El Cap Heart Ledges fixed lines

Hi All,

I'm checking in to see if anyone has been on the lines lately and what condition they were in (if there are even lines fixed). They were looking a bit ratty in September so I'm guessing they are gone or sections have been replaced.

Thanks for any information!

DA

I was up about a month ago just for some jugging reps. At the time every line was in pretty good shape and were fixed appropriately, EDIT: to Mammoth Terrace. 5th(?) lays in runoff, so it was wet, and likely still is wet

I did a couple pitches in the Nose last weekend, but didn't happen to notice if they had been changed since last month.

Of course, don't solely rely on responses here, take your own precautions to ensure their condition.

Have fun!

I had the same question last month/posted an update to the original thread upon return. Here's the my quote from that:

Feb 22, 2016: "All the fixed lines were in pretty good shape. The 4th(i believe) line from the bottom is pretty wet as it lays where water runs during this time of year. Otherwise, it was a beautiful day to be on El Cap!"

Awesome! Thanks for the update! I must have missed your original post.

Was up there 4/19/16 and each of the 5 stations had 2 ropes in good enough shape that are fixed properly. The black rope on the last pitch is almost too large to feed through a grigri or micro traxion - it'd probably be faster to have two people jug/rap the other line in sequence than to wait for one in the party to force the black line through.

Can anyone report on the conditions of the fixed lines to Heart Ledges at this time (August 30)? Sounds like they were in good shape for spring 2016. I can add some fresh rope if some are worn. I don’t want to clog up the Free Blast by hauling.

Fixed lines are in place as of yesterday 9/2/16. Seemed in ok shape to me, if you have an old gri gri it might work better than a new one for some of the really fatty older ones.

Stephen Sh wrote:Can anyone report on the conditions of the fixed lines to Heart Ledges at this time (August 30)? Sounds like they were in good shape for spring 2016. I can add some fresh rope if some are worn. I don’t want to clog up the Free Blast by hauling.

Will do! And I'm still hoping for a reply to my original query.

Bump for update conditions?

B.S. Luther wrote:Fixed lines are in place as of yesterday 9/2/16. Seemed in ok shape to me, if you have an old gri gri it might work better than a new one for some of the really fatty older ones.

As of Sept. 21 lines are fixed from Mammoth Terrace to Heart Ledges and to the ground – 6 lines total. They’re in good condition and I felt safe enough rapping on them and ascending them later. There are 2 lines at each station, but on 5 of the 6 stations one of the lines has core shots and knots while the other line is in good condition. So, you’ll want to select the best line to rap or ascend at each station. Here’s a list of the best condition lines by color, from top to bottom as of Sept 21:

Mammoth to Heart – use the tan line. The bright yellow line has knots.

From Heart to the ground (top to bottom):
Tan
Red
Blue
Both lines are good
Orange (static line)

Caveat - These lines get a lot of use so their condition may change significantly as the weeks go by.

Bump for conditions, Spring 2017?

2nd the bump... Heading down to the beautiful ditch in 12 days. 

I received the following beta on the conditions of the lines up to heart on another thread.

On April 17th Sirius wrote: "Two weekends ago they were up, including from Mammoth to Heart, and in very good condition, at least 7/10 for all of them."
https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/112566153/spring-17-list-of-dry-yosemite-climbs-post-em-up?page=2

It has almost been a month since the update (~early April). Any updates on the conditions?

I wasn't on them, but saw people using them last Saturday evening, 4/22/17. The lowest (blue at the time) looked to be in good shape from the base.

Walked past on Sunday morning and saw people jugging them without problems, likely still in good condition. Unlike in my previous experience, some are on the skinnier side. I used two lockers with the ATC to gain more control on the raps. YMMV.

Does anyone have any updates on the state of the Heart fixed lines (knots, core shots, poor, good, etc)? I'm heading to the Valley in two days (5/10). I'm bringing a few ropes that I can retire to the fixed lines if needed. Thank you in advance!