Route Climbed: NW Buttress Date Climbed: Summer 1998
Nice and easy. Nowhere near the crowds of Cathedral Peak, probably because of the relative unasthetic summit. However, the views are still great and there is a nice bivy ledge about a pitch and a half from the top if you'd rather go to bed with solitude and a nice sunset vs. the Tuolumne campgrounds...
Route Climbed: NW Buttress Date Climbed: October 1, 2005
My girlfriend and I climbed this to celebrate our second anniversary. We soloed a few pitches lower down, but roped up for most (8 pitches). It was a great climb on a great day for us.
Route Climbed: NW Buttress Date Climbed: August 2002
My brother's first multi-pitch climb, and the only one I was lucky enough to take him on. A dozen pitches or so of wonderful, meandering slab and crack climbing. Got to the summit in time to see alpenglow on the Cathedral Range.
Keep a sharp eye out for the notch on the west ridge when descending! We missed it and ended up bushwacking down to the Sunrise trail in the dark. Fortunately I knew the way, but my finace was pulling her hair out by the time we got back....
We climbed on a great weekend which included North Peak Couloir. Being moderate rockclimbers we were roped up but had little pro on the lower part. Fun route. We did the traverse exit at the top of the route
Route Climbed: NW Buttress Date Climbed: July 2003
I left Modesto at 4am and Dave Loring, my partner and good buddy, left Fresno about the same time. We arrived at the Tenaya Lake within 3 minutes of each other. Great day, great partner, fun, easy climbing in a great location.
Route Climbed: NW Buttress Date Climbed: September 26, 2004
Climbed with Pavel. We started at noon from the parking lot, soloed about 1/2 of the route, roped up an simul-climbed a coupled of pitches and then belayed the last 4 pitches. I guess we didn't follow the topo too closely and did our own variation. We went to the right of a prominent roof (headwall?) and ended up right next to the summit block, after climbing a short and easy chimney. Got to the summit at around 4 pm, stayed for 1/2 hr. or so and got down to the car at around 6 pm. We passed a male/female team on the way up and from the summit heard them calling for help. After descend we drove to the Toulomne campground and told a ranger about them. Unfortunately I don't know if they got rescued or had to survive a cold night on the mountain.
Route Climbed: NW buttress Date Climbed: summer 2003
A blast! Most of it can be soloed and the rest done without a ton of pro. The exposure and the views just keep getting better too. Be careful on the way down, though - it's tougher than it looks to find the right way.
Route Climbed: NW Buttress Date Climbed: August 12, 2004
Soloed the route, keeping a couple of nice guys company, Jason and Floriane (his 3rd day on real rock) from Montreal. Great guys and a great route. It was fun and easy. Upper cruxes (5.4) were decidedly slicker rock with fewer features. Finished on the hand crack variation -- much better than expected, good jams in a clean crack with good friction. Spicy.
Route Climbed: NW Buttress Date Climbed: August 8, 2004
With Joshua Massey. Fun climb, mostly sans cord.olo. Ignore the class 4 walk off and go straight up to enjoy a couple of 5.8 moves.
Coming back to the car, we took a lower angle traverse through the woods back to the parking lot. Not a lot of fun, chunky talus with brambles and swampy ground in between the blocks.
Route Climbed: NW Buttress Date Climbed: June 19, 2004
Etsuko and I climbed this route on a laid back afternoon (started climbing at noon). We climbed it roped up in 3 pitches and solo'd the rest. I got slightly off-route into the 5.7-5.8 terrain in the steepest section of the buttress which added to the excitement. Snow and running water also made the climb worth remembering. We had to cross a short snowfield below the summit block, and my foot slipped in one wet place as we were climbing the vertical 5.6 variation crack. Fortunately we were roped up for that pitch.
Route Climbed: NW Buttress Date Climbed: Sept 19, 2003
With Sam below, had a fine soloing tour including Tresidder Peak, Columbia Finger, Echo Peaks (#1-3), and the SW Buttress of Cathedral. A great day with perfect weather. Trip Report
Route Climbed: NW Buttress Date Climbed: August 11, 2003
With Ettore Leale and Rene' Renteria. It was Ettore's first multipitch climb. We simulclimbed almost all of it, with me on lead. We drove up from the Bay Area in the morning, started out of the parking lot at Tenaya Lake at 1 pm, and were back at the car around 8:30 (slightly after dark), and that was taking it slow (we were slow being 3 of us with a beginner). It's a worthwhile acclimatization climb if you are on the way to more serious stuff in the Eastern Sierra, since there is practically no approach and the route is at 10,000ft. The view from the top is outstanding, including a view of the summit of Cathedral Peak jutting out from a ridge inbetween.
Mostly Class 3-4, except a couple of fifth class moves towards the end. Trip report.
Route Climbed: Same as Matthew below Date Climbed: June 22 / Aug 1, 2003
The first scramble was an easy, fun few hours. The NW Buttress route took us something like ten hours which has to be a near record for dawdling. Though it rained the last two pitches, it was great fun the whole day.
old5ten - Jan 17, 2006 7:11 pm
Route Climbed: NW Buttress Date Climbed: Summer 1998Nice and easy. Nowhere near the crowds of Cathedral Peak, probably because of the relative unasthetic summit. However, the views are still great and there is a nice bivy ledge about a pitch and a half from the top if you'd rather go to bed with solitude and a nice sunset vs. the Tuolumne campgrounds...
thedus - Oct 3, 2005 6:25 pm
Route Climbed: NW Buttress Date Climbed: October 1, 2005My girlfriend and I climbed this to celebrate our second anniversary. We soloed a few pitches lower down, but roped up for most (8 pitches). It was a great climb on a great day for us.
ripper333 - Aug 31, 2005 6:11 pm
Route Climbed: nw buttress Date Climbed: august 27, 2005nice climb for a rest day after mathes crest..
was able to free solo pretty quickly up this...
shitty decent.. but nice swim in tenaya lake after!
kindredlion - May 11, 2005 6:09 pm
Route Climbed: NW Butt Date Climbed: A couple times in 2003 and 2004Fun solo romp!
cottersnow - Apr 22, 2005 11:50 pm
Route Climbed: NW Buttress Date Climbed: 9/04Really fun solo. Exposed at the top. Great few hour outing.
ASteele - Apr 19, 2005 1:12 pm
Route Climbed: NW Buttress Date Climbed: August 2002My brother's first multi-pitch climb, and the only one I was lucky enough to take him on. A dozen pitches or so of wonderful, meandering slab and crack climbing. Got to the summit in time to see alpenglow on the Cathedral Range.
Keep a sharp eye out for the notch on the west ridge when descending! We missed it and ended up bushwacking down to the Sunrise trail in the dark. Fortunately I knew the way, but my finace was pulling her hair out by the time we got back....
Carbo - Feb 14, 2005 11:36 pm
Route Climbed: NW buttress Date Climbed: ??We climbed on a great weekend which included North Peak Couloir. Being moderate rockclimbers we were roped up but had little pro on the lower part. Fun route. We did the traverse exit at the top of the route
Gene - Jan 7, 2005 4:07 pm
Route Climbed: NW Buttress Date Climbed: July 2003I left Modesto at 4am and Dave Loring, my partner and good buddy, left Fresno about the same time. We arrived at the Tenaya Lake within 3 minutes of each other. Great day, great partner, fun, easy climbing in a great location.
Zzyzx - Nov 6, 2004 11:54 pm
Route Climbed: NW Buttress Date Climbed: September 26, 2004Climbed with Pavel. We started at noon from the parking lot, soloed about 1/2 of the route, roped up an simul-climbed a coupled of pitches and then belayed the last 4 pitches. I guess we didn't follow the topo too closely and did our own variation. We went to the right of a prominent roof (headwall?) and ended up right next to the summit block, after climbing a short and easy chimney. Got to the summit at around 4 pm, stayed for 1/2 hr. or so and got down to the car at around 6 pm. We passed a male/female team on the way up and from the summit heard them calling for help. After descend we drove to the Toulomne campground and told a ranger about them. Unfortunately I don't know if they got rescued or had to survive a cold night on the mountain.
kovarpa - Sep 28, 2004 12:21 am
Route Climbed: NW Buttress Date Climbed: September 26, 2004Awesome climb done in little over 3 hours. And the views from the summit are unbeatable!
Andinistaloco - Sep 13, 2004 4:04 pm
Route Climbed: NW buttress Date Climbed: summer 2003A blast! Most of it can be soloed and the rest done without a ton of pro. The exposure and the views just keep getting better too. Be careful on the way down, though - it's tougher than it looks to find the right way.
forkliftdaddy - Aug 16, 2004 1:43 pm
Route Climbed: NW Buttress Date Climbed: August 12, 2004Soloed the route, keeping a couple of nice guys company, Jason and Floriane (his 3rd day on real rock) from Montreal. Great guys and a great route. It was fun and easy. Upper cruxes (5.4) were decidedly slicker rock with fewer features. Finished on the hand crack variation -- much better than expected, good jams in a clean crack with good friction. Spicy.
Scott Pierce - Aug 14, 2004 3:00 pm
Route Climbed: NW Buttress Date Climbed: August 8, 2004With Joshua Massey. Fun climb, mostly sans cord.olo. Ignore the class 4 walk off and go straight up to enjoy a couple of 5.8 moves.
Coming back to the car, we took a lower angle traverse through the woods back to the parking lot. Not a lot of fun, chunky talus with brambles and swampy ground in between the blocks.
fedak - Jun 29, 2004 9:40 am
Route Climbed: West Face Date Climbed: 26-June-2004Quick morning scramble up the west face boulders.
Pics are here.
Misha - Jun 22, 2004 11:22 am
Route Climbed: NW Buttress Date Climbed: June 19, 2004Etsuko and I climbed this route on a laid back afternoon (started climbing at noon). We climbed it roped up in 3 pitches and solo'd the rest. I got slightly off-route into the 5.7-5.8 terrain in the steepest section of the buttress which added to the excitement. Snow and running water also made the climb worth remembering. We had to cross a short snowfield below the summit block, and my foot slipped in one wet place as we were climbing the vertical 5.6 variation crack. Fortunately we were roped up for that pitch.
Great fun and incredible views from the top!!!
Bob Burd - Feb 7, 2004 3:25 pm
Route Climbed: NW Buttress Date Climbed: Sept 19, 2003With Sam below, had a fine soloing tour including Tresidder Peak, Columbia Finger, Echo Peaks (#1-3), and the SW Buttress of Cathedral. A great day with perfect weather. Trip Report
Sam Mills - Jan 29, 2004 6:03 pm
Route Climbed: NW Buttress Date Climbed: September 2003This was peak 1 of a seven peak day with Bob Burd. A great fall outing.
Dave Dinnell - Jan 13, 2004 3:24 pm
Route Climbed: SW Slope from Lake Mildred Date Climbed: Aug. 1987Even though the "backside" is the easy rt., the views are among the best in the area. Not sure why Secor chose to leave this peak out of his Guide.
Romain - Sep 11, 2003 12:12 am
Route Climbed: NW Buttress Date Climbed: August 11, 2003With Ettore Leale and Rene' Renteria. It was Ettore's first multipitch climb. We simulclimbed almost all of it, with me on lead. We drove up from the Bay Area in the morning, started out of the parking lot at Tenaya Lake at 1 pm, and were back at the car around 8:30 (slightly after dark), and that was taking it slow (we were slow being 3 of us with a beginner). It's a worthwhile acclimatization climb if you are on the way to more serious stuff in the Eastern Sierra, since there is practically no approach and the route is at 10,000ft. The view from the top is outstanding, including a view of the summit of Cathedral Peak jutting out from a ridge inbetween.
Mostly Class 3-4, except a couple of fifth class moves towards the end.
Trip report.
Bob Burd - Aug 22, 2003 12:27 am
Route Climbed: Same as Matthew below Date Climbed: June 22 / Aug 1, 2003The first scramble was an easy, fun few hours. The NW Buttress route took us something like ten hours which has to be a near record for dawdling. Though it rained the last two pitches, it was great fun the whole day.