Fifi Buttress, Center of the Universe (5.11-, 7p)

Fifi Buttress

Route:

Center of the Universe

5.11-, 7 pitches

Fantastic route up Fifi Buttress.

Region: California
Elev: ~7,000 ft
Rock type: Granite
Type: 
Date(s): June 3, 2025 (Tue)
Partner(s): Tucker Mihalik

Related trip reports:

Route Overlay

The only downside I can find to Center of the Universe is that it is difficult to get a view of the route, so I was unable to make a real route overlay. You can see the route from Leaning Tower, so I guess I have to climb that to get a photo so I can make an overlay for Center of the Universe. The photo below shows the location of Center of the Universe relative to Voyager.

Intro

I had climbed Voyager (5.11c, 7p) on Fifi Buttress in October 2024 with Nate Beckwith and thought it was an excellent route. I wanted to someday climb Center of the Universe (5.11-, 7p), another comparable 5.11 on the far left side of Fifi Buttress, a touch easier than Voyager but equally high in quality. 

In June 2025, I was in Yosemite Valley cragging with my friend Rob Dillon for a bit, and while the cragging was a blast, I was getting the itch for multipitch, and getting a bit higher off the ground (and a bit further from the bugs and heat). Rob gave me the go-ahead to find a partner for a multipitch route or two. Tucker Mihalik had recently made a partner post on mountainproject; he was working in Yosemite and looking for partners on his days off. I replied to his post and within minutes we had plans to meet the next morning at 9am in the Bridalveil Fall parking lot and climb Center of the Universe (5.11-, 7p). 

Tucker and I had a blast. We thought that every single pitch of the route was super fun and protectable. We climbed in fix-and-follow style, and block lead, with Tucker leading the first four pitches of route up to the large midway ledge, and me leading the last three pitches of the route. This worked out quite well, and we were at the top in no time, wishing the route were longer (in fact, the route does go on to the top of the buttress, but the rest of the pitches are not as travelled and are mostly moderate with no more 5.11). 

On the hike out, we discussed plans for climbing again in a few days. When you're in a spectacular area and you find a good partner on the same page, you take advantage of it.

The following page gives overlay, time stats, and pitch-by-pitch photos for the climb. Enjoy!

Time Stats

Times
Leave Car: 8:55 am
Arrive at base of route: 9:45 am
Start climbing: 9:53 am
Top of route: 1:21 pm
Base of route: 1:51 pm
Start hiking out: 2:05 pm
Arrive back at Car: 2:30 pm
Splits
Approach: 50 min (took us 25 min to hike out a different way)
Climb route: 3:28
Rappel route: 30 min (simul-rapping is fast)

Pitch-by-Pitch Photos

Comments Pertaining to this Page / Trip Report

Useful beta. Updated route information. Corrections. Historical notes. Interesting facts. No fluff please.
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