Page 24 - RAFMA Winter 2003

Yosemite National Park is one of the most famous and popular climbing areas in the world. It is o fantastically photogenic area, encompassing 760,000 acres and is home to somewhere in the region of 4000 listed routes, all on pristine granite, the most famous of these probably being 'The Nose' on El Cap. Black Jack was open to all serving members of RAFMA regardless of experience, but due to a voriety of operational and domestic factors was only attended by 7 personnel. All of whom held either the JS Rock Leaders Award or were JS Rock Climbing Instructors; absolutely brilliant if you were looking to try something hard or needed rescuing! Being such a popular venue the National Pork authorities place a high level of importance on the impact of tourism on the park. This means they are very strict on what you can, or where you can and cannot camp and they also charge a small fee for the privilege.
With such a high concentration of climbing areas and quality routes it was difficult to work out where to start climbing. Pre expedition research on the Internet and through 'North American Classics' (their version of Classic Rock, but substantially bigger - of course!) proved vital in maximising our climbing time. We planned to stay in the Toulumne Meadows for the first week, before relocating to the main climber's camp, camp 4 in the main valley. Unfortunately Tuolumne Meadows closes before the end of September, not quite what you wont to find out
after a 12-hour flight and 5 hours of driving! We finally ended up pitching tents at lam in the morning, prior to relocating to more palatial surroundings in Lee Vining, a one horse town on the north east perimeter of the park. This afforded us easy daily access to the park without having to endure what turned out to be plunging overnight temperatures and occasional
snow!
There are enough crogs in the area to keep
most people busy for 3 years, let alone the 3 weeks we were there. Most people's research had identified particular routes they wonted to 'bag' and most had aspirations they needed to satisfy. Between the 7 of us we took
3 lead racks comprising 2 full sets of wires, 2 sets of friends (sizes 1/2 - 3), loads of quick draws, a few hexes and Andy Lockwood's ancient moacs. We used double 9mm ropes on all routes, as most of the pitches and abseil anchors were 50 metres long. Protection on routes was variable, the crack and corner lines swallowed gear, particularly friends and with such long pitches it was beneficial to double everything! However protection on the slab routes was sparse to say the least, often 2 quick draws per 50M would suffice.
Tuolumne Meadows.
Lembert Dome.
Lembert was our first venue of the trip, selected because of its close proximity to Lee Vining and for it's short walk in, particularly important when you consider its base is 9000 feet above sea level. It provided us with on excellent feel for the different styles of climbing required.
Jim and Ivor, for some bizarre reason opted to climb in the shadows and started on Cry In Time Again (5. 9), an interesting, meandering and despite what the guidebook says, not too well protected route. They abandoned their assault after 4 pitches; deciding finishing in the dark wasn't for them. The remainder of the party settled for a more sedate start, selecting the North American Classic, N orthw est Books (5. 6) as the* first objective. Having completed it in guidebook time, we moved round to the front of the dome to climb slabbier routes in the sunshine. These routes gave us a taste of how non-existent protection could be on the slabs, 2 or 3 bolts per 150 feet wasn't everyone's idea of fun!
Daff Dome
Set slightly further into the park and at a lower altitude, Daff Dome is home to a variety of single and multi pitch routes, including arguably one of the best multi-pitch routes in the park West Crack (5.8). It's line cuts up through the roof on the West Face of the dome to finish on the summit, providing a great variety of challenges in its five pitches. Being so popular it is a route that requires an early start if you want to avoid queuing, however its start is in the shade and the effects of windchill
should, as we found out not be underestimated even in September.
RAFMA Journal 2003