Muir

May 3, 1964 must have been a busy day! Two new, full-length routes were put in on the same day. ( Cannonade was the other) Overall, 1964 was a “ busy year” on Cannon, with Muir, Cannonade, Duet, Sam’s Swan Song, and North-South-West all seeing their FA’s that year. Knowing someone is writing a guide to the area has that effect!  Earl Whipple would publish the first guide to Cannon in the June 1965 Appalachia, the articles for which would have been submitted in late 1964 to very early 1965. 

Your submitter climbed the route in the early’70s and wrote the text that follows for the June, 1972 Appalachia. (“Cannon Cliff New Routes and Less Frequently Climbed Routes”) With a bit of ” wordsmithing” here-and-there it would remain the “standard text” for the route for 50 years. How much the route may have changed since then is not known.

The best photo of the route is undoubtably the one on page 195 of Jon Sykes’ The Notches.

1. Start just to the left of a small buttress 200 yds south of the W-G. Climb up on a long diagonal right on friction slabs for a full 130 ft to belay at large slabs below a steep wall.  130-140 ft. 5.2 

2. Move right onto more difficult friction and traverse right, descending a little, to belay on the side of a large, fractured gully. 70 ft  5.4 - 5.5 

3. Easily up the right side of the gully; at top move right 25 ft ( “to first piton” I said in 1972) and then back left 25 ft to belay.  70-80 ft    In the 60’s 70’s there were pitons and rap slings at this belay, just before the “ yellow gully” ! 

4. Move left into the yellow gully. Up this for 25 ft, then climb lose, stacked blocks and flakes to the top of the gully. ( Ah, so THAT’s why the rap slings! ) At the top move 20-30 ft right to a grassy ledge. 80-90 ft  5.4 -5.5 Probably R/X  Ross-Ellms rated this pitch 5.6 in their 1978 guidebook.

 My recollection is that the stacked blocks sounded like drums when hit with the palm of my hand to “ test” them…..or was that the stacked blocks on P2? ….or both ? !

5. Traverse right on a ledge 100 ft, move up on an inclined slab ( 1970’s piton high above) . This slab is 30 ft to the left of a prominent open-book ( inside corner) watercourse gully.  130 ft  5.4 

6. Move left 25 ft over moderate rock (5.4 - 5.5) to a strenuous crack which is climbed 10 ft to easier ground.  40 ft  5.7

7. Move up on easier ground, traversing right to trees.  100 ft

8. (Continue traversing right)……Move right to a corner, around this on lower of two sidewalks, then climb up a section of fractured rock. You are now on the W-G just above the Pipe Pitch.  

Beware of lose blocks on the traverse pitches!  See “ Personal History”, below. 

About 200 yards south of the Whitney-Gilman. Roughly, half way between the Henderson buttress and the W-G 

Std Rack, maybe some old gear and cord for leaving behind should you decide to bail 

”Beware of lose blocks on the final traverse ledge to the Whitney Gilman” was the advice I got from Dave Isles when we were talking about the route. He didn’t mention the “fractured gully” pitch, but did emphasize the lose blocks.

Note he said “ blocks” not “ rocks” !

On the traverse to the W-G I encountered a pyrimid-shaped block, about 4 ft square at the base and about my height. A move around the outside of the block, grabbing the edges with both hands, and leaning out a bit on it while stepping in front looked to be incredibly easy. Behind the block was a dead pine tree and bushes….sharp pine branches, brambly bushes….a real bushwhack. BUT, remembering Dave’s warning, that was the path I took.

After the “ ordeal” I asked “ Uhg, was THAT worth it?”  I gave the block a slight shove, sort of the kind of shove you might give a friend’s shoulder after telling a joke. OFF WENT THE BLOCK!  All 3000 - 4000 lbs of it. (1500-2000kg)  Probably less than 10 lbs pressure sent it down the mountain. 

Dave’s warning undoubted saved my life that day!

Amen!