Tick list before Red Dihedral @ The Hulk

Hello folks,

I've been dreaming of doing Red Dihedral for a while and I'd like to give it a try this fall. I haven't lead climbed 5.10b trad, and I'm not sure if I could do it onsight. What would you recommend as single pitch routes to get a taste of the grade/style or as training? Possibly stuff in Tahoe/Yosemite/Sierra area that can be done in summer time, i.e. at higher elevation of with shade during part of the day. 

Thanks!

Sherries crack and some valley v1 bouldering 

Tahoe eagle lake cliff has some good 5.10’s.

Give Hospital corner a lap out at lovers leap. If you don’t onsight that relatively casually, there’s a lot of work to be done. If you aren’t confident  on single pitch stuff a grade or two higher than an alpine objective, it gets real stressful real quick. The first pitch of sinbad herbert is a good one out there too.

Sherries crack as mentioned above, along with outer limits, the first pitch of the salathe, guiding light… all good options in the valley to work on 5.10 granite crack climbing.

Good luck!

Bombs over Tokyo p1, Phobos, Third Pillar of Dana, Ivory Tower center.  Little Sheba.

Jason Pirolo wrote:

Give Hospital corner a lap out at lovers leap. If you don’t onsight that relatively casually, there’s a lot of work to be done. If you aren’t confident  on single pitch stuff a grade or two higher than an alpine objective, it gets real stressful real quick. The first pitch of sinbad herbert is a good one out there too.

Sherries crack as mentioned above, along with outer limits, the first pitch of the salathe, guiding light… all good options in the valley to work on 5.10 granite crack climbing.

Good luck!

Good pro and managing risk on lead is the same at a crag as it is in the alpine. Leading at or above your limit is no different in the alpine. What you should be good at is climbing fast and safe on easy terrain. Get mileage in on some easier ridges and traverses in the mountains and don’t be shy on hanging or pulling on some gear on harder alpine rock climbs. Get experience knowing not to carry too much shit on alpine climbs. Worry about styling a route at the crag, 

Michael Layton wrote:

Good pro and managing risk on lead is the same at a crag as it is in the alpine. Leading at or above your limit is no different in the alpine. What you should be good at is climbing fast and safe on easy terrain. Get mileage in on some easier ridges and traverses in the mountains and don’t be shy on hanging or pulling on some gear on harder alpine rock climbs. Get experience knowing not to carry too much shit on alpine climbs. Worry about styling a route at the crag, 

In my experience, 5.10 at elevation  after a steep 5 mile hike on a notoriously windy mountain has indeed felt considerably different than 5.10 at a roadside crag. Climbing at your limit makes a lot of the things you mentioned (good pro, managing risk, general efficiency) quite a bit more mentally taxing, and the consequences of botching any of them have bigger implications for you and your partner… and everyone else hoping to have an efficient day.

i agree with everything else ya said regarding general mileage in the alpine. but i feel like that’s important ~in addition to feeling comfy at or slightly above the grade, rather than in lieu of. Maybe more important? But It’s a lot easier to have fun when both of those facets are dialed.

My 2 cents… could be less than 2 cents idk.

^^
as with everything totally climb dependent.
I guess my point is that it’s usually not the hard pitches that are problem on an alpine climb

"try this fall"

I'd recommend you get to the hulk sooner rather than later, due to the winds and west facing aspect of the hulk it tends to be bitterly cold in the mornings there in the fall.  I've fallen out of the RD corner before due to numb hands.

As to abilities, just go for it, worst case bring a few extra pieces of gear to do some C0 aiding on, and maybe a bit of cordage for bailing if you really need to.

Lorenzo Riano wrote: I haven't lead climbed 5.10b trad, and I'm not sure if I could do it onsight. What would you recommend as single pitch routes to get a taste of the grade/style or as training? Possibly stuff in Tahoe/Yosemite/Sierra area that can be done in summer time, i.e. at higher elevation of with shade during part of the day. 

If you’ve never gotten up there, Patrica Bowl in Rock Creek has a bunch of beautiful, fairly physical cracks in the 5.10 range. Some are 2 pitch but all routes have anchors and single rope raps.  One mile approach with 800 foot elevation gain and climbing at 10k.

Haven’t been up there yet this year, so I don’t know the snow situation. 

Lots of good advice in this thread already. I would just chime in that the crux bulge isn’t terribly straight forward to aid, but you do have the ability to rap from the base of the corner of it comes to that.
being fast with your belay transitions, and covering easier ground quickly will definitely be more of the crux for the route than the 5.10 pitch as said above.
go crank some more mileage and see how ya feel in a month or two

Eagle lakes does have some nice 10s, “seams to me” in particularly has some slightly heady and dihedralish climbing!

The approach I would take is: be patient, save it for the next season if needed to, but build the pyramid up (i.e. have many 10a's, 10b's, and even a few 10c's and 10d's under the belt) so you can approach the route with confidence. It'll be a better experience all around (for you and for people behind you). After all, it's your dream route. 

The Touchstone and Movement gyms around where you are offer great training for crack climbing. Get on the ones that are hard for you and tackle them until they become easy. Also build some altitude climbing mileage (maybe you already have them, but ticks are private, so I wouldn't know). At last, not to leave you hanging, I recommend looking into West Face on Cardinal Pinnacle.

Maybe I'm very forgetful, but Red Dihedral doesn't have any sustained 5.10 crack climbing? There is one notable well protected 5.9 corner with a little 5.10b bulge move at the top, otherwise it is all 5.9 max climbing. I don't think you have to casually onsight Bombs over Tokyo, Outer Limits, Sherries Crack or anything like that to have a good time on Red Dihedral. 

If you want things that are somewhat similar in style but maybe a hair less committing/difficult, Cardinal Pinnacle and Third Pillar are decent options. You can also do the time-honored tradition of convincing your more capable friend to go with you and lead the hard pitches :D 

Also I second what some people said about getting on longer routes. Red Dihedral might not be the best route to try out longer multi-pitch climbing on... If you haven't done a 6+ pitch route I would suggest trying out a less committing option first (Royal Arches, East Buttress of Middle Cathedral, Regular Route on Fairview Dome, Sands of Time in Calavares Dome). 

There's a lot of good advice on this thread already. I thought the main challenge on the Red Dihedral (Yggdrasil for those who care) was having the physical and mental strength and endurance for the climb. From what I can recall, pitch 2 has some facey moves above a thin nut, the Red Dihedral itself and the splitter pitch (p5 or p6) were sustained - never hard or insecure jamming; just continuous.  

With that in mind, being secure and confident 5.10 cracks will prepare you for a pleasant experience on the route. Climbs like the Third Pillar, Bombs Over Tokyo (p1 - there's nothing as hard as this pitch on the route), cracks at Patricia Bowl, Phobos, Deimos, Rites of Spring, and Yosemite Valley cracks (Reeds Direct, Stone Groove, Lunatic, Outer Limits, Catchy, Bev's Tower, Waverly, Wheat Thin, Gripper, Midterm, NEB of HC, SxSW) are all good training climbs with some of these being harder than anything on the route.    

Wow, thank you so much everybody for the advice! Definitely a long ticklist before Yggdrasil. Just for additional information, I have done several alpine and long multi pitch routes, but always below my skill level. Red Dihedral would be up there, or probably above. The thing is that I don't really know what my trad leading grade is. Sometimes I get shut down by a 5.8, other times I cruise up a 5.10+. It really depends on the style of the climb. I'm confident on cracks, but again, the style of the route makes a big difference for me.

I'll definitely check out all of your recommendations, thanks again for posting!

Good luck- Lorenzo!