We started the first pitch around 7am to catch as much of daylight as possible. I took the first lead up the chimney pitch. It was a little awkward, but once you got into it, it's not that bad. I have heard that it is the hardest pitch of the route. We had a little difficulty bringing up the 2, larger then needed, packs. With more experience in the mountains then on rock climbs, we brought extra gear, just in case. We ended up tying the packs to the rope and pulling them up hand over hand to the top of the first pitch.

After completing the first pitch, we walked to the base of the second pitch. Robert was leading the second pitch and started up what appeared to be the route, when in actuality the second pitch was to the right and more of a face climb. What we ended up climbing was a smooth, steep gully. We had to do a lot of friction and stemming to work our way up. Once on top we worked our way towards the next pitch. It was mostly scrambling and climbed small ledges. Without knowing, we scrambled up the next pitch or somehow avoided it and took an easier route.

I led the next pitch (5) that started on a 15-foot vertical line that had 2 pin scars in it. That was the only place to put in any pro. Luckily I had brought my small cams and they fit perfectly. The only problem was that it was also the only good feature to grab with your hands. It made for an interesting move.

The next pitch (6) had a perfect 5.5 hand\foot crack. I think it was my favorite pitch of the whole route. I don't think they get much better then this pitch

Pitch 7 was a short pitch lead by Steve and lead around a corner up to a group of trees. This is where a solo climber, asking which way we thought the route went, passed us.

Pitch 8 was lead by Robert and it had a mixture of crack and face climbing. It had a couple of good moves on it and lead up a good belay ledge.

Pitch 9 has an easy start and directs you to the rope anchored to the wall. The rope is part of the pendulum pitch. You basically grab a hold of the rope and do a Tarzan swing (with sound) to a ledge on your left. Once your hands are on the ledge you traverse across it and then mantle on top of it. The limited space on the lege made for interesting pro placements to create an anchor.

Once everyone was across, I lead pitch 10, which was a traverse along the ledge over to a large tree, that ending up being the shade for our lunch. It was a great resting spot to overlook the valley and all the different formations.

Then next pitch (11), a 5.7 flake, was lead by Robert. This was Roberts first 5.7 pitch, and I think he started to get a nervous about half way into it. He didn't see the move that took you onto the flake, instead he cleaned out a crack to the left and followed it. It is probably a new variation that hasn't seen many climbers on it from the evidence of debris piled up in it. This pitched ended at an old rotten tree hanging on the wall for dear life. This pitch and the next one were cut short due to wind picking up speed and limiting communications between us. Once around a corner, it was almost impossible to hear one another.

Pitch 12 started out easy with some mantle moves but ended up with a 60-degree open book. It was a nice end to the pitch. It looks hard, but once you find the underclings, it really isn't that hard. But the pitch was a full rope length, 150 feet.

Pitch 13 was a friction slab with little in the way of handholds. It took a couple of tries to find an easy route across it. Robert led this pitch and I think it was one of the hard pitches, even though it was only 5.4. Not being accustom to Yosemite granite, made me uneasy traversing it. You just need to get comfortable with the grip of the rock. The pitched ended with a little face climbing to a small belay area.

Pitch 14 finished the rest of the face climbing and then moved onto another slab with friction moves. You can follow along the edge to grab other rocks and trees to help you balance. The pitch ends at 2 bolts in the middle of the slab. From here it is either another pitch to the jungle or a rappel descent to the ground. We decided to take the rap route instead of the "death slabs" descent route. The rap route was a long 3 hours of double rope rappels. It ended up being 10 rappels to the ground, just in time, as the shodows were getting long and the air was cooling. A nice climb for a nice October Day, one that I hope to repeat.

Royal Arches

End of Pitch 6

Pitch 7

Pitch 10

The Rap Route (from above)

The Rap Route (from Below

Other Yosemite Views

Pitch 6

View across the valley

Pitch 9 (the pendulume)

Pitch 14

Steve on Rappel

The valley at sunset