Tuolumne 2015: Oz, Hobbit Book, Aqua Knobby, Dike Route, American Wet Dream, Direct Northwest Face, Truck’N Drive, Little Sheeba, On the Lamb, Crystal Meth, Serrated Edge

A Week in Tuolumne

Routes:

- Oz (5.10d, 500')
- Hobbit Book (5.7 R, 500')
- Aqua Knobby (5.9, 400')
- Dike Route (5.9 R, 450-600')
- American Wet Dream (5.10b R, 500')
- Direct NW Face (5.10b, 400')
- Truck'N Drive (5.9 R, 300')
- Little Sheeba (5.10a, 90')
- On the Lamb (5.9, 500')
- Crystal Meth (5.8 R-, 300')
- Serrated Edge (5.10b, 500')

Finally I feel like I can say I've climbed at Tuolumne.

Region: California
Elev: 9,000-10,000 ft
Rock type: Granite
Type: 
Date(s): July 7-13, 2015 (Tue-Mon)
Partner(s): Dow Williams

Route Overlays

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Intro

Previous to this trip I had climbed just a few routes in Tuolumne, just a day here and there when passing through headed somewhere else (June 2007: Oz on Drug Dome and Lucky Streaks on Fairview Dome; June 2013: Cathedral Traverse; Aug 2013: Regular Route on Fairview Dome and Tenaya-Matthes-Cathedral link-up). But after this trip, I feel I can say I've climbed in Tuolumne. Over the course of a week, Dow and I climbed 11 routes, representing a good mix of popular 5-star climbs and more obscure adventure routes. This page gives route overlays, pitch-by-pitch descriptions, and photos for each of these routes.

Routes we climbed:
July 7:
- Oz on Drug Dome (5.10d, 4 pitches, 500')
- Hobbit Book on Mariuolumne Dome (5.7 R, 4 pitches, 500')
July 8:
- Aqua Knobby on Pywiack Dome (5.9, 4 pitches, 400')
- Dike Route on Pywiack Dome (5.9 R, 4.5-6 pitches, 450-600')
July 9-10:
- a couple of waiting out the weather days (5.13, 0 pitches, 0')
July 11:
- American Wet Dream on Mountaineers Dome (5.10b R, 5 pitches, 500')
- Direct Northwest Face on Lembert Dome (5.10b, 4 pitches, 400')
July 12:
- Truck'N Drive on Lembert Dome (5.9 R, 3 pitches, 300')
- Little Sheeba on Lamb Dome (5.10a, 1 pitch, 90')
- On the Lamb on Lamb Dome (5.9, 4 pitches, 500')
July 13:
- Crystal Meth on Drug Dome (5.8 R-, 3 pitches, 300')
- Serrated Edge on Mariuolumne Dome (5.10b, 4 pitches, 500')

THIS TRIP REPORT IS STILL MOSTLY IN THE EMBEDDED HTML FORMAT OF MY OLD WEBSITE.

Climbs We Did

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Pronounced "ounce", this Tuolumne classic ascends the steep 500' north face of Drug Dome, forging its way up through flakes and difficult face towards the obvious beautiful 120' 5.10c right-facing dihedral. I'd climbed Oz with my friend Ross in 2007, but this route is definitely worth doing over and over just for that dihedral pitch. The top of Drug Dome pretty much brings you right to the base of Mariuolumne Dome, which has some nice routes on it, so Dow and I linked up Oz with Hobbit Book on Mariuolumne Dome.

Route Overlays

Photos

Photos Photo descriptions
a.    
b.    
c.    
d.    
e.    
f.    
g.    
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i.    
j.    
k.    
a. Looking up the route on the approach. Oz climbs up to and through the obvious beautiful right-facing dihedral.
b. Dow on Pitch 1, which begins well right of the corner above. Pitch 1 starts with some tricky climbing on questionable gear, surmounts a bulge, and enters a nice flake system. In this photo Dow is just below the bulge. 
c. The 5.7 flake system of the upper half of Pitch 1.
d. Dow on Pitch 2. This pitch involves some difficult (up to 10d) face climbing, mostly bolt protected.
e. Looking up the beautiful 
dihedral of Pitch 3. 5.10b to 5.10c crack climbing - this is the pitch I've been waiting for!
f. Looking down the 
dihedral while leading Pitch 3.
g. Dow climbing the 
dihedral of Pitch 3. Here he is just before the overhanging bit which is rated 10c. Purple cams fit well here.
h. Pitch 4 traverses out directly left from the belay at the top of the corner. There are two bolts (which you can see in the photo) to protect a few 10a moves, and then its easier from here. You can see thundershowers developing to the east. The forecast for the day had been "50% thundershowers" and we won the bet by happening to select the 50% of Tuolumne that was not getting hammered by hail and lightening.
i. The top of Drug Dome.
j. Looking east towards Fairview Dome and the thundershowers....hmmm....should we continue on and climb something on Mariuolumne Dome or should we descend to the car.....?
k. Oz as seen from the top of Lamb Dome a few days later. If you look really closely there are climbers on the route.

We had initially planned on climbing Serrated Edge on Mariuolumne (try pronouncing that!) Dome, but due to the ominous clouds to the east we wanted to run up something that would be quicker and easier. Hobbit Book was a great choice. This popular route ascends the obvious steep left-facing corner system on Mariuolumne Dome. It's pretty easy climbing, but the third pitch ascends about 100' of patina face, with only one bolt (at about 30 feet up) to protect the entire face! The face is quite steep, but the patina jugs are large and positive, so it's mostly just really exciting rather than overly scary. This route made a great encore to Oz. We climbed it quickly in two long pitches—Pitches 1+2 led by Dow and Pitches 3+4 led by me—with some simulclimbing at the end of each of our leads. 

Route Overlays

Photos

Photos Photo descriptions
a.    
b.    
c.    
d.    
e.    
f.    
g.    
h.    
j.    
a. The ramble from the top of Drug Dome to the base of the Main Wall on Mariuolumne Dome (mostly 2nd, some brief 3rd and 4th).
b. The Main Wall of 
Mariuolumne Dome. Hobbit Book ascends the obvious corner on the right.
c. Looking up the Hobbit Book corner from the base of the route. The first half of the route is pretty easy (4th to 5.4ish) climbing with a 5.6 or 5.7 move here and there.
d. Looking up the second half of Hobbit Book. Here the route goes left and ascends the steep patina face for about 100'. There's only a single bolt for protection the entire face! But the patina jugs are large and positive. It's a wild lead.
e. Looking down the 100' patina face section.
f. The characteristic gigantic pegmatite crystals of Tuolumne.
g. Dow beginning the descent from the top of Mariuolumne Dome. Daff Dome and Fairview Dome in the distance. The descent entails walking down the slabs for about 500 yards, then when you reach a bench with huge trees, find a gully off to the left with a tower in it (next photo), go down right of the tower, then through a boulder field, and locate a climbers' trail that wraps back underneath Drug Dome and back to the parking lot.
h. The gully with the tower in it. Go right of the tower.
j. Hobbit Book as seen from the top of Lamb Dome a few days later. If you look really closely there are climbers on the route.

It was another day where the forecast was "50% thundershowers" but for some reason (probably an innate desire Dow an I have to make everything an adventure) we chose to climb a route that becomes a watercourse when it rains. Aqua Knobby is a slightly runout knobby adventure climb on the north side of Pywiack Dome. The route gets 4 stars in the guidebook, but I give it 1.5. I just didn't enjoy the climbing much I guess. Dow liked it better than I did, giving it 2.5 stars. Fortunately, it did not rain on us during the climb, although it would have been quite exciting to be climbing up a runnout knobby waterfall.

Route Overlay

Photos

Photos Photo descriptions
a.    
b.    
c.    
d.    
e.    
a. Dow leading off Pitch 1, which ascends the knobby the greenish streaked rock up to the base of the obvious white water streak of Pitch 2. It's easy climbing but unprotected until the last bit of the pitch. I started off leading this pitch, but only got a few moves up the knobs before getting a bit spooked out at the runout ahead and backing down...
b. Dow leading off Pitch 2, which is the crux of the route. It starts off with a bit of knobby crack, then goes into knobby face climbing up the water streak.
c. The 5.8 R section at the end of Pitch 2.
d. The knobby crack of Pitch 4. I led this pitch. 
e. Dow at the rap anchor off the summit of Pywiack Dome. The descent requires a 40' rappel, and the rest is just a walk off.

After Aqua Knobby, the thunderclouds had grown to the east but we still had blue skies above us, so we decided to run up Dike Route. Dike Route follows the system of dikes on the west side of Pywiack Dome that are quite obvious from the road. Climbing a dike is really unique climbing. For gear on this route, all you need is 3 quick draws and an anchor, as the first five pitches have, respectively, 0, 1, 3, 2, and 0 bolts. Hence the "R" rating to the route (which turns into an "X" if you don't find the second bolt on Pitch 4!). Apart from Pitch 1 which we both soloed, Dow led this route. Runout face climbing - even at the 5.6 grade - is just not my thing! But I quite enjoyed following this route. Way cool and unique. And I always like a route with a line that you can identify from the base. 

Route Overlay

Photos

Photos Photo descriptions
a.    
b.    
c.    
d.    
e.    
f.    
g.    
h.    
a. Looking up at the dike from the base of the route. Pitch 1 goes up to the intersection of the dikes in the photo, where there is a two-bolt anchor. We soloed Pitch 1, which is 5.4 and completely unprotected anyway.
b. Dow leading Pitch 2, which follows the dike to another two-bolt anchor. The only protection is a bolt half-way through the pitch. This pitch is 5.6.
c. Dow leading off Pitch 3, which continues to follow the dike system. There are three bolts on this pitch, which is 5.7.
d. Dow leading off Pitch 4, which is the crux pitch of the route, starting with a 5.9 move over a bulge (there's a bolt to protect this move), and then going up through steep 5.8 knobby patina slab for perhaps 80' to the anchor. 
e. 
There's a single bolt (shown in photo) on Pitch 4 to protect the last 80' of 5.8 climbing. Apparently some climbers have not been able to find the bolt (although we had no trouble spotting it), which would turn 5.8 R into 5.8 X....
f. Dow at the rap anchor below the vertical rock at the top of Pywiack Dome. At this point you have the option to either (1) rappel back down to the base or (2) traverse over to the right and get to the top of the dome by a 5.7 crack. We chose Option 1.
g. We rappelled back down to the base in 4 rappels with a single 70m rope. I don't think a 60m rope would quite make one of the rappels.
h. Shortly after we finished the climb, the afternoon thundershowers moved in (it was another day with a 50% thundershowers forecast). We stole another couple of routes!

On the third morning of our Tuolumne trip, we awoke to an unclimbable drizzle. I didn't expect to be battling cold and rain when I came to California in July! Dow and I spent the day in Mammoth Lakes browsing used book shelves, eating Schat's Bakkery goodies, and drinking way too much coffee coffee in Mammoth Lakes. The next day we awoke to a dry morning, but when we drove into Tuolume we found it a winter wonderland with somewhat wintery temperatures. Another day looking for things to do besides climb. I photographed birds chasing files at Mono Lake.

Photos

Photos Photo descriptions
a.    
b.    
c.    
d.    
e.    
f.    
g.    
h.    
i.    
j.    
k.    
a. Driving to California my car's thermometer read 110°F and I was sitting on ziplocks full of ice cubes in order to avoid turning on the AC. I feared we'd be chasing shade and fleeing from routes because our climbing shoes were melting.
b. But instead we found ourselves chasing sun and dealing with frozen fingers. The temperatures in Tuolumne were just above freezing our first few mornings!
c. Mono Lake.
d-h. Blackbirds and least sandpipers (?) tear around the shoreline of Mono Lake creating a wake of terrified files.
i-j. Violet green swallows nest in the pockets in the tufa.
k. Mono Lake bunny.

After two days of coffee, books, and birds, the weather was favorable enough to climb again. Hooray! In the morning we climbed American Wet Dream, a route we had spotted a few days previous when we were climbing on Pywiack Dome, which is just across the road from Mountaineers Dome. American Wet Dream is a bit of an undiscovered gem of a route, despite the fact that the route is fully visible from the road and has only a 5 minute approach and is a warm south-facing choice for a cool day. The route pretty much stair-steps up the dome, with spacious flat ledges at each belay and steep 5.10 crack climbing between ledges. Dow and I both really enjoyed this climb, and agreed that the climbing is 4-star in quality. We swung leads. A note on the descent: There are two main options: (1) 4th class off right and then walk off to the left or (2) go down and left and descend an exposed 4th to low 5th ramp. We initially opted for Option 2 since it is definitely shorter and could be quite quick, but we found the ramp to be a bit wet from the recent storms; so we went with Option 1, which was a reasonably nice cross-country stroll, as long as you resist the temptation to descend left too soon and get caught in cliffs.

Route Overlay

Photos

Photos Photo descriptions
a.    
b.    
c.    
d.    
e.    
f.    
g.    
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a. Steph climbing Pitch 1, which is mostly 5.8-5.9 climbing up a groove to a crack to a cool left-step-undercling move near the top.
b. The spacious belay ledge at the top of Pitch 1. All of the belay ledges are spacious and flat on this route. Cathedral Peak in distance.
c. Dow at the base of Pitch 2, which follows a 10a crack for about 70'.
d. The spacious belay ledge at the top of Pitch 2, with Tenaya Lake below in the distance.
e. Looking up at Pitch 3, which is mostly 10a crack climbing, with the 10b crux of the route at the start where you do a right-to-left crack switch (great pro). 
f. Looking down while leading Pitch 3. I really enjoyed this pitch.
g. Dow leading off Pitch 4. This begins with an easy traverse along an exposed ledge, and then climbs a 10a corner.
h. Looking back at the easy but exposed ledge at the start of Pitch 4.
i. Looking up at the crack on Pitch 4 from below. There's a bolt at the start since there's not much for pro besides a hollow flake. The topo calls this section "R" but it's not too bad for "R".
j. The 5.7 slab of Pitch 5. We linked this with Pitch 4.
k. Dow looking down the ramp descent (Descent Option #2 on the route overlay). Another party of climbers headed down this way, and it looked like they were trying to set a rappel off a horn. The ramp was a bit wet. So Dow and I decided to try Descent Option #1....
l-n. Descent Option #1. First a 4th class scramble up and right. Then exit left. Then scramble slabs and brush to the road.

After a morning climbing American Wet Dream, we hopped back in the car and drove to Lembert Dome, where we climbed the Direct Northwest Face, which follows a splitter crack up the NW face of the dome. We climbed this 400' route in two long pitches, where I led the first two pitches and Dow led the second two pitches. Pitch 1 was easy 5th, Pitch 2 had a lot of climbing up 5.9 pin scars (offset cams fit great) and a fun undercling move, Pitch 3 was a great crack with a fun 10a steep section, and Pitch 4 was also a great 10b crack (unfortunately not as fun as it could have been since it was a bit wet from the recent storms) ending with a committing 5.9 slab move. I thought it was a pretty high quality route and enjoyed it. A note on the descent: There are two main options: (1) walk off the tourist trail or (2) descend the slabs on the west side. I opted for Option 1 while Dow opted for Option 2. I wish I'd followed Dow. The trail was boring and long and the slabs were fun (according to Dow) and direct.

Route Overlay

Photos

Photos Photo descriptions
a.    
b.    
c.    
d.    
e.    
f.    
g.    
h.    
a. Looking up at the NW Face from below. The route follows the crack system that is obvious in the photo.
b. Lots of pin scars on this route, particularly Pitches 2 and 3. Offset cams fit great.
c. The view is not too shabby! Tuolumne Meadows below and Cathedral Peak in the distance.
d. The nice belay ledge at the top of Pitch 2. With such a nice ledge, it makes the additional rope drag of linking Pitches 1 and 2 worth it.
e. Dow starting up Pitch 3.
f. A piton on Pitch 4. There are a few old pitons on this route.
g. The 5.9 slab at the top of the route. The crux is a mantle move which isn't that difficult, just committing above your pro with a ledge below.
h. Typical afternoon thundershowers moving in just as we topped out around 2:30pm. The summit of Lembert Dome is to the left.

The previous day we had eyed the southwest face of Lembert Dome as we passed by on our way to climb the Direct NW Buttress route. One route that caught our attention was Truck'N Drive. So the next morning we returned to climb it. The rock had a slightly insecure feel to it (must have been high humidity in the morning), making the climb seem a bit more difficult than it probably was, but nevertheless we highly enjoyed the route. Definitely worth doing. Just make sure it's a dry day — I wouldn't want to be on this route when it was raining.

Route Overlay

Photos

Photos Photo descriptions
a.    
b.    
c.    
d.    
e.    
a. Approaching the route. We are a tourist attraction.
b. Dow leading Pitch 1, which follows slabs and a corner up to just below the right side of the roof. The rock had a slightly slippery feel to it due to high humidity, so this pitch felt quite insecure despite being rated only 5.6 on the topo. Also, it was a bit wet, so Dow took a (fun!) variation above the standard approach. Left Water Crack and Right Water Crack routes are above Dow in the photo.
c. Pitch 2 begins with a sporty 5.9 move into a horizontal crack. This was my favorite section of the route. Of course I am biased towards cracks.
d. After traversing the horizontal crack to the left, the second half of Pitch 2 is a slab. It's rated 5.8 on the topo but the section between the first and second bolts felt like 5.10 to both Dow and I. Perhaps it was the slightly moist rock, but nevertheless it just didn't seem to have 5.8 features...
e. Pitch 3 is a short pitch of more slab. It is easy to link Pitches 2 and 3 so that's what we did.

Next on the docket for the day was On the Lamb on Lamb Dome. Dow likes to climb new routes so part of the motivation to go over to Lamb Dome was to check out Little Sheeba, a raved-about 1-pitch 10a fingercrack located on an outcrop on the lower right end of Lamb Dome (just below and right of the right hand end of On the Lamb). Both Dow and I led this route — me first, and then Dow. It was indeed a really fun climb. The finger locks were concisely bomber and the protection was plentiful. My only complaint about this route is that it is too short. 90' of this kind of crack is just a tease!

Photos

Photos Photo descriptions
a.    
b.    
a. Looking up Little Sheeba from the base.
b. Taken while climbing Little Sheeba. What a great crack. Too bad it's only 90 feet!

Finally it was time to climb On the Lamb, which I had convinced Dow to climb with me even though he had climbed it once before. On the Lamb is a classic route in Tuolumne, following a ~300' horizontal crack across the face of Lamb Dome. The crack maintains its juggy nature throughout, keeping the climbing at 5.8 with a 40' section of 5.9 where the feet disappear for awhile. I've never climbed anything like it. The exposure was phenomenal and the climbing just super fun and unique. The is my favorite Tuolumne route to date. Instead of climbing the last easy pitch of On the Lamb, we finished by climbing a combo of Sleeper Pitch 3 (5.8 R) and Jailbreak Pitch 2 (5.9 R-) to reach the summit of Lamb Dome on clean and steep slab. A 10 pitch day!

Route Overlay

Photos

Photos Photo descriptions
a.    
b.    
c.    
d.    
e.    
f.    
g.    
h.    
i.    
j.    
k.    
l.    
a. Pitch 1 is a 4th class ramble up the slabs. Apparently some parties have difficulty finding the start of the route, but the key is to wrap left around the dome for a bit, and then go up the shoulder. We went right up between the trees in the photo.
b. Ascending the 4th class groove and knobby slabs on Pitch 1.
c. The belay at the top of Pitch 1. We roped up here. You can see a climber from the party ahead of us on Pitch 2.
d. Dow climbing on the first part of the horizontal crack, which was the end of Pitch 2 for us. When I led it I had my hands in the crack (easier to set gear that way) but Dow used the crack as a foot ledge on this first section. A note on the belay spot: On Pitch 2, I climbed about 30 feet along the horizontal crack before setting a belay, which is actually near the end of Pitch 3 on the topo. I would have liked to set the belay in a slightly-sheltered alcove after crossing over an arete, but the party ahead of us was there, so I set my belay on the arete. It was a windy spot.
e. Dow leading off our third pitch, which is Pitch 4 on the topo. The exposure is great.
f. A photo of the horizontal crack, looking left to right (in the direction we climbed it). I've never climbed anything like it. Super fun. All the 5.8 sections are full of jugs and foot knobs.
g. 
A photo of the 5.9 section where the foot knobs kind of disappear for about 40 feet. The hand holds are still very good. Setting/cleaning gear and going for it quickly with the feet high is the way to go.
h. Looking forward at the last bit of the 5.9 section.
i. Instead of doing the easy last pitch of On the Lamb, we finished by climbing up to the top of Lamb Dome by combining Sleeper (Pitch 3, 5.8R) and Jailbreak (Pitch 4, 5.9 R-). In this photo Dow is leading off Sleeper, which is pretty runnout (2 bolts in 70 feet) knobby slab.
j. Jailbreak follows a dike system across the face. It's a lot of face and slab climbing, but not as runout as Sleeper.
k. Dow on top of Lamb Dome, with Fairview Dome in the distance.
l. Half Dome in the distance. Tenaya Lake below.

A few days earlier we had done an Oz-Hobbit Book link-up of Drug and Mariuolumne Domes. Now we were back to do another link-up of the two domes, this time Crystal Meth-Serrated Edge. Crystal Meth climbs the face to the right of the giant black waterstreak on the right side of Drug Dome. This route gets 3 stars in guidebook, but I'd probably give it 1.5. It was a bit grungy and just not fun or physically challenging enough to do again. But I suppose it's still a better option than hiking up to Mariuolumne Dome. 

Route Overlay

Photos

Photos Photo descriptions
a.    
b.    
c.    
d.    
e.    
f.    
g.    
h.    
a. On the approach to Drug Dome, we came across a newborn fawn curled in the grass while its mother was probably out finding food for herself. We passed by quietly so as not to scare the poor fellow, but I couldn't help snapping a few photos of this special sighting. I'm not sure how old the fawn was but it must have been pretty young since it did not even try to walk away.
b. Crystal Meth starts just right of the big black streak on the right side of Drug Dome.
c. Looking up the route from the base. The route pretty much is about 15-20 feet to the right of the black streak the whole way up and goes right of the roof visible at the top of the wall.
d. Dow following Pitch 1. 5.8 flakes and face. There's a single bolt near the start.
e. Dow leading off Pitch 2. More 5.8 flakes and face. There are a couple of bolts on this pitch.
f. Looking up Pitch 3. This pitch was kind of dirty. It goes right of the roof. This pitch might be why the route gets it's "R-" rating as it feels slightly runnout.
g. A precarious death block to avoid on Pitch 3.
h. The grungy roof on Pitch 3. Small crimps and knobs for feet on questionable dirty rock.

Our main objective for the day was Serrated Edge, a relatively new route on Mariuolumne Dome. This route gets its name from the fact that it climbs a right-facing corner system with several roofs that jut out like the teeth of a serrated knife. This route features burly 5.10 adventure crack climbing. I really enjoy this kind of climbing, so I really enjoyed this route and I'd definitely climb it again. Dow and I swung leads.

Route Overlays

Photos

Photos Photo descriptions
a.    
b.    
c.    
d.    
e.    
f.    
g.    
h.    
i.    
j.    
a. Looking up from the base of the route. Serrated Edge pretty much follows the jagged right-facing corner the whole way up.
b. The 10a/b roof section on Pitch 1. This was a cool move. 
I led this pitch. 
c. Dow leading Pitch 2, which starts off with a wide crack (#4 fits, but a #5 would perhaps be even better if you really want to be able to place gear anywhere), then a squeeze/chimney, then a cool hand traverse on double cracks under the roof, then finally pulling the roof. This whole section from the belay to the roof feels 10b.
d. Dow pulling the roof on Pitch 2.
e. Looking down while leading Pitch 3. This pitch is mostly burly 5.9 climbing.
f. The nice belay ledge at the top of Pitch 3.
g. Looking up Pitch 4. I offered to lead this pitch, with the intent of getting all the way to the top (it's a long 200' pitch that is rated 5.8 in the route description). But the rock turned out to be a bit dirty and loose so I set a lot of gear, and by 100' up I was running low on gear and especially slings so I stopped to set a belay. Dow led the second half of Pitch 4.
h. The upper part of Pitch 4. The rock quality in this section is not great, so it is a heady lead, even at 5.8. Note the slung knob; this knob was mentioned in our route description and helped us know we were on route since there seem to be several options of ways to go.
i. The descent from the top of Mariuolumne Dome is a pleasant 45 minute walk-off. We enjoyed the afternoon light.
j. Cathedral Peak and Echo Peaks as seen from the top of Mariuolumne Dome.

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