Questions about Red Dihedral on The Hulk

I'm interested in climbing Red Dihedral on the Hulk. The upper limit of my experience is climbing Epinephrine in Red Rock. In the Sierra I've only done the hiking trail up Mt. Whitney, scrambled up Dragon Peak, and some cragging around Pine Creek. How much harder is the Red Dihedral compared to a 5.10 in Red Rock? What are some good climbs to build up experience for it? Venusian Blind? And when are the best months to climb the Hulk? I'm based in Las Vegas and potentially looking for a partner to climb the hulk this Summer

I haven't climbed on the Hulk (yet) or Epinephrine, but I've climbed stuff similar to (and longer/harder) than both.  I'm just chiming in because I'm hoping to get up to the Hulk in June for an early season ascent...so that should help answer your question about the season.  I think it's generally accepted that July/August is the best time to get up there, as with most alpine rock climbing areas.  Though I understand you can get back there a bit earlier if you're willing to deal with some snow on the approach.  

I think doing it car-to-car is certainly a big day out.  Even if you're capable of doing that, you'd have a better time camping out and enjoying being up there.

Climbing more granite would definitely be good for you in preparation...stuff around Lake Tahoe would probably suit your needs.  

What was your experience like on Epi?  It looks like you swung leads and hung on the crux.   What was your car-to-car time?  

If you care about onsighting the thing, you should definitely start training fairly seriously or at least shifting your climbing over the next couple of months to prepare you for that objective.  If it's just about getting up it, you can probably manage it if you maintain from now until then, assuming you have a partner of equal or greater strength/experience.  

Crux of Red Dihedral is thin hands and stemming, plus the long approach. Having climbed only a couple of 10s in RR, I think the difficulty is roughly similar. Get used to long approaches, climbing 9 and 10 efficiently and quickly when tired. Nightcrawler comes to mind as a similar-ish style. Of course Hulk is also more backcountry than a lot of RR, so self-rescue and route-finding skills are key.

Hey! I’ve climbed both Epi and the red dihedral. I climbed epi with much less experience than I had when I climbed the red dihedral car to car. Even with that in mind, I found epinephrine significantly easier than Yggdrasil. Now that I’ve climbed a handful of long 5.10 routes, and even a few pitches of 5.11in red rock I find that comparatively in the Sierra it is more difficult.

Things to account for are the elevation gain, the Sierra backcountry is high and you need a day or so to acclimate if you want to be moving as proficient as you normally do. There also isn’t a perfect trail to the base, so some sense of direction is useful. I’d also consider that grades on granite tend to be less forgiving than grades in sandstone so I’d build more mileage on granite.

Summer months are good, but you want to be mindful of summer afternoon storms. They seemingly come out of no where, so check the weather. You’re gonna have so much fun! I’d like to climb there again this summer sooooo if you need a partner....

good luck! 

The Red Dihedral, by the Hulk's standards, is not a sustained route.  One move on the dihedral itself requires a 5.10- single sequential move in my opinion.  The 7th pitch offers a fun 5.10a splitter.  The overall effort fitness wise is about the same as Epi, more of an approach for the Hulk, but the climb and descent are not as long, particularly if you camp up there.  July-Sept would be the prime season as is all of the Eastern Sierra.  There are a lot of storms in June and July, if planning a trip, Aug and Sept are much more settled, of course more crowded as well.  There is another similarly mellow route close by I did recently in that area that is sort of fun, Mt. Blacksmith, North Arete. Would offer the same degree of difficulty, shorter route and descent, but approach is a bit more challenging.  Crimson Gem and Dihedral Route on Juggernault, further hike in than the Hulk, little to no crowds, pristine camping and hike, I highly recommend both of those routes which are for sure a step up from Red Dihedral but listed at the same grade.

Will Manesswrote:

I haven't climbed on the Hulk (yet) or Epinephrine, but I've climbed stuff similar to (and longer/harder) than both.  I'm just chiming in because I'm hoping to get up to the Hulk in June for an early season ascent...so that should help answer your question about the season.  I think it's generally accepted that July/August is the best time to get up there, as with most alpine rock climbing areas.  Though I understand you can get back there a bit earlier if you're willing to deal with some snow on the approach.  

I think doing it car-to-car is certainly a big day out.  Even if you're capable of doing that, you'd have a better time camping out and enjoying being up there.

Climbing more granite would definitely be good for you in preparation...stuff around Lake Tahoe would probably suit your needs.  

What was your experience like on Epi?  It looks like you swung leads and hung on the crux.   What was your car-to-car time?  

If you care about onsighting the thing, you should definitely start training fairly seriously or at least shifting your climbing over the next couple of months to prepare you for that objective.  If it's just about getting up it, you can probably manage it if you maintain from now until then, assuming you have a partner of equal or greater strength/experience.  

I hung on the crux, but I think that happened because my pack was too heavy (noob mistake). It was dangling from a double length sling from my belay loop, and was weighing me down. I think it'd have been easier with no pack, but who knows. Car to car was 12.5 hours. 9 hours from the base of the climb to the summit, but we took 1 hour to sit in the shade just underneath the top of black tower, because the upper pitches still had full sun.

Maybe the Hulk is too ambitious for this year. "Just getting up" would be acceptable. I'd probably like to follow on the 5.10 pitches, but ideally I'll be strong enough to lead it myself if necessary. I'm onsighting 5.9 in Red Rock, will probably start breaking into 5.10 soon. Maybe Venusian Blind or Moon Goddess Arete would be a more reasonable goal for this summer.

Dow Williamswrote:

The Red Dihedral, by the Hulk's standards, is not a sustained route.  One move on the dihedral itself requires a 5.10- single sequential move in my opinion.  The 7th pitch offers a fun 5.10a splitter.  The overall effort fitness wise is about the same as Epi, more of an approach for the Hulk, but the climb and descent are not as long, particularly if you camp up there.  July-Sept would be the prime season as is all of the Eastern Sierra.  There are a lot of storms in June and July, if planning a trip, Aug and Sept are much more settled, of course more crowded as well.  There is another similarly mellow route close by I did recently in that area that is sort of fun, Mt. Blacksmith, North Arete. Would offer the same degree of difficulty, shorter route and descent, but approach is a bit more challenging.  Crimson Gem and Dihedral Route on Juggernault, further hike in than the Hulk, little to no crowds, pristine camping and hike, I highly recommend both of those routes which are for sure a step up from Red Dihedral but listed at the same grade.

Thanks, I'll check out these other climbs you mentioned. My main goal this year is to climb something huge, and picturesque. I'm not necessarily looking for difficult climbing. I'm mostly looking to climb something that looks cool, is grade IV, and will have a nice view at the top

Mike Climbersonwrote:

I hung on the crux, but I think that happened because my pack was too heavy (noob mistake). It was dangling from a double length sling from my belay loop, and was weighing me down. I think it'd have been easier with no pack, but who knows. Car to car was 12.5 hours. 9 hours from the base of the climb to the summit, but we took 1 hour to sit in the shade just underneath the top of black tower, because the upper pitches still had full sun.

Maybe the Hulk is too ambitious for this year. "Just getting up" would be acceptable. I'd probably like to follow on the 5.10 pitches, but ideally I'll be strong enough to lead it myself if necessary. I'm onsighting 5.9 in Red Rock, will probably start breaking into 5.10 soon. Maybe Venusian Blind or Moon Goddess Arete would be a more reasonable goal for this summer.

Need a partner in June/July for those targets? I'm very experienced in the alpine on long adventures like this in the Colorado rockies, but have never been in that area of the Sierra's.

I found the red dihedral pitch to be appropriately rated at 5.10 similar to RR, but as folks have mentioned your style/strategy matters. If you've hiked in from the car that morning with all your gear, you'll likely be fatigued (and poorly acclimated) by the time you get to that point. Took us ~19 hours to do car-to-car at an average pace. You'd have a more enjoyable outing if you camped out there at least the prior night. I believe the climbing on the Hulk starts at around 10k. 

Third Pillar of Dana would be a solid way to prepare yourself. The climbing is comparable, but the route is much shorter. You'd get a chance to experience the high alpine Sierra conditions--the granite quality, wind and weather, elevation, backcountry approach, route-finding--on a considerably less committing route (plus an incredible view!). Similarly, if you just want a big grade IV adventure, you could try something on Mt. Conness.

Expanding on what some others have said, it isn't a super-sustained route but being comfortable on granite is nice. If your only experience with Sierra-like granite is Pine Creek sport climbing it is probably worth doing a few longer routes with more route-finding, gear placement, etc. I remember I found the first half rather awkward (in an almost Yosemite-like way), while the second half was much more straightforward in terms of the movement but tricker route finding. 

Some suggested routes to do...

Cardinal Pinnacle (like a less committing, more convenient  Third Pillar of Dana)

Third Pillar of Dana

Regular Route on Fairview Dome (comparable length to RD, less sustained)

If any of those routes gives you notable difficulty you might run into issues on Red Dihedral. If you cruise them all, then RD is probably fairly reasonable.

Cesar Cardenaswrote:

Hey! I’ve climbed both Epi and the red dihedral. I climbed epi with much less experience than I had when I climbed the red dihedral car to car. Even with that in mind, I found epinephrine significantly easier than Yggdrasil. Now that I’ve climbed a handful of long 5.10 routes, and even a few pitches of 5.11in red rock I find that comparatively in the Sierra it is more difficult.

Things to account for are the elevation gain, the Sierra backcountry is high and you need a day or so to acclimate if you want to be moving as proficient as you normally do. There also isn’t a perfect trail to the base, so some sense of direction is useful. I’d also consider that grades on granite tend to be less forgiving than grades in sandstone so I’d build more mileage on granite.

Summer months are good, but you want to be mindful of summer afternoon storms. They seemingly come out of no where, so check the weather. You’re gonna have so much fun! I’d like to climb there again this summer sooooo if you need a partner....

good luck! 

Ive not done either route, but cesar, sums up my impression and experiences in the High Sierras.

The routes on Temple Crag you mention are great but not great preparation for the technical granite climbing on the Hulk. The rock in the Palisades is considerably looser with a larger route-finding element. I second the Third Pillar of Dana and Cardinal Pinnacle as good prep routes in the Sierra. It's hard to think of good comparisons in RR because of how different the styles are, but Nightcrawler is much more similar than Epinephrine. Good Yosemite prep would be the cragging at Sentinel Creek, Reed's, base of El Cap, and the Cookie.