|
Climbing
The longest part of El Capitan's face is in the middle, around
"The Nose." It rises over 3000 feet from the valley
floor, which is around 3500 feet elevation. In the above shot,
you can see Half Dome just to the right of El Cap's lower
right shoulder. The right side of El Cap is shorter; it ranges
from the full 3000 to only about 1000 feet. This is made up
for by steepness, it's overhanging from the ground to the
top. BASE jumpers love it, even though their game is illegal
-- but, that is a different story. The extreme steepness of
the right side is due to the North America shaped areas of
more friable Dioritic rock. In contrast, the left side is
longer, generally around vertical with iron hard Granitic
rock.
There are over 70 different routes up this face, although,
their difficulties vary dramatically. Most of them require
both Aid and Free Climbing, in some combination. "Aid
Climbing" is used when the rock is too shear and steep
to climb using only the climber's body, so the rope and gear
must also be climbed. "Free Climbing," on the other
hand, is a game where climbers try not to use the gear and
rope for any thing other than a safety net, in case they fall.
Free Climbing, when possible, is quicker, but physically demanding.
Aid is technically demanding, but sure and steady. Hard Aid
is just plain scary.
Frequently asked questions:
How long does it take?
The average ascent of El Cap takes about 4 days, although,
it has been done as fast as 4 1/2 hours -- That's the record
on the nose route, the easiest route up the middle. On the
other extreme, it has taken as much as 40 days, and can easily
take 7-9 days. The length of an ascent depends on plenty:
the weather, the length and difficulty of the route, the experience
of the team, the time of year (the length of the days), the
number of times that the route has been previously climbed,
and more...
What do you eat?
It doesn't help to bring freeze dried food, because we would
just have to bring up the water too. We bring whatever we
like, but on the shorter routes and summer routes we don't
bring a stove. As you might imagine, breads/bagels, canned
food (canned fruit is a tremendous hit up there), cheese,
fruit, that sort of thing.
How do you sleep?
Sometimes we sleep on natural ledges on the cliff, but sometimes
we have to bring Portaledges. A portaledge is a metal frame
with a hammock strung tight within it, which folds up when
not in use. The bed then attaches to a secure point on the
rock, that we rig, by adjustable straps on the corners. There's
also a rain-fly that goes over this contraption in bad weather.
Natural ledges can be comfortable, but there is no changing
them, so they can also be very uncomfortable. After all of
the work of the day, fatigue makes it easy to sleep. No matter
what, we are tied in to the cliff at all times, even while
sleeping.
How much do you bring?
A 2 man team that plans to spend 6 days might start out with
over 200 pounds of gear, which is hauled up, from anchor to
anchor, in a big haul bag on the end of a rope. We use a hauling
system with a pulley and a cam, to stop the rope from pulling
back out. This is an approximate break down:
7-8 gallons of H2O, 60 lbs
food, 35 lbs
clothes and personals, 40 lbs
2 sleeping bags and 2 pads, 20 lbs
2 portaledges with rain flys, 35 lbs
On top of these things are the ropes (2-3 @ 8 lbs each) and
hardware. If pitons are required then the pins, carabiners,
wedges of metal called stoppers, camming devices, and other
hardware weigh 30 - 60 lbs. If no pins are required then "the
racks" check in at 15 - 30 lbs. Of course, as you climb
the food and water weight disappears. Even so, there is usually
a fair bit to carry down.
How do you get down?
There are a number of options for the descent. There are a
couple of long trails -- about 10 miles each. The most popular
method, however, down the east shoulder, the East Ledges Descent.
It starts with a 1/4 mile hike, but steep and treacherous,
to a point where you can rappel 3 rope lengths past a steep
section. From there, you continue scrambling down a steep,
loose, dirty, climber's trail to the valley floor. With big
packs this journey can take all day.
There is more big wall information at the John Middendorff
web site. John started A5 Adventures where he designed and
manufactured quality wall climbing gear for many years. A5
is now a part of The North Face.
Yosemite National Park covers a huge area of the western
Sierra Nevada mountains in central California and has innumerable
lakes,meadows, forests and rocky summits with endless unspoilt
Alpine scenery. At the centre is Yosemite Valley, a half-mile
deep depression carved by glaciers during the last ice age,
which now has soaring 3,000 foot high granite domes and many
powerful waterfalls, includingthe third and seventh highest
in the world. The area received National Park status in 1880,
as a result of the efforts of the pioneering Scottish naturalist
John Muir, and has grown in popularity ever since.
The Merced River runs through the valley, and is followed
either side by two scenic drives. Unfortunately this area
is the preferred destination of three million visitors each
year, most of whom do little more than drive around the congested
roads and stop at neighbouring viewpoints.
Parts of the valley have become spoilt by badly-planned developments,
overcrowding and commercialism; however in January 1997 severe
flooding destroyed half the campsites and one third of the
buildings. It was decided that many would not be rebuilt,
and instead the land is to be returned to nature. Other improvement
measures include a reduction in the number of roads available
to private cars and increased use of shuttle buses, as is
the case, for example, with Zion Canyon in Utah and the Grand
Canyon in Arizona. Still, even in the heart of Yosemite Valley,
perfect solitude is only a 30 minute walk away along one of
the many trails leading into the wilderness, and despite the
overcrowding, the scenic drive is a must for any visitor to
California. Highlights include the various waterfalls that
tumble into the valley, and Glacier Point, an elevated overlook
with arguably the best easily-reached view in the whole of
the Sierra Nevada range.
Yosemite is 200 miles east of San Francisco; three state
roads (CA 120, CA 140 and CA 41) approach from the west and
converge on the lower end of the valley. CA 120 continues
east across the Sierras via the Tioga Pass, a route that is
often closed by snow until July. South of here there are no
through roads across the mountains for 140 miles. At the western
end of the valley where the mountains at either side come
close together, the roads become narrow, cut precariously
into the cliffsides, and pass through several tunnels - these
open to reveal an astonishing vista of vertical cliffs and
green woodland, fading into the hazy distance; this is Yosemite
Valley, central attraction of the park.
|
