North Dome reflected in the Merced River. Photo by...
Description
The massive North Dome is like having a little bit of Tuolumne right in the Valley... or right above the Valley... and... well, I think the rock quality is better than Tuolumne too, but I can only speak for Crest Jewel. Expect a possibly long approach and descent, sun all day, possible high winds, and fantastic views down Valley and across at Half Dome.
Getting There
The two sensible approaches are to climb Royal Arches or to approach from HW 120 at the Porcupine Creek Trailhead. The former requires a lot of climbing, the latter requires 5 miles of relatively level hiking.
Royal Arches: After finishing the climbing and gaining the trail into the woods, scramble up some steep steps to a large boulder at a level area. Move around behind this boulder and pick up a good trail that heads due east along the top of the Royal Arches wall. Eventually this trail crosses some slabs and the views of North Dome tempt one to scramble directly up to it. Resist and continue into the woods until directly below North Dome and above the Washington Column. At this saddle, and just before dropping down the other side, the trail branches off up towards North Dome and past a bunch of cool boulder and obvious bivy spots. Continue into the woods on a good trail until reaching the base of the dome. Some climbs start straight ahead, others up and around the left flank.
Porcupine Creek Trailhead: Follow the trail into the woods due north until almost reaching the back (and top) of North Dome. Cross the major trail that heads west (Yosemite Falls Trail) and pick up a smaller, but well traveled, trail that winds down around the west side of North Dome. Eventually this trail falls apart and you have the choice of keeping near North Dome (possibly heinous bushwacking) or continuing well west to reach a passage down through massive, steep slabs. I've only gone down these slabs (as a descent from North Dome) and they turned out to be quite easy, but I was left in doubt as to whether they'd be passible (and whether or not I was going the right way at all) until the very end.
Crest Jewel is a fantastic high-elevation slab climb; perhaps the best in the country. Certainly the best I've done in Colorado or California. If you only ever do one long slab climb, this should be it. The climb is fairly well-bolted (entirely with modern hardware and safe belays), but expect typical run outs on the easier terrain (5.8 and below). These generally feel less and less scary later in the route as you become accustomed...[more]
More info on the North Dome Gully Descent: Walk north along the top of the dome looking for a trail that eventually heads west. Follow this trail down hill heading slightly away from the dome. If you lose the trail (which I found likely) you will have serious bush whacking good times. Eventually break east crossing the slabs that were seen during the approach. Continue down the slabs until you reach the trail on top of Royal Arches. Follow this trail east going up and over Washington’s Column. At one point you will have an easy class 2 descent on a sandy 2 foot ledge with a significant drop to the right. Soon after, the trail seems to dead end. If you’ve reached this point, back track a little. Go up hill a bit and cross a steep slope. Continue east for another half mile to a mile. Looking to the right you will eventually see the decent through the sandy boulder field. Follow this down to the valley floor. One of the major problems I found with this decent are the numerous trails that begin and end. From the top of North Dome to the Valley floor is likely 4 hours for someone who has not done the decent before. Here are a few tips to help you through this. First, keep in mind that there are no rappels necessary, so if you are thinking about setting one up just keep on going. Secondly, if you go to the east side of Glacier Point Apron (near Grack) and look across you should see the decent. This will help you understand how far from Washington’s Column the gully is. Lastly, doing this in the dark for the first time could have some serious negative side effects. I saw several bivy sites on top of Washington’s Column that are likely from climbers who have decided to wait until morning before heading down. If in doubt, pack a space blanket and lighter to start a fire and hunker down.
North Dome
Print a Mini-Guide - Includes Routes!
RSS Feed
