Salathe Wall, El Capitan, Yosemite July 2006

Organizing Gear for Salathe Wall

Update - Dan and Jordan had to retreat due to too much traffic on the wall.

Live Trip Report - Dan and Jordan are scheduled to start climbing on Tuesday, July 4th 2006. They will be editing this page by sending text messages from their cell phones to Spadout and reporting on their live status. The 'Live Trip Report' tool will be available to the public (for free!) in early 2007 What is a Live Trip Report?

Excerpt from Chris MacNamara’s Yosemite Big Walls Supertopo book:

“No feature terrifies aspiring wall climbers more than the Hollow Flake. To protect the crack requires numerous 6” to 10” pieces and results in hideous rope drag. The alternative is to not bring any pro for the entire pitch and run it out for 80 feet on a 5.9 squeeze. Opinions vary on which method is scarier. Either way, the best bet is to be in solid shape for off-widths and squeeze chimney’s”

1 Meet Jordan and Dan
2 Topo
3 Day 1
4 Day 2
5 Day 3
6 Day 4
7 Day 5
8 Day 6
9 Questions/Comments

Meet Jordan and Dan

Jordan and Dan are both climbers from Oklahoma City, neither of which have done anything quite like this before. They have gotten ready for it by training at Quartz Mountain, which is one of the few places in Oklahoma that we can get multipitch climbs in. They also set up a bolt system on a tree in their backyard for extra aid, and hauling practice. For more info on how a couple of flatlanders got ready for a 6 day climb see their training website: Salathe Training

Topo

Salathe Wall - high quality image of Salathe Wall.

Day 1

Climb the Free Blast to Heart Ledges w/ very light haulbag (water, lunch, & 2 extra ropes). Fix from Heart Ledges to ground (700 vertical feet) and spend one last night on the horizontal.

Day 1 on Salathe Wall

Day 2

Jug and haul the Heart Ledges rap lines fixed on day 1. Eat lunch, and tackle Hollow Flake, an offwidth run-out following a long pendulum that puts the leader about 80ft past his last piece. Try and utilize giant cam we acquired to soften that pitch. Rest and relax on Hollow Flake ledge.

Day 2 on Salathe Wall

Day 3

Climb to El Cap Spire, a large horizontal spire platform (about 10 X 14 ft). Try to avoid loosing helmets in The Ear (eats helmets).

Day 3 on Salathe Wall

Day 4

Climb to The Block. Hopefully The Sewer isn’t “running” so we won’t get swamped on that pitch or maybe it will be a nice cool off. The Sewer is aptly named because it oozes water and is filled with slimy plant life.

Day 4 on Salathe Wall

Day 5

Traverse out and above the infamous Roof pitch to then overcome the Salathe Headwall and hopefully arrive at long ledge before dark.

Day 5 on Salathe Wall

Day 6

Top out and hopefully don’t faceplant with first few steps back on the horizontal terrain. Descend via the East Ledges Decent, drink beers, jump in Merced River, drink more beers, and take stock of any missing appendages.