Hotline, often thought to be the first 5.12 in Yosemite (though that’s not actually the case), is a fantastic crack system that feels like a cragging route despite technically being seven pitches long. It follows the obvious roof-to-splitter line on the left side of the main face of the giant pillar on Elephant Rock, tracing the edge of a rectangular orange scar of rock. The climbing is outstanding—splitter cracks galore, with long stretches of high-quality 5.10 crack climbing and a few well-protected (and easily aidable) 5.11 cruxes, and a "5.12b" slab traverse that can be bypassed with a pendulum. The route is most commonly done at 5.11d A0 (or even 5.10 C1).

I climbed the route with Chris Guzman, who responded to my Mountain Project partner post. We block-led the route—Chris took Pitches 1 and 2, I led 3 through 5, and he finished with 6 and 7. My leads featured long stretches of crack and corner climbing, while Chris’s included the technical cruxes and the A0 pendulum. We both took a brief hang on the first 5.11d (powerful layback on finger jams) before quickly sorting it out, and we both ended up pulling through the second 11d section (powerful pull through roof on flaring jams) (although Chris nearly onsighted the 11d roof, and may have had he had hand jammies). I got the lead of the incredible 130-foot hand crack of Pitch 3—an absolute gem.

We climbed in fix-and-follow style, hauling a pack with water, food, and extra layers. The route was in the shade, and temps were perfect for climbing in a t-shirt—our jackets never left the bag. One of the day’s cruxes turned out to be the approach: crossing slick river rocks over the rushing water. It wasn’t too bad though—and honestly, pretty cool that you get to start the climb by crossing the river.

Chris and I both enjoyed this route. Thanks Chris for being an excellent partner!

This page includes an overlay, time stats, and pitch-by-pitch photos from our fun day on the rock.