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The Imperial March

5.10a/b, Trad, 180 ft (55 m), 2 pitches,  Avg: 3.1 from 9 votes
FA: Greg Barnes, Karin Wuhrmann 2002
California > Yosemite NP > Tuolumne Meadows > DAFF Area > Dark Side Dome
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Description

A fun two pitch route with a plethora of bolts at the hard bit. A good route to get ready for Crying Time Again on Lembert.

Easy 5th class face climbing up to a right arching corner with great gear. Follow this right and up past more flakes and gear to a short bit of face climbing past two great bolts to an uncomfortable bolted belay ~100 feet of easy 5.8.

From the belay, fire up past closely spaced bolts on sustained, steep, small knobs for 50 feet. Move past this up to the right side of a small roof with a great 0.5-1" cam. Work left here below the roof then up to a bolt. Less well protected knobs 5.9 past a last bolt and a bolted belay ~ 80 feet of great 5.10a/b knobs.

Location

This route on the right side of the Spaceballs group of climbs, left side of the Dark Side Dome's West Face. Usually has a pile of snow below it. Look for a pretty, right curving corner / flake that does not reach the ground for the start.

Protection

Set of stoppers and cams to 1-1/2", lots of quick draws for bolts. Two bolted belays with rappel rings. All the bolts are bomber. Rappel the route with a single 60 meter rope - two rappels!

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Bernie running out of quickdraws on an impromptu linkup of Dark Helmet and The Imperial March.
[Hide Photo] Bernie running out of quickdraws on an impromptu linkup of Dark Helmet and The Imperial March.
Alexis leading the nice second pitch of The Imperial March
[Hide Photo] Alexis leading the nice second pitch of The Imperial March

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Bryan G
June Lake, CA
[Hide Comment] Better to just do it in one pitch. Even the most timid sport climber will find the crux to be very tightly bolted. Sep 9, 2012
Aaron Hope
San Luis Obispo
[Hide Comment] Yes, one pitch is great. But be sure to use long slings down low and I recommend unclipping the last bolt once you reach the mid-way anchors or you'll face bad drag uptop like i did (even using an shoulder length sling on that bolt didn't help). Oct 22, 2015