Current Mescalito conditions

My partner and I are intending to do Mescalito clean and I'm curious if anyone knows the condition of the heads or any other fixed gear.

Thanks.

~John

The current conditions are 100% death. You are most definitely going to die.

Greg, stupid lame response.

John, might be tough to get beta this time of year. Likely in reasonable shape. We climbed it clean a few years ago - make sure to bring the usual assortment of clean aid trickery. Unbelievably cool and memorable line.

Climb Ohn. Wally

If you have to ask you shouldn't be up there. Welcome to bigwall climbing, son!

Wow, tough room.

I think you need to go up expecting anything. It'd be great to do it clean but I'm assuming you have a bag of tricks in the event some of the fixed gear is in poor shape. If you don't, you should.

Early in the season can be tricky. For example, when my partner and I did the Shield a while back, we may have been the first ascent of the season after some folks allegedly went up the autumn before and cleaned up the route. There weren't a ton of fixed heads, but some were solid; others you could hand clean.

I've only done the first five piches of Mescalito. We were up on Anchorage Ledge at the top of the fifth with our bags when a ranger truck drove along the base of El Cap with a loud speaker on its roof warning of the winter type storm approaching (it was May). We're pretty safe climbers and despite flys on our ledges, etc., we grudgingly bailed. The rain started just as we reached the ground and didn't let up till a day and a half later. When the clouds lifted, the upper half of the Captain was coated in ice. Good call.

Still on my list of things to do. Good luck.

I agree with Fat Dad - we had traditional "non-clean" aid gear that fortunately for us stayed in the haul bag. Copperheads, pins, including sawed offs, I think was suggested.

It went all clean. Off-sets and cam hooks let us through.

Awesome, congratulations John!

i laughed at greg, i must be stupid and lame.

Wally wrote:Awesome, congratulations John!

Agreed. Nicely done! If I can ever talk my old wall partner off the couch, I'll hit you up for your gear list.