New 10 pitch aid route with amazing thin beak pitches and thin flake nailing that will go free eventually. Goes up the right side of the obvious white flake on the face of Lost Brother. Most looseness has been avoided. A nice escape from the normal choss horror show that is the average obscure new route.
Pitch by pitch description tba..
Possible to bivy without a ledge at top of pitch 1, 3, 5 or 6 (both uncomfortable), and pitch 7. ATC Bivy and Yeti Mating Ledge are both stellar bivy ledges.
Full res topo here: https://bit.ly/2AFi9ge
Approach:
Park at the turnout on the left side of Southside Drive 0.9 miles from the El Cap crossover. Walk towards the crag (visible from the parking area) until you start to head uphill. Work your way gradually to the right past multiple large boulders until reaching a rocky wash/gully. Follow gully uphill until the top of the first pitch is visible directly to the left and upward progress can no longer be made up the gully (immediately after climbing over a downed tree). Cut left through the forest following cairns directly to start of first pitch. This approach is a bit longer than heading directly from parking to the toe of the buttress, but is better for carrying loads. ~1 hour with loads
Descent:
Rap Wayward Son from Yeti Mating Ledge with one 70m or 2 ropes.
21 Beaks: (7 ea #1-3)
5 Arrows: (2 ea #1-2, 1 ea #3)
4 Angles: (2 ea #1-2)
Nuts: 1 ea
Cams: 2 ea 0.3" - 0.5"
3 ea 0.5" - 2"
2 ea 2" - 4"
optional 5"
Offset Cams: 1 ea
Hooks: 2 ea grappling &cliffhanger
Camhooks: Normal & Wide
16 Rivet Hangers
Oakland, CA
Proud FA on the solo, well done. Dig the GoT names as well.
"Chaos is a ladder" Sep 26, 2014
@failfalling - Oakland, Ca
Probably/possible free climbing possibility break down for this climb based upon my biased and unconfirmed views:
P1: 5.9 (no aid required) - confirmed
P2: 5.10 probably
P3: First 30' ~5.10-, Headwall = very difficult, last 70' ~5.12
P4: very difficult
P5: ~5.11 maybe
P6: ~5.12
P7: ~5.10+
P8: 5.9 sweet lieback to blocky ledge mantels
P9: ~5.11+ sustained thin flake lieback.
Just a guess. I rope soloed this so didn't even attempt any climbing harder than 5.9 while up there. 5.12 is more of a "idk, damn hard, but not impossible" rating since I don't really climb 5.12 unless it's TR slab with a tight belay and plenty of cheating.
Overall there isn't much dirt at all on the route and there would be little need for much gardening at all. Plus, there's still some new route possibilities above and right of the third pitch on the main face between "Blood & Coin" and B.Law's "Prowd." Sep 26, 2014