Stories of Squamish Climbers in Yosemite

[relic]

I thought it would be neat to hear people's stories they wanted to share about themselves or their partners climbing in Yosemite. Stories of failures, triumphs, or camping shenanigans are all welcome. Spray your hearts out.

Got a particular nemesis of a route?
Strategies for free food?
Park ranger showdown?

[Mike Teschke]

This was the nemesis of my trip... not the route up (which was the best of the trip) but the route down... falling rock. Points if you know this descent... and this photo is not messed with.

[relic]

One time at Arch Rock, my friend Torben and I got on Midterm. Midterm is an old hallowed valley classic that goes through all the sizes from tiny to gaping chimney, it's got it all. So I started leading up the super polished crux at the start, cranking on fingers with totally crap feet, but managed to get through it ok. The corner then widens to happy hands, gets uncomfortably larger into fists, then turns to an awkward offwidth. For some reason I felt remarkably secure leading wide in the valley, or at least the ones I got on. This is weird because there are hardly any in Squamish to train on. There are some I mean but nothing like the Valley where they are everywhere. Anyways, past that offwidth section, the climb funnels open into a full on chimney. I remember putting my last piece in at the bottom of the funnel, taking a look up unprotectable chasm climbing and thinking ok it's showtime. So I head up it classic chimney style with grunts and moans, but progressing at a fair pace. So things are getting a bit easier in the chimney, but I look down, wayyyyyyyy down at that bottleneck where I had my last piece of gear and think ok I better not blow this or I'm toast. Then suddenly I feel my knee go CRACK! I watch my right leg bend awkwardly outwards and then snap back into place. Oh shiiit, my knee just dislocated for no reason. Falling was not an option, not one bit. In full survival mode I tripoded up the rest of the chimney with two arms and one leg. Thankfully I clipped the chains and rappelled the heck off. The worst part actually was slowly dragging my assss thru the talus and back to the car with my ever throbbing knee of pain.

I still think Midterm is awesome though!

[hevyduty]

Looks like the decent from middle cathedral!

[Mike Teschke]

+1 to Hevyduty... The Kat Walk.

[browniephoto]

this one time, i brown pointed the nose..

but seriously, why is this thread not a hit? wheres the spicy adventure tales of squampton locals testing there stones in the valley???

[sibylle]

Hmmm -- what about Valley climbers at Squamish ( that would sort of include HevyDuty, wouldn't it?)

I descended from Middle numerous times in the 90s, and that descent got a lot worse after a huge rock fall around 2001 or 2002; a VW size block crashed right down the descent route. It's not so bad if you know it, tho'.
While I used to climb a lot in the Valley, I now prefer Squish -- less Ranger Danger, less camping hassle (at my advancing age, I like to sleep in my minivan); not too hot; and loads of routes I haven't climbed numerous times that I can actually get up. Plus some nice sport climbs with short approaches. And less crowded.

[squamish climber]

This is very cool to have Sibylle Hetchel write about Yosemite climbing on Squamishclimbing.com For those that don’t know, Sibylle made the first female of ascent of El Capitan via the Triple Direct route. The story is in Steve Roper’s Ordeal by Piton. She also did some first ascents on the North Face of Andromeda.

Sibylle’s father, Richard Hetchel,was an accomplished mountaineer and climber putting up first ascents in the Alps such as the 1953 first ascent of the Peuterey Integral on Mt Blanc. He was also a respected climber in the Valley during the golden age. In fact her father took Sibylle to the Yosemite for the first time when she was ten.

Sibylle has a great website Fun Climbs around the world (the title of her one of her books). She writes how she climbed with her dad’s friends, climbers like Galen Rowell, George Lowe and Jim Bridwell.

She just posted a great TR of Right Wing which Sibylle says is the most strenuous and exhausting climb she’s done at Squamish.

Thanks for posting Sibylle and it would be great if you could tell us a few stories about climbing in the Valley before you head back down south. And of course some Squamish stories too.

[Don]

Wow, Relic. ..thats a killer chimney climbing story from the Valley! I'm gonna have to hit that route up when we go next month.

So why the idea of this thread, you planning on heading down there yourself again?

[Dru]

Dave how come you spell her name Hetchel and her dad's name Hetchell when in actuality they are both named Hechtel?

[sibylle]

Thanks for your note. Since Right Wing, the indefatigable Andy C. has dragged me up the Grand Wall, which was more strenuous than Right Wing. In fact, Right Wing was a warm-up for Grand Wall.
But I slightly disagree with Russ Clune's evaluation of the Grand Wall - that if you can climb this, then you might be ready for the Rostrum. Perhaps it's due to getting older (I climbed the Rostrum, top section in 1995, and the whole thing in 2001), but I think the Grand Wall is just as hard.
It's different climbing. The Rostrum has more hand cracks, and jamming, while Squamish has many fewer straight in jam cracks, and many more laybacks. I find laybacking way more strenuous than jamming.
I'll plan to write some stories about Valley climbing on my blog (http://funclimbsaroundtheworld.com/?p=435) and send links. I'm heading to Facelift soon, and maybe will get in some good routes then.
Oh --and -- HevyDuty and I climbed Snake dike on Half Dome in 2001 -- I'll write about that trip!

[sibylle]

Hey Dru -- thanks for noticing! At least he got my first name right!

[squamish climber]

Thanks for catching the typo. Fixed it. Have a great trip to FaceLift. You may see some Squamish climbers there. I wonder if Anders is going?

[relic]

Hey Don, was just hoping for some good reading. I'm always thinking of going to the Valley. Who knows, maybe if some of my friends end up wanting to go climb there I'll go.

[gnarnaphobe]