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Astro-Gil

5.11, Trad, 1700 ft (515 m), 11 pitches, Grade IV,  Avg: 4 from 3 votes
FA: Scotty Nelson / Shaun Reed / Brad Wilson
California > Sequoia & Kings… > Tehipite Dome
Warning Access Issue: Always check SEKI road conditions and peregrine closures DetailsDrop down

Description

The route climbs the southeast buttress of Tehipite Dome. The lower half of the route features stellar crack climbing, while the upper half features mixed crack and face climbing. The route was established in honor of our friends Gil Weiss and Ben Horne, who died in July 2012 after establishing a new route on Paclaraju Oeste, Peru. !Vamos El Cumbre!

P1: fingers and hands (40m, 5.10)

P2: "Gil Weiss Memorial Offwidth". Hands to squeeze to stacks, ends on a stance (62m, 5.10+)

P3: Step right and climb the left facing corner to a stance belay(30m, 5.10+)

P4: Continue up the corner. Where it gets thin, step left to a horizontal and then back right. (30m, 5.11)

P5: Lower angle hands leads to the "Ledge of Repair" (60m, 5.8).

P6: Follow cracks up the prow, then traverse left past 2 bolts (50m, 5.11) and then continue up to the belay right of a large block

P7: Tunnel behind the block, clip a bolt, then face climb until a face crux (bolt) near the anchor (50m, 5.10+)

P8: Honey Badger Traverse. Climb flakes to a 3 bolt leftwards rising traverse , then move left and up to the belay (50m, 5.10+).

P9: Continue up the right facing corner and over a small roof (40m, 5.7)

P10: Face climb past 2 bolts to a belay (30m, 5.8)

P11: Climb the arch and exit at it's apex (50m, 5.9) then up a slab to the top.

Location

Start by approaching Tehipite Dome (~14 miles). We found a nice campsite right next to the backside of the dome, with water about 10 minutes away.

From the summit of the dome, scramble a short ways south down a gully and then walk across a short ramp to rap anchors. 11 double rope rappels take you to the base of the route.

Protection

Standard rack, extra wide (#4-#5) for the Gil Weiss Memorial Offwidth pitch if desired.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Shaun on pitch 4.
[Hide Photo] Shaun on pitch 4.
Pitch 2, "Gil Weiss Memorial Offwidth"
[Hide Photo] Pitch 2, "Gil Weiss Memorial Offwidth"
yellow- wall of ages, orange- one for the ladies, purple astro gil, blue one for the homies, red failed attempt ( will fleming photo)
[Hide Photo] yellow- wall of ages, orange- one for the ladies, purple astro gil, blue one for the homies, red failed attempt ( will fleming photo)
Tom, on the beautiful third pitch.
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How we got here, but not the summit, is a long story...
[Hide Photo] Tom, on the beautiful third pitch. How we got here, but not the summit, is a long story...
End of the offwidth pitch. Only the top 1/3 can be seen... the easy part
[Hide Photo] End of the offwidth pitch. Only the top 1/3 can be seen... the easy part
Overview of route.
[Hide Photo] Overview of route.
Tehipite Dome (upper South face) - updated route overlay.  Original photo by Rene Ardesch
[Hide Photo] Tehipite Dome (upper South face) - updated route overlay. Original photo by Rene Ardesch
crux moves on the 4th pitch are freakin sweet
[Hide Photo] crux moves on the 4th pitch are freakin sweet
Astro-Gil photo page 2
[Hide Photo] Astro-Gil photo page 2
Astro-Gil topo page 1
[Hide Photo] Astro-Gil topo page 1
last pitch is straight hero climbing. awesome way to end it.
[Hide Photo] last pitch is straight hero climbing. awesome way to end it.
Brad Wilson on pitch 7, "Honey Badger Traverse".
[Hide Photo] Brad Wilson on pitch 7, "Honey Badger Traverse".

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

J. Albers
Colorado
[Hide Comment] Wow, looks fantastic. Thanks for posting this. Nov 9, 2012
[Hide Comment] Could you hook me up with a better rack description. Exactly how many peices of the wide stuff do we need? Thanks Sep 5, 2013
Scotty Nelson
Boulder
  5.11
[Hide Comment] We brought a lot of gear so I don't want to scare people off. But I would say 2 #4, 3 #5 and 1 #6. You can trim it down more if you are comfortable on stacks and bumping pieces. When it gets too wide for gear the end of that pitch there are bolts.

For the other pitches I'd recommend 3x TCus and 2x camalots #.5-#3. Sep 13, 2013
[Hide Comment] Thanks for the beta, I cant wait to get on it. This route looks phenomenal. And thanks for putting all the work into it and doing it right.

Wasnt able to do it this fall and wont have anytime before the snow flys, I need a partner for next spring or early summer, if interested get ahold of me. Im up for splitting the cost on a mule too.
Tom Sep 13, 2013
Brian Prince
reno
 
[Hide Comment] welp, the nearly unimaginable happened... a route on tehipite got a 2nd ascent! Register showed no climbers since the fa of this route ~4 years earlier. thanks guys, we really enjoyed it. here's some additional beta

approach - took us like 6 hours at a moderate pace. to the top of the dome, it's almost entirely flat. make sure to stop by the cow ranch, nice people and a great spot to get some water. See approach topo in main page

camp - definitely camp on the backside of the dome, amazing spot. just make sure to bring big/lots of water containers. water source is 10 minutes straight downhill... annoying if you have to run down there a bunch. solid amount of water even in september

raps - easy to find. from summit, just keep heading toward gorge of despair til you see cairns. nice to be able to stash food/water on the way down in spots.

rack - don't need triples of anything. doubles to #3 seemed like it would be good. 2 #4 is probably a good idea. 2 #5 is for sure. it does just depend how comfortable you are walking them. 1 #6 is good.

route - lived up to the hype inspired by the pics. Yeah, it's only the upper dome, but it's the biggest part of it and don't worry, it's a worthy adventure. ratings are definitely not soft, but seem right. lots of good belay ledges and the route is perfectly equipped except for one spot.. getting to the first bolt on P6 seemed pretty dangerous. was made ok when I found a hidden sidepull to get to the clipping stance but damn.. Breaking this pitch up into 2 would have made it more reasonable (for drag and a tighter belay). Other than that, thanks for doing it right, as Tom said. Oh, the offwidth is burly

setting - well you just can't beat it. Sep 6, 2016
Oliver Abbitt
Santa Paula, California
[Hide Comment] Brian Pugh, Matt Hoffman, and myself climbed this last week in what appears to be the third ascent!

This is an amazing climb. If it was somewhere else we would be lucky to have gotten the 300th ascent. The rock is clean, the climbing fantastic, and the scenery unreal. We spent a week in the area and didn't see another hiker or climber. Definitely take the time to explore the valley. Solitude, unbeatable fishing, and even some native American pictographs.

So some tips -
- The raps aren't the most straightforward and took us a bit over 3 hours. Plan accordingly.
- thanks to deadfall and fires, the trail to the top of the dome all but disappears soon after Johnson cow camp. It's non existant after crown creek. Bring a compass or a gps and have fun off trailing.
- weather was great in late June. Even the valley floor, known for its heat, was really nice.
- Brian Prince's rack is pretty spot on. Though it was nice having a couple extra finger sized pieces for the 4th pitch.
- the offwidth is full on. Happy I got to the top rope it (thanks Matt). Nice that you can check it out on the way down.
- as mentioned, pitch 6 should be broken up into two. This was the only spicy pitch.
- the first 4 pitches took us almost as long as the last 8. Consider that when stashing water and food

Thanks to the first ascentionists for doing a quality job. Couldn't have been easy. Get out there and climb on Tehipite! Jul 2, 2018