Whilst concocting this trip from back in the UK, one of the reasons we chose the US (aside from the fact that neither of us had previously climbed here) was the vast selection of multi-pitch trad routes on offer. As a team, multi pitching works pretty well for us. With Paul leading the majority of pitches in blocks, our respective climbing abilities are brought rather closer together (and with a following wind we can actually be quite fast!). Whilst climbing in the desert, there were definitely times when I felt less like I was seconding routes and more like I was being hauled up them. However, in Yosemite, with the climbing style offered by the smooth granite which the valley is famous for, I was holding my own rather better (or Paul was struggling more).
This being said, climbing in the valley can feel very stressful at times. Even the shorter 'day routes' often exceed 15 pitches, requiring early starts to beat other slower teams to the punch (a challenge in itself given how hard it is to get Paul to move out of bed in the morning) and often with complex descents.
With rest days being spent either in the meadow below El Cap gazing up and wondering, or sat in the Curry Village quiet room reading the 'El Cap Report', the 'Big Stone' seems omnipresent, with thoughts of the challenges of bigger routes never far from mind. With an even hotter weather front moving into the valley, making bigger objectives impossible (a fact proven by the lack of climbers on 'the Nose'), it felt like time for a break from the heat and the stress. I'd also been long awaiting the results of my second professional review, which I was absolutely convinced I'd failed. On opening the email in the quiet room, informing me that I'd (somehow) passed, I burst into tears, with many surprised looks and a few congratulations from around the room.
It was time to head up to Tuolumne for a few days of 'easier (and hopefully cooler) life'.
In our haste to start climbing in Tuolumne, we raced up to Cathedral Peak (getting embarrassingly out of breath at the nearly 11,000 foot elevation), only to get stuck behind a depressingly slow guided party (amongst others). We finally topped out and narrowly made it back to the van before an almighty downpour and thunderstorm.
The guidebook isn't kidding when it says that the 'small puffy clouds' seen early morning are indicative of epic thunderstorms in the afternoons, not good when atop the high granite domes. With this in mind, we spend the next few days shamelessly working our way through the less run-out of the 5 star routes in the guide, making it back to the van before the afternoon weather hit.
One such gem was the 'West Cracks' route on 'DAFF Dome' (DAFF = dome across from fairview), a really nice 5.9 with 5 pitches of quality crack climbing, and a great view of Tuolumne on topping out.
The next route on the agenda was 'Regular Route' on 'Fairview Dome' (another Parois tick). With 900ft of climbing to the summit, this seemed a challenge with a high chance of afternoon thunderstorms once again predicted, meaning we needed to top out by 1pm (at the latest). We got an early start and sped up the route (aiding through sections lower down which were still gopping from the snow-melt) with the clouds visibly growing behind us. We somehow managed to be the only team on the route that day, the forecast clearly putting other (more sensible?) parties off. By simul-climbing the top half of the route, we managed to top out just as the thunder started to crack. We quickly coiled our ropes and absolutely sped down the slabby descent, moments before it got soaked by the downpour. A team of photographers who we found atop the dome casually set off after us, in no apparent hurry... clearly unaware of just how slippery a granite slab becomes when wet.
Tuolumne had been a welcome break from 'the Valley', and strangely successful when compared to the comedy of errors that had befallen us earlier on the trip. However, having ticked off our various objectives and with rest-day activities severely limited, we headed back in search of something BIG.
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