The Salathe Wall is an incredible route with lots of infamous wide cracks. The climb might be the longest route on El Cap at 35 pitches. There are many great ledges on this route, so consider leaving the portaledge at home.
A common strategy is to either pre-haul to Heart Ledges, or rap once you get there and haul the next day. Four fixed lines bring you back to the ground. I wouldn't recommend hauling the free blast because it traverses a lot, is low angle, and will have the biggest crowds of the route.
This climb breaks up nicely into several days worth of climbing. The first logical block is the Free Blast, which consists of the first 10 pitches of the route. Most of this can be free climbed for a 5.10 trad leader, and can be done fairly quickly. The climbing is low angle in comparison with the rest of the route, with a thrutch up the half dollar chimney on pitch 8. The free blast will leave you on top of Mammoth Terraces (where the Shield and Muir Wall diverge). From here, rap off the left side about 200 feet to Heart Ledges.
From Heart, some non-obvious climbing leads up to Lung Ledge. Scramble up this ledge system until near its left end and set a belay. The next pitch is the hollow flake (have your partner lead this one). A pretty big pendulum is required to gain the flake. The lower part of this pitch can take a #6 camalot, but it can't be left because it gets too wide before you are above your pendulum point. The upper part of the hollow flake is extremeley run out. This pitch ends up on the spacious hollow flake ledge (not a bad place for 2 people to sleep).
From here, the route becomes a lot more plum, with a ton of traversing up to this point. A difficult chimney pitch right off of hollow flake ledge leads to two straight forward pitches. Above that is the other well known pitch of the route, the Ear. This pitch climbs into an overhanging bombay chimney. As you climb higher, it keeps getting narrower, until you have to chimney outwards and probably remove your helmet. Thankfully, this pitch has good gear.
Another pitch leads up to the Alcove, a great bivy ledge. From the back of the Alcove, a chimney leads to the coolest bivy spot ever, El Cap Spire. This spire is flat and airy, is big enough for a tent, and is detached on all sides. It is a pretty big step across to gain the next crack system. Sleep here and enjoy it because the ledges are quite a bit worse above.
A few more pitches of aid continue up, with a squeeze through a 5.9 chimney. This brings you to the base of the Sewer. Wet and gross, this pitch seeps water, and requires placing aliens in goo covered cracks (dig through the slime). The end of this pitch is a hanging belay, so link it another short pitch length to the sloping but roomy "Block". This is an ok bivy, but you have to be creative.
The climb tends diagonally up and left from here to a small ledge. the Sous Le Toit. A nice place to belay, but don't sleep here. One long linked pitch gains the base of the roof below the headwall, where the climb gets exciting. Tackle the roof on mostly fixed gear, and continue up to a hanging belay. This jug is as airy as it gets. The headwall is split by a beautiful finger crack, which ends at Long Ledge.
Long Ledge is the home stretch, and it would be an uncomfortable night (very narrow). From the right side of the ledge, climb up for a few more pitches to the top.
Location
Follow the El Cap trail to the base of the Nose. Head uphill to the left a short ways to the base of the route. The route starts up easy climbing to a ledge, then a finger crack above.
Protection
This route amazingly has very little fixed gear. There aren't even fixed anchors in many spots. 2 sets of nuts, including small HB offsets. Required cams are debatable, but a single black and blue alien (offsets useful too), double to triple set of green through red aliens, a triple set of .5 camalots through #3 camalots, two #4 camalots, and a single #5 and #6. A second in this big size would be useful, but is a tradeoff in weight.
Dan W. and Bill G. and I climbed this route over the first 3 1/2 days of May 08. On day 1 we dropped our pig at the base of the fixed lines directly below Heart Ledges. There are lines in place but they are not super awe-inspiring. We climbed Freeblast and rapped to the ground and bivied at our pig. Day 2 involved jugging and hauling to Heart ledges, and climbing to the top of El Cap spire. It was sprinkling as we ended and decided to sleep at the Alcove, which aside from the view on the spire, looked WAY more comfy that the top of the spire. Day 3 involved climbing to Long Ledges. We bivied there and this turned out to a comfortable bivy for three. My favorite bivy to date. Day 4 topped out and hiked off.
Tips: 1. Aside from the Freeblast, not many anchors are solid bolts. Many are a single good bolt and gear, or old pins and gear.
2. Link a lot of pitches. Ending above the sewer are OLD 1/4 inch bolts and a totally hanging belay. If you keep going 40 more feet it is a awesome sloping ledge.
3. The pitch above the sloping ledge is sort of confusing. You take the left most crack, and pendulum at the 1st pendulum spot. The crack you are aiming for is kinda hidden but once you swing, you will find it. There is a lot of left gear higher to the right, don't go for it, it is all off route.
4. The roof pitch is all fixed, minus once cam placement which could probably be skipped.
5. The pitch off the right, east, side of Long Ledge is NOT 5.8. It starts as easy c1, but the crack ends, the pin marked on topos is missing and mandatory 5.10 climbing is present. The climbing is probably 8+ feet above you last solid cams. Drop the rack (bring a single set for the anchor and getting to it), sac it up and fire! I actually led to the free climbing, I pussed out and Bill G. made a 3 points off dyno to a sloping side pull.
6. The ear is a hard grovel put protected. Don't bring your helmet. Also, careful with you cam placements. My last one pinched the rope and I could not pull the rope, I actually backcleaned it to get to the anchor.
7. Rap, don't hike. Its a long way. Especially when you go west instead of east. Yuck.
This is one of the most awesome routes on the planet! The 95 degree headwall is an amazing stretch of stone. Drop anything here and it will free fall for like 15 seconds.
El Capitan
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