Some easy / moderate sport climbing in Yosemite?

Gar McEbbs wrote: @Phylp - long pants and sleeves for the trek for def. Poison ivy isn't indigenous to Ireland but we'll have an American in the group in case I don't spot it. I think just avoiding any vegetation is a good plan...and snakes...can do without that too!

The poison ivy is relatively easy to spot now because it's starting to turn into its distinctive red coloring. 

So maybe I'm a snake magnet, but I have seen coiled rattlesnakes at Five and Dime, hiking in the foothills near Palo Alto, Joshua Tree, and the Happy Boulders.  Two rattled, the other two were silent.  The biggest rattler I ever saw was at Mount Lemmon, that thing was huge, but it was traveling and completely spread out.
Edited to say that I once saw a coiled Timber rattlesnake in some stone foundation ruins while hiking in the woods in CT, and a copperhead near Wassel reservoir at Ragged Mountain in CT.

I'm 6'4 so I'm a magnet for everything...hopefully the ol snakes mind their business...

Hopping on a plane in 5 hours. Thanks for all the info, much appreciated.

kevin deweese wrote: No worries about snakes in the valley. IF you see one it will most likely be a king snake which are not venomous. There are rattlesnakes indiginous to the area but in my 15 years of travelling to the valley on a weekly basis I have never come across one. 

Maybe the rattlesnakes dont climb El Cap? :-) I've only spent around 10 days total in Yosemite and I've shared a belay with a king snake on Nutcracker, and seen a rattlesnake on the Mist Trail. Not anything to be overly concerned about, but good to be aware that they are out there.

+1 for rattlesnakes at Yosemite.  I saw one in the talus at the base of the Northeast Buttress on El Cap.  

Ryan Pfleger wrote:

Maybe the rattlesnakes dont climb El Cap? :-) I've only spent around 10 days total in Yosemite and I've shared a belay with a king snake on Nutcracker, and seen a rattlesnake on the Mist Trail. Not anything to be overly concerned about, but good to be aware that they are out there.

I've seen a rattler on El Cap. In the crack I was laybacking 10 pitches up...:)

Unk Gh wrote: If only there was a community based website with a search feature where you could search for routes by area, grade and type. 

makin me crack up in my van

Well...it was another great trip to Yosemite. The climbing experience was unexpectedly good and and unexpectedly bad. Its not fair for me to go into why it was unexpectedly bad, but it was beyond my control. C'est la vie. I got a bit in anyway.

We got to Slip on Slime, at Middle Cathedral Rock which was really good fun...and very aptly named...(sketchy)...pic 1 below. That was fun. Same day I dragged us over to El Cap to have a snoop and see if any kind souls were setting up top ropes. Lo and behold Andy Kirkpatrick and his wife, (an Irish girl) who actually live a few miles from me were setting up for a 10-day adventure on the wall on link up of Tribal Rite and Grape Race. So I jumped on for an easy crack climb top rope. Any climbing at all was exciting. Andy and Vanessa were uber cool. That's been my experience for the most part of the climbing community so far. Wish I'd got into it much sooner.

The way the cookie crumbed we didn't get to Five and Dime at all. That was a shame. There was a lot there I wanted to have a go at. Pity. Next time.

On our last day we lashed up to Swan Slab, on another speculatory trip to see what might be happening. I knew there was an easy top rope there I could set up but I was sniffing around for something exciting. That didn't happen but we did some easy crack climbing. Crack climbing is something I haven't done a lot of, as I haven't done a lot of anything...but its very enjoyable and clearly quite an acquired skill. I can't wait to do more of it in Ireland. At Swan Slab I chatted to Jim Goodwin who I recognised, and who was solo-ing away in his approach shoes, as you do...that's him in pic 3.

As we were getting ready to leave Swan Slab, a group of Mexicans girls arrived and mentioned they were hiking but enjoyed climbing too, so we unpacked and set up the top rope again and the group climbed. They were delighted and it was a buzz everybody. A few months ago I wouldn't have had a clue how to do any of this stuff. 11 months I didn't even know what a harness was. Its a huge credit to my local club and their generosity in giving their time in the last year to show me the ehhh...ropes..hmmm.. So it was magical to be able to be involved at all.

We did some nice hiking too. Highlight was Half Dome. That's a lot of fun with the cables down. So, so beautiful. I went up late and it was the most serene experience.

I can't wait to up my game and do more next year. Assuming I afford it and things go well.

Thanks again for the pointers.

Beware that all bolted climbs are not sport climbs in yosemite. There are some face climbs with serious runouts that are not obvious in the topo or description. 

Gar McEbbs wrote: Well...it was another great trip to Yosemite.

way to get after it!

Sorry for the bad part, but looks like you crushed it! Leading 5.9 wet, cragging at El cap base with friends, TR'ing with the ladies at Swan Slab, Half Dome with the cables down! Thanks for the pics. I forgot to tell you to only lead 'slip on slime' when it's dry!

Thanks. I guess I probably sound a bit too glass-half-empty about it. Let me assure you I had a blast. I just would have liked a lot more climbing hours if I had my way. Not often you get to be in a climbing area like Yosemite.

Yep, Slip on Slime was pretty dodge, but my options were few and far between unfortunately. It was also a good choice to be able to swing by El Cap the same day which is only a stroll away across the road.

Cheers