We survived Yosemite Valley once again...and let me tell you, it's no vacation! The traditional lines are stout and most of them involve more than a few pitches of climbing with an aerobic hike on either end of the adventure.
Chris and Mike from Toronto joined Callum, Dave and I for some Yosemite challenges...one of them was finding a campsite, which was almost impossible, but we did get lucky.
The Valley in Spring is absolutely beautiful with its many raging waterfalls. When the Sierra Nevada Mountain range begins to lose its snow it rages into the valley down the Merced river.
I was looking forward to a few easy classics that we didn't climb last fall, like Snake Dike (Half Dome), Nutcracker, and Free Blast. Dave and Chris were on a mission to climb the Regular Route on Half Dome in a day.
Half Dome's Regular Route climbs the vertical face you can see from the valley floor. The route consists of 23 pitches, over 2000ft of climbing and aid climbing up to 12b. The top of Half Dome sits just over 8000ft in elevation...very impressive! But wait, to get to the base takes over 5 hours of hiking, or 13km with strenuous elevation gain.
During Chris' original 10 day stay, Dave and Chris made two attempts to climb Half Dome. They left our campsite with 50lbs bags to bivy near the route and climb the next day. Both attempts were unsuccessful as a dangerous snow col and cold weather got in their way.
The boys were definitely disappointed getting shot down without even touching the rock on Half Dome. Chris extended his trip and the plan was made for one more attempt with hopes of melted snow and warmer temps. I got to tag along and enjoyed the overnight camping under the stars, and taking photos of their journey and finally their summit.
Dave is still recovering from the battle...cold winds, 14 hours of climbing, and some cuts that tell the tale of their hard work.
We are back in Portland to collect our things we stashed at Callum's and we are on the road again to Washington and Squamish.
We are coming home soon and look forward to seeing family, friends, and home sweet home.
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