![]() In the Summer of 2013 I became somewhat obsessed with a desire to climb the Incredible Hulk. The Incredible Hulk is known for three things: the best rock in the High Sierra, long routes, and incredibly sustained climbing. I just had to climb it. I think part of my obsession resulted from the challenge of just making it happen. California Climbing Trip I (June 18-30): In June, I headed to the High Sierra to do some climbing with my Californian friend Mark, where we planned to climb the Hulk after a week in the Palisades. Our week in the Palisades was a grand adventure, but it left too little time and energy to tackle the Hulk afterward. So I flew home, already scheming of how I could squeeze another trip to the High Sierra into my packed summer. (Links to TRs from California Climbing Trip I: Norman Clyde Firebird Ridge, Norman Clyde Twilight Pillar, Palisade Crest, Third Pillar of Dana, Cathedral Traverse). California Climbing Trip II (August 18-29): Over the next couple of months, I had several great mountain adventures, but the Incredible Hulk continued to hulk in the back of my mind. In late August I returned to California on a climbing roadtrip with Dan, Chad, and Sarah; the Incredible Hulk was the primary objective. But the Hulk was not going to make it easy on us. First there were thundershowers in the northern Sierra; then the skies were clear but accompanied by 30 mph gusts; then the air was calm but a thick layer of wildfire smoke settled in the valleys east of Yosemite (where the Hulk is). Fortunately there is no shortage of rock to climb in the area, so we still enjoyed a successful week of climbing other Sierra classics. But again I returned home to Washington a tad frustrated that yet again my hands had not touched the steep white granite of the Hulk. (Links to TRs from California Climbing Trip II: Fairview Dome Regular Route, Mt. Russell Fishhook Arête, Bear Creek Spire North Arête, "TMC Linkup": Tenaya, Matthes Crest, Cathedral). California Climbing Trip III (Sept 7-13): Now with only about ten days of summer left before school started up again, the Hulk looked unlikely. But I just couldn't get it out of my mind. Then (on a Wednesday) I got an email from Mark from California, about his weekend plans to climb the Hulk with his friend Nic. Mark mentioned that he himself wanted to climb the popular Red Dihedral route but that Nic was more interested in climbing the less crowded and more challenging Positive Vibrations route. A flurry of emails later, and I was throwing climbing gear into my car. The Incredible Hulk, here I come! (Links to TRs from California Climbing Trip III: Incredible Hulk Red Dihedral (this page), Incredible Hulk Positive Vibrations (this page), Merriam Peak North Buttress, Cardinal Pinnacle West Face). And Finally...The Trip Report for the Incredible Hulk: The following page gives a trip report for the two climbs I did on the Incredible Hulk: Red Dihedral (5.10b) and Positive Vibrations (5.11a). I climbed Red Dihedral with Mark on Saturday (Sept 7) and Positive Vibrations on Sunday (Sept 8) with Nic. These are probably the most popular climbs on the Hulk. The RD-PV pairing makes a great full-on two-day trip with over 2500' of truly incredible climbing. |