LCC ratings compared to Yosemite?

Yeah I know ratings are relative and I should just get out to the valley and see how I do etc.. but I'm just curious if anyone can provide some insight into how the ratings compare between Little Cottonwood old school trad ratings and Yosemite. Like I know Yosemite has a reputation for tough grades but 5.7 in LCC isn't always a hike either. What are your thoughts? If I'm consistently on-sighting 5.10b/c cracks in LCC (which also happens to be my redpoint limit in LCC), can I expect to show up to the valley and onsight/redpoint some 5.10's? Think Serenity/Sons or similar routes. Thanks in advance

IDK can you? Isn't that the point of going to try hard and see what you can do? As long as your having fun who cares what the grade is.

Sometimes it just really sucks showing up to a new area and just getting absolutely shut down. Managing expectations is a huge part of the mental game in climbing, and I'm not a zen guru who can just show up to attempt to onsight hard-for-me finger cracks with no mental baggage. More power to you if you can. I strive for that, but it doesn't always come together for me. 

You can do it man. you will grow mentally if you stop thinking about things like this and psyching yourself out. go try hard. Most "crack" climbs are well protected so whats the worst that happens? you whip, oh well the gear works.

Have fun in the valley brajmahalla.

Thanks man. You're right. /Thread.

On a side note, anyone want to make a highly impractical weekend trip out to yosemite to climb Serenity & Sons with me this fall? 

1. Yosemite granite is much slicker than LCC, but not nearly as gritty.
2. The style/width of the cracks will be a bigger determinate of what shuts you down in a given grade. Beware of crack routes where the size changes - Moby Dick starts as a nice enticing finger crack. Then there's that final stretch of 10a offwidth to deal with........

Devin, you got it. The crux on serenity and sons is 10 feet of splitter fingers and you can easily aid through it if you need. Otherwise it’s 9+ for most of the route. If you’re onsighting 10b/c in lcc, you’ll float it. The first pitch is serious in my opinion. But if you can do the start of Mexican crack without placing anything you should be fine. 

Before hoping on S&S, why not just try some of the easier classics? Then if  you feel good, go for it. No need to hop straight onto something hard when there are 1000s of climbs in the Valley

You will be fine...
No seriously if you can climb 5.10 in LCC you can total do valley 5.10. The Valleys is like not that sandbag just proper grades and granite climbing, the first pitch of S&S inst that bad like 5.8 pin scar walking!

 

 

Don't worry.... it's not like you are coming from Red Rock!

Don’t know if I’m even qualified to comment, but from the little I’ve climbed in LLC and the Valley I’d say if you’re fine on the Lowe routes in LLC you should be ok in the valley at equivalent grades...except maybe on the more popular routes there’s polish you don’t see on Lowe routes....(wonder why?)

Devin Rogers wrote: Yeah I know ratings are relative and I should just get out to the valley and see how I do etc.. but I'm just curious if anyone can provide some insight into how the ratings compare between Little Cottonwood old school trad ratings and Yosemite. Like I know Yosemite has a reputation for tough grades but 5.7 in LCC isn't always a hike either. What are your thoughts? If I'm consistently on-sighting 5.10b/c cracks in LCC (which also happens to be my redpoint limit in LCC), can I expect to show up to the valley and onsight/redpoint some 5.10's? Think Serenity/Sons or similar routes. Thanks in advance

Looking at your ticks in LCC, I think you should have no problem getting up SS safely and in decent style. If you really want to onsight it, maybe wait. But if that doesn't matter, go for it and have fun. 

Robert Hall wrote: Don’t know if I’m even qualified to comment, but from the little I’ve climbed in LLC and the Valley I’d say if you’re fine on the Lowe routes in LLC you should be ok in the valley at equivalent grades...except maybe on the more popular routes there’s polish you don’t see on Lowe routes....(wonder why?)

if it's old it's bold

Jim Roache wrote: Umm, serenity and sons is frickin awesome, it was my first 10d crack on sight, but it’s a unique style, and considered a big tick. There is zero pro to the wet bolt, and scary as hell.  I’ve seen bold hard men in bad shape on it. 

The “wet bolt”???? What?

I remember thinking my max (in LCC) was .9, maybe .10-, went to the valley and was sending 10s fairly easily. Possibly it was because the cracks were more continuous with less sketchy slab moves or maybe they were more of modern ratings?  Maybe we were just pushing ourselves to do harder climbs in the valley to avoid the lines?

Hey guys just reviving this thread for a sec to see if anyone has gear beta for SS? The MP page is surprisingly vague on this point. It mentions some c3's and finger sized gear but does that mean like doubles or triples or quintuples or what? 

Double cams with some offset cams or totems

Devin Rogers wrote: Hey guys just reviving this thread for a sec to see if anyone has gear beta for SS? The MP page is surprisingly vague on this point. It mentions some c3's and finger sized gear but does that mean like doubles or triples or quintuples or what? 

Huh.. I wonder why it’s so vague..  .3 ish around the crux iirc.  Someone on here will know.  Can check guidebook later but doubles to 3 with extra in the finger size range??  
I think the head crux is the real crux because the technical crux is so safe.  Pin scars for 35 ish feet off the ground to the first good gear.  I had heard it was possible to place an offset cam 15 to 20 feet up.  I tried and failed and that being the case continuing would have been better but I really don’t like being that high up looking at a ground fall.  Depends how comfortable you are climbing “5.8” pin scars.  I have big feet so it didn’t feel amazing for just hanging out biding your time.
At the tech crux place two cams and then just fire it.  Even if you take a big fall you should not get hurt.

Mikes beta is spot on. You’re gonna run it out for about 30 feet on P1. Then there is a bomber pod for a #1 or equivalent. I think you’re over thinking this a bit, you got it. 

Simon W wrote:

I had heard it was possible to place an offset cam 15 to 20 feet up.  I tried and failed ....

You can get two decent tri-cams in before the cam pod - and this is all below the original (now gone) bolt that was at 30'.