Included among the Fifty Classic Climbs of North America, the
East Buttress of Middle Cathedral offers pitch after pitch of moderate Yosemite cracks, occasionally broken by short, well-protected cruxes. The views of El Capitan across the Valley are unbeatable.
I first climbed the
East Buttress of Middle Cathedral in
2016. So when Nick and I were looking for a classic moderate in the Valley—and realized I’d already climbed most of them—this one rose to the top of the list to repeat.
We got a pre-dawn start to stay ahead of the Fifty Classic crowds. For some reason, we thought the approach would take 45 minutes, but it turned out to be a relaxed 24-minute stroll, leaving us at the base while it was still dark. Being first in line, we sat back, enjoyed the quiet, and watched the day arrive before starting up once it was light enough to climb without headlamps.
On the first pitch, Nick drifted a bit too far right but quickly corrected and cruised through the rest. We swung leads efficiently to the top. A few parties appeared as we climbed the second pitch, and we were glad to be ahead of the inevitable cluster and awkward chatter and sizing up that happens when multiple teams jockey for position.
Although we had options, we chose the 5.10a “Fifty Crowded Variation” for Pitch 3 instead of the 5.10c (5.9 A0) of the regular route. I’d done the 5.10c version back in 2016 and was curious about the alternate line. It turned out to be excellent—Nick led it beautifully. The sun reached us as we started Pitch 4.
At the top, we decided to descend via the rappel route. Nick was neutral, but having done the walk-off in 2016, I was curious to try the newly installed raps. Despite requiring 11 rappels with a single 60m rope, it went smoothly—just 51 minutes back to the base.
We reached the car shortly after noon—perfect timing for lunch.
This page includes pitch-by-pitch photos of the climb, along with an overlay created using a Google Earth image since it was tricky to find a good angle to photograph the buttress. Thanks to Nick for joining me on this fun outing!
