Climbed the South Face of Mt. Watkins with Nick. Definitely the toughest climb I've ever done. Spent two nights on the wall. 19 pitches, heinous approach and descent, got a quick sierra storm, and took some nice falls.
First ascent by Warren Harding, Yvon Chouinard, and Chuck Pratt over 5 days in 1964. They took 1.5 L/person/day. We took about 1.2 Gallons/person/day... and we were THIRSTY. Warren Harding was also superhuman.
Many prominent roofs, ledges, and crack systems aren't marked on the topo, but we always thought, "what would the first ascent party do here" and after a climbing for a few minutes, we'd usually find a bolt or some other indicator that we were on route... adventure climbing at it's best.
To hear about the first ascent, read Chuck Pratt's account here. http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.html?topic_id=637156
First ascent by Warren Harding, Yvon Chouinard, and Chuck Pratt over 5 days in 1964. They took 1.5 L/person/day. We took about 1.2 Gallons/person/day... and we were THIRSTY. Warren Harding was also superhuman.
Many prominent roofs, ledges, and crack systems aren't marked on the topo, but we always thought, "what would the first ascent party do here" and after a climbing for a few minutes, we'd usually find a bolt or some other indicator that we were on route... adventure climbing at it's best.
To hear about the first ascent, read Chuck Pratt's account here. http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.html?topic_id=637156
My knee got jacked up on the last pitch.
Hauling the bag for the last time. By this time, the bag was significantly lighter, as we had easily finished all of our water.
The summit pic. We were beat.
Looking back towards Yosemite Valley... you can see the top of Snow Creek Falls from here.
You can hike down Snow Creek Falls trail back to the valley... but it's best to hike out to 120. Which requires a shuttle... which we had. Booya.
Leaning tree and Clouds Rest.
After hiking a few miles we got to a small creek. We jumped and received the most refreshing feeling we have ever had... it was like we were living the Mist commercial.
We pumped half a gallon of water here, which we chugged. And pumped another half gallon for the rest of the hike.
We pumped half a gallon of water here, which we chugged. And pumped another half gallon for the rest of the hike.
And soon after, we were on the trail.
Kelly and her dad will (who's hammer and pitons we borrowed) were awesome enough to meet up with us on the trail...
Back to the cars! We made it. Funk dropped my car off here, and had got a ride home from Solomon earlier that day. He and Pia did Snake Dike on Half Dome on Sat.
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