Yosemite slab climbing progression

I'm interested in getting better at slab/friction climbing and would like to put together a list of routes in the Yosemite/N. California area. Yeah, I know Tuolumne is where I should be aiming for, but would be nervous about long run-outs near my limit (slab 10a or so). Any route suggestions to help me work up through the grades?

Merci and thank you and danke!

I'm not a slab expert by any means but I've got to think that Grack Marginal would be your best bet.  Go climb Grack Center and rap in and then TR the 5.9 slab pitches if you aren't up to leading the really runout 5.9 slabs.

I love top rope laps on marginal and feel close to leading it, but the run out still gives me pause. Sadly, I'm not sure there's anything in the valley that's a good stepping stone which doesn't involve run out.

I'm ok with that, but I guess I wish there was a path to feeling that I was ready to lead marginal (or whatever is at your current level). The question then becomes the much more nuanced: how do you know you're ready to climb runouts at a given level? Don't fall top roping that level for 10 laps? 50 laps? Some other criteria?

Apologies for the semi-hijack.

Check out some of Greg Barnes' routes in Tuolumne like Shagadellic and Excellent Smithers.  They are well protected slab climbs.

Pine Creek Canyon has a bunch of tightly bolted routes. Check out PSOM slab

Sugarloaf has a bunch of friction slab that is in the 5.8-5.10a range, bolted, but easily top roped. Those routes are on the west buttress. You can always make it harder by avoiding the occasional knobs, and it’s low angle enough to do just on friction. 

Lots of good stuff on the lower apron of middle cathedral in that grade range.

Ground up slab is run out by nature.

There's good slab practice at Sugarloaf on tightly bolted routes. There's a ~10d slab route you can TR at the base of Cookie Cliff.
Near the guide cracks on Daff Dome you have some 10+ that are easy to TR and some super slick 5.9s to lead. Western Front might be worth checking out.

Hammer dome across from Cal Dome has a relatively well protected 11a.

Anyway, I'd be interested in seeing a list on slab routes since it is a weakness of mine as well.

glacier point apron routes, stately pleasure dome routes, +1 for shagadelic, a few easier ones in lower merced canyon at pat and jack pinnacle, listed under cascade area (nurdle, makayla's).

There's a mid 5.10 route called Pokerface that is very well protected in the Royal Arches area. It's a bit more edgy than friction though. 

Hi Chad, Aaron and Steven,  I will try to put together a list but it may take a few days or more.  Busy right now.  I wouldn't call myself a slab "expert" but I climbed slab up to about 11c/d when I did a lot of it.  So I may have something useful to tell you.

I'm guessing you are talking about lower angle slab routes, and not the use of "slabby" in the sport climbing definition as anything off-vertical.  There are a lot of both types of routes in Yosemite and the surrounding areas.  The former tend to be more balance intensive whereas the latter tend to be more crimp intensive.

As to progression and how to train... the irony is that many of the "harder" slab routes are much better protected that the easier ones.  This is because slab went out of fashion for a long time so many of the slab routes are older.  (There are some new slab routes, I'll try to put them on my list.)  The way it was explained to me is that when people were putting up most of these routes, which were ground up, hand-drilled, they didn't bother putting in closer bolts on ground that was easy for them (5.8-5.9ish).  Things got better bolted in the 5.10 range and the 5.11s are even more tightly bolted.  Still these can be about 15 feet apart.

Back when I did a lot of slab, my training was to do hours of traversing buildering on fairly crimpy walls (Stanford University in the 80s).  Slab demands precise footwork and balance and the long duration is helpful for training fingers and forearms and ankles.  Plus the longer duration is helpful for developing the mentality of never letting go.  These days you can sometimes simulate this in climbing gyms by traversing right near the ground around the course of the whole gym.  Aim to stay on for at least 30 minutes or so and see how that feels.  There tend to be more off vertical technical closely bolted routes than well bolted slab routes and these are good training too.  I'll try to add these to my list.

As far as doing routes that are run out - The mentality you bring to slab is everything because no matter how skilled or strong you have gotten, you still need to believe you can climb something that looks blank when you are looking up at it and the next bolt is far away.  I never started up a runout slab route believing I could fall.  If I though there was a good chance I could have fallen, I wouldn't have started up the route.  So the approach was to get the mileage in on more run out stuff about 2 letter grades before the grade which was "might fall" territory.  That's just putting in the mileage.  So for example, if I was going to do a runout 10c, the statement to myself was "I never fall on 10c slab".  Only you can answer for yourself how many routes it will take to make that statement to yourself.

During the actual climbing, it is essential to be completely present.   If there is chatter in your brain, it's distracting and you'll feel afraid.  Of course you can cultivate a quiet mind in many ways, and that is a valuable practice for all climbing not just slab.

One last thing, females like me have a lower center of gravity and usually better hip flexibility, which is useful on slab.  Do a lot of stretching for hips flexors, it helps to be able to high step and rock on to things in a controlled stable way.

Will try to go through the guidebooks soon.  Phyl

PS there are some slab masters who post here sometime, Kris Solem for example.  And Bruce Morris put up many fine slab routes in Northern CA.  Perhaps they will see this and chime in on training approaches.

Sandstone slab! If you are in santa Clara go do aquarian & skyline

Awesome!  Thanks everybody for the suggestions!  Funnily enough, Marginal is the one route I dug up when looking through MP for slabs to do in the Valley that seemed approachable. I haven't been over to actually look at it yet, so I don't have a sense for how run out it is, but I guess I'll find out next weekend. :)  

I did White Punks On Dope at the Needles last summer and found the runout slab pitch to be pretty chill so we'll see how I get on this season. I climbed in Salt Lake City forever (recently transplanted to CA) and got used the friction there, up to 11a/b, but that was ages ago and the routes there didn't seem too run out. At least I never felt as stressed in Little Cottonwood as I did pulling 5.8 moves 15 miles above my last bolt the first time I went to Tuolumne!

Phyl- thanks for the training advice. I love traversing at the gym, but my local gym isn't very friendly towards people who want to traverse (very crowded, big spaces between routes, etc). I hadn't thought of that as training for slabs but now that you mention it that seems like a great idea. But I like the idea of running laps on stuff- I'll give Marginal a whirl and if it isn't too crowded perhaps I'll do some laps there.

Thanks again!

Bolt Run, 11a, on Peanut Gallery at Donner. Some super thin edging, some friction, well bolted. I usually expect to onsight 11a face climbs, or at least that is the goal, but I wore my fingertips out falling on this one. Not sure if I ever sent the whole thing without falling. Some similar slabs of greater or lesser difficulty on either side 

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Crest Jewel... I feel like it's "the" Valley slab climb, although maybe there are others I'm not thinking of. 10-15 pitches of amazing slab climbing up North Dome with amazing views, with an option for a 10a or longer 10d variation. It's well-protected on the 5.9 and up sections. It's awesome getting that much slab mileage in one day because even if you're a bit shaky on friction at the beginning of the climb, you're cruising by the end.

Crest Jewell is really good, especially if linked with the direct start.

It's been a long time, but I remember Marginal feeling on the easy side of 5.9. Runout for sure, though. If memory serves, I think Point Beyond and Angels Landing, also on GPA, offer some good fairly well protected slab at around that level too. 

There are a lot of slab boulder problems in the Valley. These won’t help with endurance or your headspace in leading. But they’ll help your technique.

Check out Initial Friction, Snowman, Garageman, Blue Suede Shoes, Zschiesche Problem, etc. 

What is the best way to get to Crest Jewel? Royal Arches was a shit show the one time I did it.

Mike D wrote: North Dome gully, as I recall.

North Dome Gully isn't the best way to get anywhere. Washington Column Direct to Crest Jewel looks like a full day of fun. Such different routes!

Bruce Hildenbrand wrote: Check out some of Greg Barnes' routes in Tuolumne like Shagadellic and Excellent Smithers.  They are well protected slab climbs.

I was going to recommend Shagadellic, too. ZeeTee come to mind--it has a well protected 5.6 crux, and then run out 5.3 slab. Look up a route called Euro Trash, I haven't climbed it but it might be helpful in your pursuit. 

Ryan Pfleger wrote: What is the best way to get to Crest Jewel? Royal Arches was a shit show the one time I did it.

Get up at 4am.  Simul RA.  You won't see anyone.