Yosemite!

Sorry for the long time between posts - we haven't had a ton of computer time so we're a little bit behind. This post is for Yosemite, which we left a week ago (we actually just got off the ferry to Vancouver Island less than an hour ago), but we'll try to get us caught up asap.

Yosemite. The climbing mecca of North America. Everyone who really thinks of oneself as a climber must make the pilgrimage at least once. To jam your hands and feet in the solid cracks of Yosemite granite is like going to church. Ok, maybe for some it's not quite such a religious experience, especially if it just keeps raining all the time. It is certainly gorgeous there though - just take a look at these photos:

El Capitan in the Clouds

Vernal Falls on the Mist Trail

Since we knew we'd want to go to Yosemite, we asked around to see if some other climbing friends from back home might want to join us. Ara, from Columbus, Ohio, was able to make it out for almost the entire 2 weeks we were there, and his wife Jen, along with our other friends Matt and Amanda from Waterloo, Ontario were able to join us for the second week. During the first week, Ara, Meghan, and I were able to get our bearings and get used to the rock a bit, and even get on some moderate climbs up to 6 pitches (ropelengths) long. We got pretty lucky a few times though, having the rain start just as we were topping out on a big climb. We also got a chance to head down to the south end of the park to see the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoia trees. Wow - those are some big trees! You've never seen anything like it! 

Ara pulling through a roof on "Nutcracker"

Me (Ian) leading the final pitch on "After Six"

Hiking through the forest near Mono Meadows

Meghan the grizzly bear with "Grizzly Giant", one of the Giant Sequoia trees at Mariposa Grove

Ara with one of the trees they used to allow you to drive through

During the second week, we got even more rain - almost every day - so we didn't get a ton of climbing in. We did get to do a bit of bouldering and a few shorter climbs, and got to see some wildlife (well, maybe not so wild...). One of the big objectives of the trip was to do the route "Snake Dike" on the southwest face of Half Dome. Some refer to this climb as "Snake Hike", because the approach to get the climb is usually most of the adventure. We were not an exception in our case when Ara, Matt, Amanda, Meghan, and I made our attempt. Knowing that the pattern we'd been seeing was for rain and thunderstorms to begin developing in the early afternoon, and that the top of Half Dome, at 8,800 ft elevation was no place to be in a storm, we got up early to begin the hike. Now I know what you're thinking - early for someone with no job is probably something like 7 or 8 am. Wrong. I was up at 2:45 a.m., woke up the rest of the crew at 3, and we were on the trail by 3:30. We hoped to be at the base of the climb by 7:30, on top by 11:30, and back down below the treeline before 1:00 pm, when we thought the first of the rain might be hitting us. We had no problems following the major tourist trail in the dark for the first couple hours, but once we got out onto the climber's trail in the backcountry, it got a little indistinct. We may have gotten a little off-route, and with 5 of us, it was at times slow going. We made it to the base of the climb though by 8:30 am - not too bad. I started up the first pitch, somewhat concerned about the clouds off in the distance. By the time I made it to the anchors at the top of the first pitch 200' up, the clouds had moved in, the wind picked up, and the temperature suddenly dropped by about 10 degrees. This would not be our day for Snake Dike. I rappelled to the ground, we packed up our stuff, and started the long hike back out. Thinking we had been off-route on our way to the climb, we thought there must be a better way back down, and wasted plenty of time following cairns to cliff edges and wet dangerous slabs, and having to backtrack. Eventually we gave up on finding a better way, but of course by then, we couldn't even find the "not-so-good" way. Running out of water, forcing our way through thick brush, and not really doing all so well hiking around in the rain, we realized we were lost. We knew we were heading in the general right direction, we eventually found a marked trail and made our way back to the main tourist trail. We stumbled back into camp just after 4:30 pm, having been gone for 13 hours, 12 of which were spent hiking strenuous trails and bushwacking through the backcountry. We were told by some people we met on the trail though that it poured on the summit at about 11:30 am though, so I do think we made the right decision to retreat. 

Matt cranking hard at the Sentinel Boulders

Matt giving it a go on Midnight Lightning at Camp 4

The animals in Yosemite are really wild

We kept a little more distance to this guy

So, what to do 2 days later? Try again? Well, not quite. Matt, Amanda, Meghan and I opted to take the tourist trail to the summit, still a strenuous 9-hour hike with 5000 ft of elevation gained then lost. The worst part about the hike? It didn't rain at all. Why is this bad? Because we could have climbed Snake Dike. Stupid weather. Oh well. We'll just have to go back another time.

Matt and Amanda on our hike up Half Dome 

Amanda on the cables leading to the summit (steep!)

Meghan on the "Diving Board." Don't worry - she didn't dive off

That next step is a doozie