Walls

After 6 days hiking/ backpacking with Graciela, Carlos Eduardo y Luis Alejandro, Mountain Man and me went into Tuolomne and stayed another week for a perfect routine of climbing, swimming, eating and drinking and being merry. Here are some pictures with little explanations for the non-climbing crowd.

If you double click on the pictures you can see A LOT of detail. Enjoy!



1. dark dark night
This picture is NOT a mistake. It is the full moon night landscape before the full moon. We drank gin cocktails and swatted moskitoes and froze our butts off just to enjoy this fantastic view. mmmm



2. waking up
It is nice to wake up with the warmth of the day, 9am or 10? I get to hear the creek that runs by and see the trees. Is someone making coffee?






3. not only coffee but also lunch
Monsieur Francis est un chef magnifique. Tous le jours il prépare un formidable petit déjeuner avant que nous entreprenons notre aventure.








4. walking to gumpy wall
I have no documentation of Easy Money or Zig Zag walls that we did in Mammouth area. forgot the camera? but once in Toulomne we started easy again... of course.





5. rapel from gumpy wall
a bunch of **** climbs (four star climbs) whoopee! We were warming up after a year on no climbing: rough granite, polished granite, knobs, little edges, sticky shoes, fingertips.



6. coyote hills from the distance
Later that evening (after hopelessly looking for the Guns of Navarone climbing wall) we scoped our next day's climb: coyote hills.






7. steep approach?
It did look like uphill. It was.






8. who brought the machete?
We wish we had either a machete or snow-shoes or big feet-paddles so we could walk over the bushes. The rock was a pretty sight. Only a few feet more to this island among manzanita.






9. coyote hills rapel
After climbing the front we rapelled the back and then climbed up the back again. Many, many places to put hands, feet, and dub-doo-roo up to the top. Who wants to go down and bush-whack again? NO ONE






10. stately pleasure dome- 2nd pitch crack- (I think)
Next day we did a 5 or 6 pitch climb up South Crack, 5.8 **** R


11. and now what?
After the crack dissapears then comes the challenge of where to go next with not protection.




12. OK lets try this way
You have to just go for it and hope for the best.




13. runnout
Runnout means that there is no place to put protection. I other words you either make it or fall!
He already went across, which makes it infinitely easier for me. Nonetheless I'd like not to fall so all I have to do is trust my feet and of course, I do.



14. now down
Hours later we part rapel/ part walk down. For experience climbers walking down may be easy. For me, I do my Vincenzo-steps, meaning, little turtle mini-steps watching the granite, the veins of the rock and any loose sand. I'd say that this is more dangerous than climbing up with ropes.




15. but first.... look at the view (view dome-to-lake)
From here we can perfectly look at the beach we are aiming to swim at. See? Way at the end by that crooked tree.







16. and later after we enjoy a swim (view lake-to-dome)
And here it is the crooked tree and a perfect slab for Yosemite beer, rice and bean sandwiches with greens, wasabi mayo, aminoacids and yeast and dark dark chocolate with orange rind.





17. two gentlemen enjoying a shallow seating area in Tenaya lake
We enjoy reading, writing, making comments about the father and son scene we can see right in the middle of that lake or a casual conversation with a 1o year old child veteran of the park who I compared with a cat after I saw him jumping with great agility from rock to rock and he confessed he hated water.





18. half dome from olmstead
Every afternoon as we made our way back to Porcupine Flat #45B we enjoyed a walk on Olmstead Point, we picked up firewood for the night blaze and spring water for the next day's food and solar shower.




19. lets try a little of this.... now your turn!
A walk would include observing tourists as if they were wildlife; or getting another lesson on technique on cracks or lay-back; or trees, perhaps.



20. beautiful juniper
Trees, of course. I've had plenty of lessons about bark, shape of the trunk, pine needles or cones. Now I hope to recognize one tree: a juniper, anywhere I see one. Pine, redwood, hemlock, EVERY TREE, to my untrained tropical-eye looks just like a Christmas tree. Just add the fake snow and voilá.




21. River wall
As it's name describes, this wall was edged by a creek were all the rope falls and gets wet. We did this particular one last day before we left and proved the most challenge. I saw it and I decided that it would be just impossible for me.





22. the knobby side
On this part of the wall there are lots of little super secure feet positions. Even though I try to just balance over my legs I end up holding onto those little knobs so tight that I skinned my fingertips. No fingerprints anymore? Dangerous.




23. a harder area
I was pretty positive I wouldn't be able to go up this one. I was surprised with myself. Although I don't think I did any absolutely clean ascent, on the parts that I did well, my breathing, my balance, my feet and my focus was so in tune that it was a blissful experience to me. Hmmmmm, I needed a rest for my body after but, oh! How much I'd like to be back there again. (sigh)






24. to my pro-leisure companion
I am inmensely grateful to have found a friend to share this experiences with. We seem to have the same harmonious smooth and easy wave-length when spending "pro-leisure time". When climbing, you NEED a climbing partner. What a better gift than finding one you can spend a week or two with?





25. that's all folks!