Driving from the Needles back toward the Valley we were both regretting our decision to return. Signs of trip-frustration had already started to show through at the Needles (where one entire day had been lost to sulking on my part, brought about by another party being on our chosen route) and heading back to the most stressful area of the trip thus far seemed foolish. That, and the forecast temperatures were to render the El Cap granite hotter than the surface of the sun!
Arriving in the valley we stopped at the bridge to gaze upwards through the NPS spotting scopes currently being manned by guidebook author Erik Sloan to find nobody climbing. Not a single soul. Talking to Erik confirmed our suspicions that the weather hadn't been conducive to big-wall climbing and thus we slunk off in search of our ledge which was being held at the YOSAR camp.
We spent the next few days hanging around the bridge (as many do), staring upwards and generally becoming anxious and more and more psyched. Erik is an extremely positive guy and it didn't take long for him to suggest that it may be possible to climb. We hung our ledge from a nearby tree and promptly started learning how on earth it went together. The answer to that question is not easily. It turns out that the bed material stretches with use so initially the frame is a PITA. Erik kindly helped and it wasn't long before we could (usually) get the ledge and fly up in a reasonable time.
The decision to try the route regardless was a foregone conclusion, we'd invested too much to simply drive straight back out, and anyway, it shouldn't take too much effort to at least fix the first few pitches (usually the first three).
We were soon to learn that our hopes of an El Cap route having a less arduous approach wasn't to be. Sure, the Nose is a nice and easy approach but around to the South-West face less so, involving talus, a grade III/IV scramble (which later needs hauling) and yet more talus to deposit you at the bottom of Lurking Fear (the easiest full aid line on El Cap).
Why not choose 'the Nose' I hear you say? Well, Lurking Fear offers us the rate opportunity to swing leads in its entirety with the crux pitches coming in at a modest C2+ whereas 'the Nose' would be a significantly different prospect (one which wouldn't be fun for either of us). Lurking Fear as I said is dubbed the easiest aid line on El Cap and at 19 pitches + 400ft of slabs at the top it's a little more manageable than some other options (Salathé for instance at >30 pitches). However, with barely any natural stances, let alone ledges, it's a very different prospect to many routes.
Now back to the route:
At the base of the route I racked up and started up the first pitch, mainly hooking between bolts (hooking is surely the most fun part of aiding). The second pitch went to Nat and consisted of C1 hooking, a bolt ladder and then a seam. However, at the end of the bolt ladder (and out of sight) she called down and claimed the topo made little to no sense (the free variation splits off at some point) and that she was belaying at an intermediate stance. By this time things were hotting up as the sun made its way around the corner and onto the SW face (~11 AM). Cleaning the pitch I became aware of just how hot it was and realised when I arrived at Nat that her decision to stop was more of an unconscious protest at the heat. We rapidly changed over, I moved the belay to the correct place at the end of the second pitch and we quickly descended to escape the ever increasing heat, fixed one pitch lower than we'd intended.
Back on the floor and a few rest days later things didn't look too bad. We'd banished the memory of the hot walls and enjoyed ourselves in the cool Merced river. Yet more practice with the ledge and we were feeling fairly slick (for n00bs). Oinky was once again packed, this time for four days and with extra water to combat the heat (as recommended). In fact the water ration totalled a staggering 40 kg and with food and sleeping gear I couldn't lift the bag without serious help.
The next morning an early start had us at the base of El Cap as it was barely light yet we were moving slower than expected. The haul bag was so heavy I couldn't manage more than 20 m or so before I needed to stop. It took us an age to make it to the base of the slabs at which point I jugged to rig the haul. Being a first class idiot my 2:1 ratchet was conveniently hanging at belay number 1 so a make shift haul device consisting of one pulley (1",not big enough) and a handled ascender was our only option. At 1:1, space-hauling was the only option so once leashed I put on my GriGri and threw my meagre weight on the opposite side to the bag. It didn't budge, not even an inch. I screamed down to Nat to check if it was stuck? No, it was just heavy. Some time later Nat joined me at the belay. Oinky was still sat on the floor. However, with the both of us on the opposing side of the line we just about managed to get the pig moving, but it wasn't fast. My arc'teryx harness hurt me badly during this haul cutting deeply into my waist to the point where I was noticeably bleeding. Not a good start.
The last section of talus was as gruelling as expected and we made it to the base of the fixed lines by 11 AM, just as the sun crept around the corner. Jugging and hauling the first two pitches was completed as the mercury steadily rose. The next pitch, the 'window pane flake' went fast with plenty of leap frogging made possible by a stuck link-cam (seriously don't buy these, they just get stuck). At the top of P3 I couldn't haul fast enough to get to the water I needed, the 1L bottle on my harness had lasted about 1/3rd of the pitch and I was parched. The sun was searing and even shirtless I was over-heating (temperatures were in the region of 38'c). P4, fun hooking to a thin and fiddly crack took time and the heat was starting to take effect (especially due to the hauling) but thankfully at the end of 4 I could rest, it was Nat's pitch next. She made admirable progress and finally the shade began to creep up the wall. We'd agreed to stop early on Day 1 to ensure we could at least put our ledge up in guaranteed light but predictably we'd failed. By the time I made it to the belay the light was fading fast. Typically there wasn't even a hint of a stance and we were left standing in our aiders, head-torches on, looking at our brand new ledge. 'Pass the Pitons Pete' once wrote "it isn't practice unless you're standing in aiders" (or words to that effect) and he was dead right, all of our practice counted for nothing hanging in our harnesses without any light, arms spread holding aluminium bars as wide as we could. In our haste to remove the ledge from the bag, we forgot about the fly tent pole and thus we watched it fall, extend and then snap as it cratered into the ground. Finally we had the ledge up and serviceable, suspended from 5m of haul line (ensuring it swung from side to side with the slightest movement), with the bags suspended above us at the belay (note to self: learn how to far end haul).
We were exhausted, and after a few mouthfuls of pasta-salad I collapsed into a deep sleep, waking only to shriek in mild alarm as the ledge rocked from side to side.
When the morning came, it was clear the previous day had taken its toll. Nat tried her best to pack up the haul bag to continue whilst I was dry-heaving over the side of the ledge, unable to stand without feeling overcome with dizziness. It was clear I wasn't in a fit state to go upwards and in fact it turned out I was barely in a fit state to head down. Nat loaded herself with all of the gear and proceeded to descend. What followed was her coaching me down safely from every belay (as I was struggling to remember how to put my belay plate on the ab-ropes safely) whilst she descended with our outrageous loads.
Back at the base we removed the food from the haul bags and ditched everything else for a later date... clearly it was simply too hot for Lurking Fear.
No comments:
Post a Comment