Summertime

The Nevada forum is dead!

Let's hear some stories/pics of some summer retreats. Except for the hardcore locals, i'd expect many going on trips to the Sierras, etc. July/August is going to be brutal out here.

Just got back from Whitney. Did the east face w/ the guy that taught me how to climb. Got altitude sickness like always. Love that pulsating headache. LOL.

Here's my buddy topping out. This is the healthiest marmot i've ever seen above 14,000 ft, and that's for good reason.

Whitney

Heading out next week to do the U-Notch in the palisades. Here the ice is in perfffffect condition.

Cheers,
Robert

Yeah, the Nevada forum has been real slow lately.

It's good to hear Whitney is in shape this early in the season. I loved the Fresh Air Traverse on the East Face. I thought the Face is a better route than the Buttress and even a little harder. They're both great routes.

I got altitude sickness both times I was up there. The worst was when we set basecamp at Iceberg Lake (12,500 feet) for the E. Buttress. I felt superb on the summit and was fine descending the Mountaineer's Route, the whole time I was saying "let's climb Russell tomorrow". Well, we got back to Iceberg and started having dinner and wham, the headache and nausea kicked in. I spent the rest of the night on my hands and knees vomiting. Felt fine after we descended below 11,000 feet the next morning. I learned to set basecamp a little lower down.

The Palisades are sweet too. Check out Mount Sill sometime, the Swiss Arete, 5.7, is really good.

Gigi and I recently enjoyed Jungle on the Aquarius Plateau in Utah. There's a lot of short trad and sport at 10,000 feet elevation. I was cragging in Colorado last week and I've got a repeat date with Dream of Wild Turkeys coming soon. No alpine plans yet, but hope to get to the Sierras this summer.

John, Good stuff. I'll def take a look at swiss arete.

Yeah, Whitney was in great shape with not much snow this winter. We had originally planned to do fish hook arete. We climbed the first 3 pitches and bailed off to the climbers right back into the gully. 40 degrees w/ 20+ mph was too cold for my partner. He had recent elbow surgery w/ some nerve damage and is having circulation problems to his hands. Bummer.

We ended up starting on the East Face around 12 after a long hike back. It was much warmer with no wind. I agree, the east face is a much better climb with the exposed traverses.

When we got back to basecamp at iceberg I had to force myself to pack up all my gear barely restraining myself from vomiting. Once back to upper boyscout I felt 100% better. I'm going to start camping at Upper boy scout from now on or acclimate over a longer period of time.

Have fun on DOWT. Love that 2nd pitch!

How many days do you set aside for a Sierra trip from Vegas?

I figure three days minimum accounting for getting a walk-up permit, acclimitizing and the five-hour drive each way. Four days is ideal and allows for multiple routes or attempts. Having a permit arranged prior to the trip could shorten the time needed, but I don't seem to plan that far in advance. I've not been too ashamed to bandit camp when the walk-up option has failed...

I think 3-4 days is ideal.

I'll usually leave in the afternoon and spend a night at the Whitney Portal, then hike up and camp at upper boyscout or iceberg, and then climb the next day. I've done Whitney via East Buttress twice in the winter and usually try to get it done in two days.

OR even better, get a week off and acclimate in Tuolumne, then hit Whitney on the way back down :)

Well, you can tell that it's the first day of Summer. Gigi and I went out to Red Rock today to climb in the Black Corridor. When we got to the Second Pullout at about 2pm there was not a single other car in the lot - very surreal. We had the entire Corridor to ourselves.

Rob Fielding wrote:The Nevada forum is dead! Let's hear some stories/pics of some summer retreats. Except for the hardcore locals, i'd expect many going on trips to the Sierras, etc. July/August is going to be brutal out here. Just got back from Whitney. Did the east face w/ the guy that taught me how to climb. Got altitude sickness like always. Love that pulsating headache. LOL. Here's my buddy topping out. This is the healthiest marmot i've ever seen above 14,000 ft, and that's for good reason. Heading out next week to do the U-Notch in the palisades. Here the ice is in perfffffect condition. Cheers, Robert

That varmint is tiny compared to the 30 lb. monsters found below Flattop and Notchtop in the Rockies. They ransack your bivy camp daily up there. It's survival of the fittest.

Rob, you know I am not hard enough to hang around all summer, or rather, the Bugs are a bit nicer this time of year. In any regard, I spent June putting up six new multi pitch crack lines. Only two pro bolts on the entire wall. From 2 to five pitches. All crack. You will always need a decent rack. Pro over Red Rock is that the morning approach all summer and climbs will be shaded until 2pm. We have been putting these up via FA on site during triple digits no worries. I will get them all up on Summitpost within the next week or two. All 5.10ish except for this first one I added, but nothing any more challenging than Cynthia's Handjob. Would appreciate any further cleaning you do. Add no bolts though please. I led them all FA, on site, ground up without any. This is a trad area.

Enjoy your summer and be safe, off to climb with Joanne and Jorge in Idaho.

Francesco

Cheers

Nice work Dow!! Jealous. What's up w/ the Francesco name? Working hard in summer heat? LOL

I'm going to have to come up and check out your lines, but not in June, July, or August. LOL.

I'll try and keep the thread going, just got back from the Palisades. Was my first time in the area. So beautiful. The other Rob put up a little TR on supertopo. Was my first Solo on ice, scared the shit out of me.
supertopo.com/tr/U-Notch-to…

>Big boot bouldering on a anorexic rack.

Big boot bouldering

Woodchuck ATC wrote: That varmint is tiny compared to the 30 lb. monsters found below Flattop and Notchtop in the Rockies. They ransack your bivy camp daily up there. It's survival of the fittest.

Prove it!!!

Lame sauce, i thought the Nevada forum would still be bitching about perma-draws and lazy volunteer efforts. Guess you all must be doing something with your lives.

I spent a great two weeks climbing in Vedauwoo. Wish I could have stayed longer!

I've got a write up on my blog if anyone is interested in funkadelic wideness.

I'm still looking forward to getting back to Red Rocks for the Fall/Winter/Spring, so I'll see you guys then.

Just got back from Ruth Gorge, AK. Goldfinger Route, The Stump, Ruth Gorge, AK

Feels as warm as a Vegas summer in this jacket!

Darren, that looks awesome! what were the temps like? whats the elevation for the summit? nice work.

Summertime in Vegas is great. I have climbed every weekend in Red Rock for the past two months and have yet to see another climber. Gotta love it!!!

Gotta love Red Rock in the summer. Not a soul around and we have the whole canyons to ourselves.

Rob Fielding wrote:Darren, that looks awesome! what were the temps like? whats the elevation for the summit? nice work.

high 30s some "nights." Not really much darkness this time of year, daytime, if the sun was out, 60s. While on the climb, it got pretty warm if you were in the sun. Felt 70s-80s then.
Elevation, on the glacier 4500 or so. Summit elevation 6800 or so.
Lots of work for basically three climbing days, but worth it.

Well, summer is coming to an end. Finished with a final trip in Tuolumne/Bishop area. Weather is looking great for Red Rocks, excited for the fall season. Cheers!

Pratt's Crack, Bishop CA
Pratt's Crack, Bishop CA. 160 feet of 5.9 Offwidth.

South Crack, Tuolumne Meadows.
South Crack, Tuolumne.

Descending the Regular Route on 3rd Pillar of Dana
Descending the Regular Route on Third Pillar of Dana.

Enduro Corner on OZ, Tuolumne Meadows
Enurance 5.10 corner/lieback on OZ

Awesome pics, Rob. I loved OZ. Did you do the Gram traverse? I took a nice swinging fall and dropped all my nuts into the boulder field below. Good times.

No we didn't end up doing the gram traverse. Ahhh, good stuff! I hear the traverse is pretty physically demanding. We ended up linking OZ to Hobbit book and then did On The Lamb backwards. Had so much fun we traversed back a second time.

On the Lamb
On the Lamb, PUMPY!

I've always wanted to do On the Lamb. Sounds like a good summer, Rob!!

Though many won't believe it; I am going to miss summertime in Vegas! Summertime in Red Rock means perfect temps on the north facing climbs and no crowds (aka lines) on any route. Fall and winter is coming whichs equals gumby's and crowds. Summer cant come back soon enough.