pitch. The other 2 are fun also. Rapping down Marginal looked like fantastic climbing but very runout. Maybe next time toprope one of the pitches from the anchors after climbing the Grack? Definitely get a late start on this one! We arrived at ~ 12-1pm and were baking in the sun the entire climb! The other parties that showed up ~ 2:30 or 3pm probably had a much nicer climb.

First pitch was a fun combination of crack and face techniques. Felt a lot less stiff than Nutcracker, but still earning the 5.8 rating. Continued on After 6 for an easy, chill run-up to the top. Chimney on pitch 3 was an especially fun offwidth with face holds everywhere and hand/foot jams in spots. Great intro to the Valley with terrific views. Wish the weather had been a few degrees cooler!

I'm surprised everyone said it was so easy. 1st and 5th pitches felt like some 5.9 pitches I have led. Maybe it was just because it was only my 2nd climb in the Valley, and I was not used to the rock. Fell once at top of first pitch lieback. Was trying to lead it on only stoppers and burned out placing. It's hard to believe this was led with only passive pro. It would have been better to just plug in a couple small cams and go for it.

still learning...

I have climbed this 4 times so far, and it continues to thrill me every time. It was my first multi-pitch lead (combined with Birthday Party and Sillouette). I have taken both beginners and experts here, including one party of 7. I took my girlfriend (now fiancee) here on her first multipitch climb. It is everything that an easy trad climb should be, with a mixture of many different techniques (which can often be used interchangably), gorgeous views, outstanding and easy protection, and a thrilling rappel at the end. All within Scottsdale city limits!

South Crack was probably put up during a time when 5.3 meant a bit more than it does to most climbers today. But in no way do you have to be a 5.9 trad climber! I first did this when I was a 5.7 trad climber, and it seemed easy but a lot of fun. Now that I am a 5.9 trad climber, it still seems easy but a lot of fun. I would recommend the new climber to review the "Crack Climbing" section of "Freedom of the Hills", as this climb requires vastly different techniques than you would typically learn in the rock gym or sport crag. But none of these techniques need to be mastered to climb this old-school 5.3 local-area classic!

Great weather (80 degrees in November), great views, great company, great climb, and great pizza afterwards. Exhilirating, spicy moves on 1 and 5 (and 3 to a lesser extent). The friction slabs were kinda scary, but the climb was worth it. Hand crack, chimney, and face. But not the least bit chossy. Led pitches 3 and 5. Good job Marcy and Kelly on pitches 1,2,4!

We followed the approach beta from this site and mountain project (same beta) and didn't have any problems.

PS - what's with the bolt just above the start of the last pitch? We didn't even notice it until we were rapping.

PPS - The "Weekend Rock" guidebook said with 2, 60m ropes, you can combine the 3rd and 4th rappels. Our ropes DID NOT reach the top of the last rappel. They reached the belay ledge for the start of p2, which was about 10 ft short of the rap station. Not sure why.