Chapel Wall - the wall behind the Yosemite Valley Chapel - has a number of sport climbs with a short approach and shady aspect. One of the route's most popular routes is The Great Escape, a bolted route featuring four 5.11 pitches of sustained climbing with excellent movement. The crux 5.11d pitch was originally rated 5.12a. The route is entirely bolted, but a light rack of small-to-medium cams (we had black through green totems) is handy.

This was supposed to be a rest day cragging session after a long day of climbing and hiking the previous day, but the route was a lot more try-hard than either of us had expected. But we thought it was a high-quality climb. Nate lead the entire route.

Below are some pitch-by-pitch photos from the climb.