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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. |
Photos | Photo descriptions |
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. |
Photos | Photo descriptions |
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. |
Photos | Photo descriptions |
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! |
Photos | Photo descriptions |
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. |
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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. |
Photos | Photo descriptions |
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. |
Photos | Photo descriptions |
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. |
Photos | Photo descriptions |
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. |
Photos | Photo descriptions |
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. |
Photos | Photo descriptions |
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. |