Route Climbed: SE Buttress Date Climbed: October 8, 2003
It sure beats a day at work! What a great route. The chimney, especially, was a lot of fun. The view of the moonrise over Unicorn from the summit at sunset is unforgettable.
Route Climbed: Mountaineers Route Date Climbed: September 28, 2003
Etsuko and I had a nice "alpine start" at 11:15am from the Cathedral Lakes trailhead. We headed up the Budd Creek trail w/o any route topo hoping for a fun adventure. After watching a traffic jam on the SE Buttress route, we tried to solo the NE face but got on the terrain that we did not feel like climbing (and especially downclimbing) w/o any gear. Hence, we walked around the peak towards Mountaineers Route and solo'ed it instead. Fun route, especially if you stay ~100' to the left of the notch between Cathedral & Eichorn (if you are looking at them from the North) and try some Class 4 face climbing!! On/near the summit block we've met two SP-ers: Barry Beck and Bob Pickering. They both climbed the SE Buttress route and were not in the same group!
Beautiful day and incredible peak! We'll be back to finish this NE face soon...
gordonye - Sep 22, 2003 1:24 pm Date Climbed: Aug 17, 2013
Mountaineer's
Climbed with Mike Chen from Budd Creek up Mountaineer's route.
2003: Reached the saddle between summit and Eichorn. My buddy Vladimir free-soloed the summit. Attempted to head down west face but went off route so we had to backtrack and came down the east side via Budd Creek.
Route Climbed: SE Butress, 5.6 Date Climbed: August 30, 2004
Climbed the spectacular peak with my wife Elena in 6 pitches of sustained 5.6 class (except for the first pitch). Had some traffic problems, but it was less than I expected to have on Labor Day weekend (there were ~8 parties during the day on multiple variations). We climbed the classic 5.6 route (route A on the Supertopo's topo of this peak). This was first real technical N-pitch climbing as a leader and I would not have wished a better one This was my first trip to Yosemite too and I LOVED THIS PLACE with all my heart. Having the batteries in my camra failing, I do not have other choice as to come back an climb this peak again and again !!! :-)) It is really worth 8 hours of driving from San Diego.
P.S. The Supertopo's topo of this route (www.supertopo.com) is really great and I have no affilations with this publisher.
Route Climbed: Up West Face, Down Mountaineers Date Climbed: August 10, 2003
Went to Yosemite hoping to meet up with Brian Jenkins. Alas we did cross paths so I headed up the Cathedral Lakes Trail and up the Weat Face of Catherdral Peak. Saw several people head down the east side toward Bud Creek so I decided to head down that route. The trip turned out to be just like Bob's map. Great fun day.
Route Climbed: Southeast Buttress Date Climbed: September 15, 1993
II, 5.5
Partner: Steve Reynolds
5 pitches of incredible granite -- knobs, flakes, cracks & chimney. Resembles Serpentine Arete on Dragontail Peak (Cascades, WA state). Perfect weather. This remains one of my favorite all-time climbs.
Route Climbed: SE Buttress Date Climbed: 14 September, 2002
After a late arrival Fri night, Kevin and I crashed in the woods (by the creek) S of Tuolumne Meadows, on the other side of 120.
After awaking, packing our stuff up & getting our gear together, we got a somewhat post-alpine start of 08.45. To make up for this, Kevin, consuming massive amounts of water to stay hydrated, adopted a blazing, speed-walking approach gait (I later learned that this was the norm for him). Hoping for a more laid-back approach, I struggled to keep up. We reached the base of the climb at 09.50.
There only being one party ahead of us at the start, we roped up quickly and got going. We alternated leads and made good progress. Climbing conditions were close to perfect (beautiful clear sky, warm temps, awesome views and rock), and got to the summit at noon.
After lingering on the summit for about 20 min, we took the 4th class descent. Soaking my feet in the stream for awhile, I got back to the car approximately 14.45 (obviously after Kevin). After stopping by the store, we drove the other way went on to climb Phobos & Deimos, both 5.9s, across the street from Fairview Dome (also both good climbs). Beautiful peak and surroundings, and so far, one of my favorite summit climbs.
26 August, '7
Took Julius from Munich (met at campsite next to ours the night before w/ no partner, so invited him) up this gem. Great climb & think he enjoyed it quite a bit too. Think I placed all of about 5 pieces throughout whole climb. Ominous clouds & thunder fortunately stayed away from us, towards Matthes Crest & on to Lyell. Only saw one other party on way up. Besides the extremely hot blonde soloist that passed us on the 2nd-to-last pitch. In retrospect, I should have offered her a belay (or something). Great day.
7.26.'9
Approach took about 1:15. Finally soloed the SE buttress- besides getting stuck behind a party at the start, a great climb! Perfect rock, incredible views, & sweet climbing made up for it all. While the monster ledges between steep sections ease the psychological difficulty considerably, there is definitely exposure on this one! Route finding, & figuring out a way to safely pass said party in first half of route took up some time, but still summited in 1:25. Had hoped to do the rest of the Cathedral traverse after the peak, but just didn't have enough time (needed to be back to the TH at 16.30, & only started a little before 11.00). Oh well- a good excuse to come back here again! A most excellent day!
9.28.'9
Finally took Faith up (her first time). She did a great job leading P's 1 & 5. Considering it was a Monday, amazing how many (fast, competent) parties there were on the route- 1 ahead of us at the start, & at least 4 behind us. Far more crowded than I'd hoped! Well, the rock-climb itself was as delightful as ever. Glad the weather worked out.
Finally fulfilled my dream of many years to do Cathedral as a winter ascent, w/ help from Rob. In retrospect, why I deemed this objective so important was quite possibly overrated. Even with heavily consolidated snow, the approach was highly fatigue-inducing. Must admit that the summit was quite rewarding, though. Quite possibly the only weekend (3 days!) I've been in Yosemite NP & not seen another person (aside from climbing partner)! Snow covered meadows, peaks, & domes was amazingly serene, & skiing back to the chalet under an almost-full moon after summiting surreal. Backcountry skiing through the trees (until we ended up in Budd Cr.) was as good as I've ever experienced. Ski down from Tioga Pass on return was rewarding too. Oh yeah, the climbing was fun too. Thanks, Rob- another feather in the cap! 1.21.'11, from gate above LV: started at 11.21, arriving at ski hut @ 21.36; 1.22: left hut @ 9.53, started climb @ 13.55, finished climb at/after sunset, done rapping route, at base again @ ~20.45, at slope below steep slope 21.05, back at hut @ 23.36; 1.23: left hut @ 9.51, at Tioga Pass 16.41, back at gate 19.15
Route Climbed: SE Buttress Date Climbed: September 4th 1983
My (now ex.) wife Evelyn and I climbed the beautiful SE Buttress in 1983, while on Labor Day trip in Tuolumne. It was the first multipitch climb for her. I will never forget this day.
Route Climbed: SE Buttress Date Climbed: October 5 2002
How novel......I'm back! Woke up to a balmy 27 F in Tuolumne but it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day (daytime high 67 F)! Gotta bash the idiot who BURIED a .75 Camelot Jr. above the chimney........Gee, afraid to take a nose dive off a 5.5 move?!?!? Funny....I've recovered more gear from Cathedral than any other peak. Hmmmm......Finders, keepers!
Route Climbed: SE Buttress Date Climbed: September 17, 2002
This is one of my favorite climbs in Tuolumne. It was a sunny day with a very chilly wind and I found my teeth chattering while belaying. The route was a straight forward, I believe, 5.7 with plenty to grab onto. And did I mention, there were no other climbers in sight?!
Dave K - Oct 9, 2003 10:39 am
Route Climbed: SE Buttress Date Climbed: October 8, 2003It sure beats a day at work! What a great route. The chimney, especially, was a lot of fun. The view of the moonrise over Unicorn from the summit at sunset is unforgettable.
Misha - Sep 29, 2003 3:05 am
Route Climbed: Mountaineers Route Date Climbed: September 28, 2003Etsuko and I had a nice "alpine start" at 11:15am from the Cathedral Lakes trailhead. We headed up the Budd Creek trail w/o any route topo hoping for a fun adventure. After watching a traffic jam on the SE Buttress route, we tried to solo the NE face but got on the terrain that we did not feel like climbing (and especially downclimbing) w/o any gear. Hence, we walked around the peak towards Mountaineers Route and solo'ed it instead. Fun route, especially if you stay ~100' to the left of the notch between Cathedral & Eichorn (if you are looking at them from the North) and try some Class 4 face climbing!! On/near the summit block we've met two SP-ers: Barry Beck and Bob Pickering. They both climbed the SE Buttress route and were not in the same group!
Beautiful day and incredible peak! We'll be back to finish this NE face soon...
gordonye - Sep 22, 2003 1:24 pm Date Climbed: Aug 17, 2013
Mountaineer'sClimbed with Mike Chen from Budd Creek up Mountaineer's route.
2003: Reached the saddle between summit and Eichorn. My buddy Vladimir free-soloed the summit. Attempted to head down west face but went off route so we had to backtrack and came down the east side via Budd Creek.
Rinat Shagisultanov - Aug 31, 2003 10:28 pm
Route Climbed: SE Butress, 5.6 Date Climbed: August 30, 2004Climbed the spectacular peak with my wife Elena in 6 pitches of sustained 5.6 class (except for the first pitch). Had some traffic problems, but it was less than I expected to have on Labor Day weekend (there were ~8 parties during the day on multiple variations). We climbed the classic 5.6 route (route A on the Supertopo's topo of this peak). This was first real technical N-pitch climbing as a leader and I would not have wished a better one This was my first trip to Yosemite too and I LOVED THIS PLACE with all my heart. Having the batteries in my camra failing, I do not have other choice as to come back an climb this peak again and again !!! :-)) It is really worth 8 hours of driving from San Diego.
P.S. The Supertopo's topo of this route (www.supertopo.com) is really great and I have no affilations with this publisher.
keema - Aug 11, 2003 12:05 pm
Route Climbed: Up West Face, Down Mountaineers Date Climbed: August 10, 2003Went to Yosemite hoping to meet up with Brian Jenkins. Alas we did cross paths so I headed up the Cathedral Lakes Trail and up the Weat Face of Catherdral Peak. Saw several people head down the east side toward Bud Creek so I decided to head down that route. The trip turned out to be just like Bob's map. Great fun day.
Sharon - Jul 22, 2003 9:11 pm
Route Climbed: Southeast Buttress Date Climbed: September 15, 1993II, 5.5
Partner: Steve Reynolds
5 pitches of incredible granite -- knobs, flakes, cracks & chimney. Resembles Serpentine Arete on Dragontail Peak (Cascades, WA state). Perfect weather. This remains one of my favorite all-time climbs.
Dave K - Jul 6, 2003 10:59 pm
Route Climbed: West Face Date Climbed: June 7, 2003My second time up this route. We spent much of the day hoping that lightning wouldn’t zap us. Lotsa’ fun!
tiogap - May 22, 2003 2:17 pm
Route Climbed: SE Buttress Date Climbed: August 16,1996This is a great peak. The SE buttress is a great route.
Hope to climb this peak as many times as possible.
Diggler - Mar 10, 2003 12:53 pm
Route Climbed: SE Buttress Date Climbed: 14 September, 2002After a late arrival Fri night, Kevin and I crashed in the woods (by the creek) S of Tuolumne Meadows, on the other side of 120.
After awaking, packing our stuff up & getting our gear together, we got a somewhat post-alpine start of 08.45. To make up for this, Kevin, consuming massive amounts of water to stay hydrated, adopted a blazing, speed-walking approach gait (I later learned that this was the norm for him). Hoping for a more laid-back approach, I struggled to keep up. We reached the base of the climb at 09.50.
There only being one party ahead of us at the start, we roped up quickly and got going. We alternated leads and made good progress. Climbing conditions were close to perfect (beautiful clear sky, warm temps, awesome views and rock), and got to the summit at noon.
After lingering on the summit for about 20 min, we took the 4th class descent. Soaking my feet in the stream for awhile, I got back to the car approximately 14.45 (obviously after Kevin). After stopping by the store, we drove the other way went on to climb Phobos & Deimos, both 5.9s, across the street from Fairview Dome (also both good climbs). Beautiful peak and surroundings, and so far, one of my favorite summit climbs.
26 August, '7
Took Julius from Munich (met at campsite next to ours the night before w/ no partner, so invited him) up this gem. Great climb & think he enjoyed it quite a bit too. Think I placed all of about 5 pieces throughout whole climb. Ominous clouds & thunder fortunately stayed away from us, towards Matthes Crest & on to Lyell. Only saw one other party on way up. Besides the extremely hot blonde soloist that passed us on the 2nd-to-last pitch. In retrospect, I should have offered her a belay (or something). Great day.
7.26.'9
Approach took about 1:15. Finally soloed the SE buttress- besides getting stuck behind a party at the start, a great climb! Perfect rock, incredible views, & sweet climbing made up for it all. While the monster ledges between steep sections ease the psychological difficulty considerably, there is definitely exposure on this one! Route finding, & figuring out a way to safely pass said party in first half of route took up some time, but still summited in 1:25. Had hoped to do the rest of the Cathedral traverse after the peak, but just didn't have enough time (needed to be back to the TH at 16.30, & only started a little before 11.00). Oh well- a good excuse to come back here again! A most excellent day!
9.28.'9
Finally took Faith up (her first time). She did a great job leading P's 1 & 5. Considering it was a Monday, amazing how many (fast, competent) parties there were on the route- 1 ahead of us at the start, & at least 4 behind us. Far more crowded than I'd hoped! Well, the rock-climb itself was as delightful as ever. Glad the weather worked out.
Finally fulfilled my dream of many years to do Cathedral as a winter ascent, w/ help from Rob. In retrospect, why I deemed this objective so important was quite possibly overrated. Even with heavily consolidated snow, the approach was highly fatigue-inducing. Must admit that the summit was quite rewarding, though. Quite possibly the only weekend (3 days!) I've been in Yosemite NP & not seen another person (aside from climbing partner)! Snow covered meadows, peaks, & domes was amazingly serene, & skiing back to the chalet under an almost-full moon after summiting surreal. Backcountry skiing through the trees (until we ended up in Budd Cr.) was as good as I've ever experienced. Ski down from Tioga Pass on return was rewarding too. Oh yeah, the climbing was fun too. Thanks, Rob- another feather in the cap! 1.21.'11, from gate above LV: started at 11.21, arriving at ski hut @ 21.36; 1.22: left hut @ 9.53, started climb @ 13.55, finished climb at/after sunset, done rapping route, at base again @ ~20.45, at slope below steep slope 21.05, back at hut @ 23.36; 1.23: left hut @ 9.51, at Tioga Pass 16.41, back at gate 19.15
Dave K - Dec 22, 2002 9:44 pm
Route Climbed: West Face Date Climbed: June 2002I went up this route with my friends Trina and Mark. What a great day and a beautiful mountain!
Deb - Nov 22, 2002 11:34 am Date Climbed: Oct 5, 2002
Route Climbed: SE Buttress Date Climbed: October 5, 2002My first trip to Tuolumne.
asmrz - Nov 13, 2002 7:37 pm
Route Climbed: SE Buttress Date Climbed: September 4th 1983My (now ex.) wife Evelyn and I climbed the beautiful SE Buttress in 1983, while on Labor Day trip in Tuolumne. It was the first multipitch climb for her. I will never forget this day.
KWANZOR - Oct 15, 2002 6:30 pm
Route Climbed: SE Buttress Date Climbed: October 14 1999, May 2001It's nice to be the only party on a Yosemite peak (Oct. '99)....
It's nice to be the first party on top of a Yosemite peak, but it sucks to be in front of 8 other parties(May '01)
Dave Daly - Oct 7, 2002 8:47 am
Route Climbed: SE Buttress Date Climbed: October 5 2002How novel......I'm back! Woke up to a balmy 27 F in Tuolumne but it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day (daytime high 67 F)! Gotta bash the idiot who BURIED a .75 Camelot Jr. above the chimney........Gee, afraid to take a nose dive off a 5.5 move?!?!? Funny....I've recovered more gear from Cathedral than any other peak. Hmmmm......Finders, keepers!
Michele - Sep 26, 2002 10:37 pm
Route Climbed: SE Buttress Date Climbed: September 17, 2002This is one of my favorite climbs in Tuolumne. It was a sunny day with a very chilly wind and I found my teeth chattering while belaying. The route was a straight forward, I believe, 5.7 with plenty to grab onto. And did I mention, there were no other climbers in sight?!
mconnell - Sep 26, 2002 2:54 pm
Route Climbed: SE Buttress Date Climbed: Sept 23rd 2002Climbed with Dave Daly. Fun climb with a good partner. Who could ask for more? It was crowded below us but didn't bother us much.
bobpickering - Sep 25, 2002 12:24 pm
Route Climbed: Southeast Buttress Date Climbed: September 15, 2002My 33rd and fastest climb on the Southeast Buttress: 1:44:07, car to car. What a blast!
Dave Daly - Sep 24, 2002 5:03 pm
Route Climbed: SE Buttress Date Climbed: Sept 23rd 2002Back again! Climbed with Mark McConnell.....hot day! Doesn't help wearing black lightweight Capilene and a black ballcap!
Dave Daly - Sep 24, 2002 4:58 pm
Route Climbed: SE Buttress Date Climbed: Sept 21st 2002Nothing like great partners, firm rock and the warm sun! Soloed with Michael and Bob.
HikeMonkey - Sep 23, 2002 6:19 pm
Route Climbed: SE Buttress Date Climbed: 21 Sept 2002Free Solo (Trio?) climb with Bob Burd and Dave Daly. I'd climbed it once before, roped up, with Monty.