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
And finally we got a nice view of our climb. The climb goes just to the right of the shade.
And finally we got a nice view of our climb. The climb goes just to the right of the shade.
Camera: Canon (Canon Powershot Sd800 Is) |
Original size: 2304px x 3072px |
Current: 450px x 600px |