Serenity/Sons

Pitch One is sooooo painful on Der toes.  Get your toes hardened by slamming them in a car door repeatedly on a blistering hot day.

And have the .75 cam ready to go at the ~30' mark.

I think Buck was shooting for late Sept. or early Oct. so no worry about wetness.

First pitch of Serenity has a 5.9+ slab boulder problem off the ground then is secure 5.8 fingers with totally bomber feet for 20-25' to the first solid gear. Honestly, you can only fall if you lose your cool. The rest of the pitch is more sustained fingers and a calf workout. If you have good trad boots and protection skills its sustained but has easy individual moves (smear like a boss).

Second pitch can be french freed by taking the first opportunity to traverse to the second crack with a little A0 tension assist and the rest of the pitch is totally worth it.

3rd pitch is 5.9 steep hands off the belay, then the lightest 10d in the USA pretty much. If your pumped just hang for a few, get good gear, then fire it. Again smear like a boss.

First hard pitch of Sons is sustained, but has awesome stem rests and such. If you can do the moves up to the first tree you can do the whole pitch with hangs as needed.

After that it's very light 5.9 hands from there to the top with pro every inch in splitter crack as required.

The real point being is once you solve the start of Serenity, there really is nothing stopping you, just take it one pitch at a time, crowds permitting (sorry about that).

If its hot, get an uber early start. Like at first light for the first pitch of Serenity (ie leave Oakhurst at O-dark-thirty). If its cold wait until noon and you may find a gap in the crowds but no guarantees.

Sorry, the crowds are there for a reason. I blame myself. :)

There is also always Tenaya's Tears which has similar A0/C1 alternatives.

https://www.mountainproject.com/route/116367121/tenayas-tears

not to completely hijack the thread, but anyone got route recommendations in Jtree to train for Serenity/Sons? Also want to give it a go this season whenever Yosemite finally dries out. Solid Josh 5.10 climber that has sent a couple easy 11s. 

ThomasR wrote: not to completely hijack the thread, but anyone got route recommendations in Jtree to train for Serenity/Sons? Also want to give it a go this season whenever Yosemite finally dries out. Solid Josh 5.10 climber that has sent a couple easy 11s. 

Just keep doing what you are doing. The only thing that could hold you back at this point is leg fitness or trying to do it in sport climbing boots. You need a solid trad boot to take the sting out of the miles of hand crack or you will have foot problems. But fitness-wise you already sound strong enough. Its not hard by Valley standards (much less thuggy than some).

ThomasR wrote: not to completely hijack the thread, but anyone got route recommendations in Jtree to train for Serenity/Sons? Also want to give it a go this season whenever Yosemite finally dries out. Solid Josh 5.10 climber that has sent a couple easy 11s. 

If you're solid 10s in Josh you're good to go already.

Harumpfster Boondoggle wrote:

Just keep doing what you are doing. The only thing that could hold you back at this point is leg fitness or trying to do it in sport climbing boots. You need a solid trad boot to take the sting out of the miles of hand crack or you will have foot problems. But fitness-wise you already sound strong enough. Its not hard by Valley standards (much less thuggy than some).

Thanks for the vote of confidence! now it just needs to stop raining/snowing in the valley so i can get on the route

At home sick today, ate some under cooked chicken last night, got the barfys...

The length and sustained nature worry me more than the rating. We took a look back in '98, and I thought "No Way" will I ever be good enough to climb that. Turns out the guy soloing it was someone named P. Croft, and I can fall up anything.

I have two sets of DMM offsets and I access to some smallish offset cams of the Metolius variety. Largest is about purple BD and under.

Don't worry about the pro at the start of Serenity the climbing is not hard and after the first 20-30' and the pro is text book bomber the rest of the way...and you don't need any offset pro after that or at all for that matter. It was done for decades  before offset gear. Honestly, its heady only for those that really aren't ready for slabby Yosemite style low angle crack (smear like a boss).

Or hire Mike Arechiga to rope gun it for you. :)

I don't know him personally, but he has climbed with mutual acquaintances that wouldn't climb with anyone sketchy.

Serenity and Sons of Yesterday is as light as it gets for the grade in Yosemite for the most part. If you are remotely legit 10A capable on trad it goes to a solid set of fit legs.

Tenaya's Tears has hard individual moves, but other than the first pitch is not that sustained and no one would call it thuggy. Wouldn't encourage you to go do 5.10 long and thuggy in the Valley. Whole 'nother ball of wax ie NE Buttress Higher is sandbagged. Serenity/Sons not remotely sandbagged. Its against my religion of Type I fun to sandbag. :)

Super slide or Braille Book

"First pitch of Serenity has a 5.9+ slab boulder problem off the ground then is secure 5.8 fingers with totally bomber feet for 20-25' to the first solid gear. Honestly, you can only fall if you lose your cool."

This is essentially the same beta I was given before leading this pitch in the 90s.  At that time, there was really no pro that would protect it but my friend said "yes you can't put in any gear, but you'd have to let go and jump to fall out of those pin scars".  I found this to be true.  Problem is I really wanted to jump because the ankle pain from the first slab climbing of the season was so hideous!  Third pitch crux is quite short.  Personally I didn't notice any 5.10 on SOY.

Harumpfster Boondoggle wrote: I think Buck was shooting for late Sept. or early Oct. so no worry about wetness.

First pitch of Serenity has a 5.9+ slab boulder problem off the ground then is secure 5.8 fingers with totally bomber feet for 20-25' to the first solid gear. Honestly, you can only fall if you lose your cool. The rest of the pitch is more sustained fingers and a calf workout. If you have good trad boots and protection skills its sustained but has easy individual moves (smear like a boss).

Second pitch can be french freed by taking the first opportunity to traverse to the second crack with a little A0 tension assist and the rest of the pitch is totally worth it.

3rd pitch is 5.9 steep hands off the belay, then the lightest 10d in the USA pretty much. If your pumped just hang for a few, get good gear, then fire it. Again smear like a boss.

First hard pitch of Sons is sustained, but has awesome stem rests and such. If you can do the moves up to the first tree you can do the whole pitch with hangs as needed.

After that it's very light 5.9 hands from there to the top with pro every inch in splitter crack as required.

The real point being is once you solve the start of Serenity, there really is nothing stopping you, just take it one pitch at a time, crowds permitting (sorry about that).

If its hot, get an uber early start. Like at first light for the first pitch of Serenity (ie leave Oakhurst at O-dark-thirty). If its cold wait until noon and you may find a gap in the crowds but no guarantees.

Sorry, the crowds are there for a reason. I blame myself. :)

There is also always Tenaya's Tears which has similar A0/C1 alternatives.

https://www.mountainproject.com/route/116367121/tenayas-tears

You are correct sir, the dates, while still fluid, will be after the kids go back to school, which is for the most part after Labor day. My deadline to be back in the Midwest is October the 12th.

My 22 year old nephew has also shown some interest in this trip, he is a hella strong Lacrosse player who does some sport climbing. Never been trad climbing. If he decides he wants to go, and can get $$ for a flight (which I'll cover if he can't, but I'm not volunteering), I'll probably climb more stuff like Munginella and After Six to get him introduced to the idea of crack climbing.

He starts a new job after graduation this spring, so I'm sure things will be tight.

phylp wrote: "First pitch of Serenity has a 5.9+ slab boulder problem off the ground then is secure 5.8 fingers with totally bomber feet for 20-25' to the first solid gear. Honestly, you can only fall if you lose your cool."

This is essentially the same beta I was given before leading this pitch in the 90s.  At that time, there was really no pro that would protect it but my friend said "yes you can't put in any gear, but you'd have to let go and jump to fall out of those pin scars".  I found this to be true.  Problem is I really wanted to jump because the ankle pain from the first slab climbing of the season was so hideous!  Third pitch crux is quite short.  Personally I didn't notice any 5.10 on SOY.

I disagree. First time for me was 1980. Yes, the bolt was still there at the 25' mark, but was able to get in two good pieces before that - a tri-cam first,  then a stopper camed against a mid-sized hex.

It's an incredible route, I would not get on it as a 10a leader, especially if not very familiar with climbing on Yosemite granite. 

Well my partner may be changing. Steve-O's MIL is in a bad way memory wise, and probably moving in with him and his wife. So he is starting to waffle on going...I don't think he will go without his wife.

I will go regardless of who else goes (I ain't getting any younger, dammit), but my climbing plans would have to change according to partner capability.  

I hope Mike was serious about doing some climbing   . 

Having warm feet helps significantly on pitch 1 of serenity. 

I have climbed quite a bit in the Black Hills and JTree, so a high first bolt/piece is nothing new, but IIRC Valley granite has a bit less friction than either of the former two locations.

I know there are a fair number of warnings in the preceding replies, but I will just have to wait and see how I feel. I have certainly gotten better at controlling my fear, but I have grown to fear more things, if that makes sense?  When I was 25, seconding Figures on a Landscape didn't scare me (much), what could happen on a top rope?

I'd piss my pants looking at that pendulum today!!!

A couple of years ago I was a very new to valley 5.10 and went for it on an early Spring day. P1 had a heavy flow of water running down  .. Everytime I pinched a pin scar, a dam of water would build up and eventually pour down my arm into my shirt. The gear was so shitty and slimy that I couldn't aid through it. Another party of 2 showed up and proceeded to give me a boulder spot. (Which had I actually fallen at 30 feet, I would have cratered them). Finished the pitch by some miracle. I was completely soaked, which was great because you couldn't tell that I had pissed myself.  Top 3 most scared I've ever been on lead.

Moral of the story- If could send the first pitch in a waterfall, so can you.

And the crux pitch ain't that bad.

Max Rausch wrote: A couple of years ago I was a very new to valley 5.10 and went for it on an early Spring day. P1 had a heavy flow of water running down it.... Everytime I pinched a pin scar, a damn of water would build up and eventually pour down my arm into my shirt. The gear was so shitty and slimy that I couldn't aid through it. Another party of 2 showed up and proceeded to give me a boulder spot. (Which had I actually fallen at 30 feet, I would have cratered them). Finished the pitch by some miracle. I was completely soaked, which was great because you couldn't tell that I had pissed myself.  Top 3 most scared I've ever been on lead.

That's a hilarious story man! 

I agree with the guy who says "you'd have to let go and jump to fall out of those pin scars." However, last time I climbed it, the leader in the party behind us did somehow manage to fall. Not sure how far exactly, but far enough that I had time to hear him shout/grunt, look down, and watch him slide a fair ways down the slab. The friction of sliding down the relatively low angle wall seemed to slow him enough that there was not major damage. He was clearly shaken, and after hobbling around for a bit testing his ankles they quietly packed up and left.

Water flowing down the 1st pitch is a real possibility in spring.