wdimpfl - Dec 29, 2017 4:02 am Date Climbed: May 20, 1979
Both Spires
Date approximate. Climbed the regular routes on both spires in the same day with Will Spiegelman. Will led the crux pitches. Saw a porcupine in a tree on the way down. Lost my roll of film from the week of amazing climbing (bummer!).
atavist - Jan 26, 2015 7:29 am Date Climbed: Oct 4, 2014
Regular route HCS
Climbed Braille Book with Dave on Oct 3.
Nice day climbing with Eric, Dave and Kali. Stout climbing for 5.9 which is typical for routes from the 30's. Heads up on the rappel! Climbed on Oct 4.
wmolland - Nov 3, 2012 9:27 pm Date Climbed: Oct 29, 2012
Higher Cathedral
Regular Route. Fun climb but the summit is what makes it.
bechtt - Jun 10, 2012 11:14 pm Date Climbed: Jun 8, 2012
Lower Cathedral side trip
From Gunsight Notch on the way to Leaning Tower, "Snake Rock", and the overlooks (Dewey, Crocker, Stanford, and Inspiration). With Bob, Adam, Bill, and Laura.
WDW4 - Jan 9, 2012 2:07 pm Date Climbed: Jun 1, 2011
First Yosemite Climb
Climbed Higher Cathedral Rock by Braille Book route, done in 5 pitches. Also my first multipitch route. I was not leading, but it sure was fun!
dkangas - Dec 14, 2011 2:18 pm Date Climbed: Dec 13, 2011
Second Time
Did Gunsight then scrambled to the top of MC on the class 3 slabs of the western face. From there to Upper Cathedral and down the Spires Gully.
Lines were too long on the other classics and the first few pitches of the Kor-Beck just weren't very attractive...
Vitaliy M. - Aug 29, 2011 2:48 pm Date Climbed: Aug 27, 2011
East Buttress of MC/Central Pillar of Frenzy
Cool route with a good friend Bryan. We were on our way to attempt N buttress of Mt. Goode but t-storms on the east side pushed us to climb in the valley instead. Was a great choice!
9/25/2011
Central Pillar of Frenzy, also with Bryan. My favorite pure rock climb ever, by a mile!!! 9/25/2011
cp0915 - Jul 15, 2010 10:35 am Date Climbed: Jun 22, 2010
Higher Cathedral Rock
With DB. A nice day out.
kovarpa - Jun 28, 2010 2:47 pm Date Climbed: Jun 26, 2010
Higher Cathedral Spire
Regular route, with Carol. Lead all pitches.
We did the original variation on the second pitch and I found it quite challenging. Great route in a great setting, the approach kinda sucks :-)
Steve Larson - May 18, 2010 9:20 am Date Climbed: May 16, 2010
Oof!
NE buttress on Higher Cathedral Rock. 3.5 hours to the halfway point, thinking we were gonna cruise it, then the real climbing started. I was so trashed by the end that I had to prussik up the rope to get past the final 5.9 OW.
kovarpa - May 11, 2009 9:40 pm Date Climbed: May 10, 2009
Northeast Buttress
Climbed in 9 pitches in about 8.5 hours with Michal. 5.9+ roof on Supertopo finish was f* hard. I had other memorable moments (aka squeeze chimney and "burly 5.10) on the route... highly recommended.
snowflake - Mar 12, 2009 7:53 pm Date Climbed: Oct 4, 1989
HCR / HCS
October ascent of Northeast Buttress on HCR in 1989 - had to bivy 2/3 the way up when ran out of daylight (in middle of sleepless night saw a car stop near mine - when got back down there was a note from the ranger saying "call your wife - she is worried").
A few years later did an October ascent of HCS; regular route.
mountainmatt - Nov 25, 2008 7:28 pm Date Climbed: Sep 15, 2006
Gunsight
climbed the gunsight to lower cathedral and enjoyed the HUGE view!!
Stu Brandel - Aug 17, 2008 3:29 pm Date Climbed: Aug 11, 2008
Higher Catherdral Highlight
Used Spires Gully to go up Higher Cathedral Rock and have the best hike and view of my valley trip. I missed the use trail at the start but found it going back.
Diggler - Nov 12, 2007 12:58 pm Date Climbed: Nov 9, 2007
various
Higher Cathedral Spire- Regular Route (6.10.'11)
Did with Faith. After doing the obligatory, undesirable approach, geared up at the base. 2 assholes jumped in front of us while getting ready ('We want to do a couple routes today. Can we get ahead (in parentheses: 'We don't really care if you like it or not')? Weren't as fast as they thought (couldn't pass the Tyroleans who'd already started), & I guess getting up early to avoid the crowds on a popular climb wasn't obvious enough. Oh well- whatever.
At any rate, a phenomenal, justly-classic route. I have a hard time thinking of a team doing this back in the 30s!! While we freed it, the light years that modern equipment/technology/methods are ahead of what was around then is hard to fathom... Climbing was great, though- sustained, solid Valley 5.9, & the summit is hard to beat! Superb views from up top too.
Middle Cathedral, Kor-Beck
Did this with Rusty. Got a late start (14.00ish) after a leisurely beginning of the day. Enjoyable climb the whole way. We only did the first 6(?) pitches, the standard, I guess. Got back to the base in the dark, but we managed to get to the Village store JUST in time to get beer, so it was a great success!
Higher Cathedral Rock, Braille Book (Junish, 2010)
Another one with Rob. Thought we were screwed when we heard voices ahead of us near the base of the route. We blasted up along the base, though, while the competition wallowed through the underbrush, & we snaked 'em. Great success!! Behind another party, but not a big deal. After me taking forever to finally sack up to get past the psychological crux on P1, the rest went smoothly. Some old-school Valley 5.'8' for sure! Great climbing though, & another awesome day in The Valley.
Higher Cathedral Rock- NE buttress
With Rob again. Started the route at a relatively late 9.38. After the obligatory rock-paper-scissors, Rob got odd pitches, I even. First few pitches went great, & left us totally unprepared for what lay ahead... This climb is a burly, old-school Yo-f$%*ing-semite climb, & will spank you & make you grovel if you aren't on your off-width/chimney game. Nonetheless, it is an utter classic, & should not be missed... Incredibly sustained, consistently strenuous climbing, incredible views on the way up & on the top (we tagged the true summit). Headlamps on El Cap (esp. the line up The Nose) was cool, descent in the dark interesting. Beer upon return was well-earned! The 2 guys we met at the start as well as upon our return (back at their car) from LA who'd just done the DNB were cool- thanks for your hospitality! :) Another great day in The Valley!!
Middle Cathedral- E Buttress
Climbed with Rob. What a great climb! As it sprinkled on our drive in from outside the park, I was a bit apprehensive, but it ended up working out great. We could barely see anything down the Valley, as views were obscured by smoke from forest fires. That, added to the fact that we were the only ones on the route that day, & it was November, made for a surreal day of climbing. Being pretty out of it (in the middle of a case of the flu), I took a short fall while leading the "5.8" section (seemed stiff for a 5.8) right below the 2 fixed pins on P3. Had a few minor slips on stuff I'd normally feel fine about too. Anyway, led the 5.9 roof free & w/o incident, which was nice. Rob did a great job of leading all his pitches. I led Ps 2-3 (combined), 5 (aided bolt ladder), 7, 9, & 11.
Started descent down the gully shortly before twilight, got back to the truck in the dark- glad we didn't go for the true summit. Descent back to the Katwalk & from there to the start of the gully would have been impossible! All in all a great day!
mow10 - Mar 17, 2007 7:13 am Date Climbed: Jun 4, 2003
E buttress of middle
Yosemite at its best. Great rock, great pro. Lots of shorter routes I have said "I wish it went on like this for another 1000 feet..." - this climb does.
kaos14 - Oct 23, 2006 6:08 pm Date Climbed: Oct 22, 2006
With Darko, Warren and Tom.
Amazingly our party of four ended up in a drag race to the base of the route with... another party of four. Darko managed to find the start and we got on first. The only rough patch was a rope snag after Darko led the first pitch. Started climbing at 9am and topped out at 1:15ish. Beautiful fall weather and awesome views of the fall folliage.
wdimpfl - Dec 29, 2017 4:02 am Date Climbed: May 20, 1979
Both SpiresDate approximate. Climbed the regular routes on both spires in the same day with Will Spiegelman. Will led the crux pitches. Saw a porcupine in a tree on the way down. Lost my roll of film from the week of amazing climbing (bummer!).
atavist - Jan 26, 2015 7:29 am Date Climbed: Oct 4, 2014
Regular route HCSClimbed Braille Book with Dave on Oct 3.
Nice day climbing with Eric, Dave and Kali. Stout climbing for 5.9 which is typical for routes from the 30's. Heads up on the rappel! Climbed on Oct 4.
wmolland - Nov 3, 2012 9:27 pm Date Climbed: Oct 29, 2012
Higher CathedralRegular Route. Fun climb but the summit is what makes it.
bechtt - Jun 10, 2012 11:14 pm Date Climbed: Jun 8, 2012
Lower Cathedral side tripFrom Gunsight Notch on the way to Leaning Tower, "Snake Rock", and the overlooks (Dewey, Crocker, Stanford, and Inspiration). With Bob, Adam, Bill, and Laura.
WDW4 - Jan 9, 2012 2:07 pm Date Climbed: Jun 1, 2011
First Yosemite ClimbClimbed Higher Cathedral Rock by Braille Book route, done in 5 pitches. Also my first multipitch route. I was not leading, but it sure was fun!
dkangas - Dec 14, 2011 2:18 pm Date Climbed: Dec 13, 2011
Second TimeDid Gunsight then scrambled to the top of MC on the class 3 slabs of the western face. From there to Upper Cathedral and down the Spires Gully.
WML - Sep 25, 2011 12:58 pm
MiddleT-stormed off of Paradise Lost...
Lines were too long on the other classics and the first few pitches of the Kor-Beck just weren't very attractive...
Vitaliy M. - Aug 29, 2011 2:48 pm Date Climbed: Aug 27, 2011
East Buttress of MC/Central Pillar of FrenzyCool route with a good friend Bryan. We were on our way to attempt N buttress of Mt. Goode but t-storms on the east side pushed us to climb in the valley instead. Was a great choice!
9/25/2011
Central Pillar of Frenzy, also with Bryan. My favorite pure rock climb ever, by a mile!!! 9/25/2011
cp0915 - Jul 15, 2010 10:35 am Date Climbed: Jun 22, 2010
Higher Cathedral RockWith DB. A nice day out.
kovarpa - Jun 28, 2010 2:47 pm Date Climbed: Jun 26, 2010
Higher Cathedral SpireRegular route, with Carol. Lead all pitches.
We did the original variation on the second pitch and I found it quite challenging. Great route in a great setting, the approach kinda sucks :-)
Steve Larson - May 18, 2010 9:20 am Date Climbed: May 16, 2010
Oof!NE buttress on Higher Cathedral Rock. 3.5 hours to the halfway point, thinking we were gonna cruise it, then the real climbing started. I was so trashed by the end that I had to prussik up the rope to get past the final 5.9 OW.
kovarpa - May 11, 2009 9:40 pm Date Climbed: May 10, 2009
Northeast ButtressClimbed in 9 pitches in about 8.5 hours with Michal. 5.9+ roof on Supertopo finish was f* hard. I had other memorable moments (aka squeeze chimney and "burly 5.10) on the route... highly recommended.
snowflake - Mar 12, 2009 7:53 pm Date Climbed: Oct 4, 1989
HCR / HCSOctober ascent of Northeast Buttress on HCR in 1989 - had to bivy 2/3 the way up when ran out of daylight (in middle of sleepless night saw a car stop near mine - when got back down there was a note from the ranger saying "call your wife - she is worried").
A few years later did an October ascent of HCS; regular route.
mountainmatt - Nov 25, 2008 7:28 pm Date Climbed: Sep 15, 2006
Gunsightclimbed the gunsight to lower cathedral and enjoyed the HUGE view!!
Stu Brandel - Aug 17, 2008 3:29 pm Date Climbed: Aug 11, 2008
Higher Catherdral HighlightUsed Spires Gully to go up Higher Cathedral Rock and have the best hike and view of my valley trip. I missed the use trail at the start but found it going back.
Sierra Ledge Rat - Jul 18, 2008 12:00 am
Higher Cathedral SpireRegular route with Dan Dingle. Great view of El Capitan!
Sierra Ledge Rat - Jul 17, 2008 11:59 pm
NW Buttress, Middle CathedralMy first big wall!
Diggler - Nov 12, 2007 12:58 pm Date Climbed: Nov 9, 2007
variousHigher Cathedral Spire- Regular Route (6.10.'11)
Did with Faith. After doing the obligatory, undesirable approach, geared up at the base. 2 assholes jumped in front of us while getting ready ('We want to do a couple routes today. Can we get ahead (in parentheses: 'We don't really care if you like it or not')? Weren't as fast as they thought (couldn't pass the Tyroleans who'd already started), & I guess getting up early to avoid the crowds on a popular climb wasn't obvious enough. Oh well- whatever.
At any rate, a phenomenal, justly-classic route. I have a hard time thinking of a team doing this back in the 30s!! While we freed it, the light years that modern equipment/technology/methods are ahead of what was around then is hard to fathom... Climbing was great, though- sustained, solid Valley 5.9, & the summit is hard to beat! Superb views from up top too.
Middle Cathedral, Kor-Beck
Did this with Rusty. Got a late start (14.00ish) after a leisurely beginning of the day. Enjoyable climb the whole way. We only did the first 6(?) pitches, the standard, I guess. Got back to the base in the dark, but we managed to get to the Village store JUST in time to get beer, so it was a great success!
Higher Cathedral Rock, Braille Book (Junish, 2010)
Another one with Rob. Thought we were screwed when we heard voices ahead of us near the base of the route. We blasted up along the base, though, while the competition wallowed through the underbrush, & we snaked 'em. Great success!! Behind another party, but not a big deal. After me taking forever to finally sack up to get past the psychological crux on P1, the rest went smoothly. Some old-school Valley 5.'8' for sure! Great climbing though, & another awesome day in The Valley.
Higher Cathedral Rock- NE buttress
With Rob again. Started the route at a relatively late 9.38. After the obligatory rock-paper-scissors, Rob got odd pitches, I even. First few pitches went great, & left us totally unprepared for what lay ahead... This climb is a burly, old-school Yo-f$%*ing-semite climb, & will spank you & make you grovel if you aren't on your off-width/chimney game. Nonetheless, it is an utter classic, & should not be missed... Incredibly sustained, consistently strenuous climbing, incredible views on the way up & on the top (we tagged the true summit). Headlamps on El Cap (esp. the line up The Nose) was cool, descent in the dark interesting. Beer upon return was well-earned! The 2 guys we met at the start as well as upon our return (back at their car) from LA who'd just done the DNB were cool- thanks for your hospitality! :) Another great day in The Valley!!
Middle Cathedral- E Buttress
Climbed with Rob. What a great climb! As it sprinkled on our drive in from outside the park, I was a bit apprehensive, but it ended up working out great. We could barely see anything down the Valley, as views were obscured by smoke from forest fires. That, added to the fact that we were the only ones on the route that day, & it was November, made for a surreal day of climbing. Being pretty out of it (in the middle of a case of the flu), I took a short fall while leading the "5.8" section (seemed stiff for a 5.8) right below the 2 fixed pins on P3. Had a few minor slips on stuff I'd normally feel fine about too. Anyway, led the 5.9 roof free & w/o incident, which was nice. Rob did a great job of leading all his pitches. I led Ps 2-3 (combined), 5 (aided bolt ladder), 7, 9, & 11.
Started descent down the gully shortly before twilight, got back to the truck in the dark- glad we didn't go for the true summit. Descent back to the Katwalk & from there to the start of the gully would have been impossible! All in all a great day!
mow10 - Mar 17, 2007 7:13 am Date Climbed: Jun 4, 2003
E buttress of middleYosemite at its best. Great rock, great pro. Lots of shorter routes I have said "I wish it went on like this for another 1000 feet..." - this climb does.
kaos14 - Oct 23, 2006 6:08 pm Date Climbed: Oct 22, 2006
Route Climbed Higher Cathedral Spire Regular RouteWith Darko, Warren and Tom.
Amazingly our party of four ended up in a drag race to the base of the route with... another party of four. Darko managed to find the start and we got on first. The only rough patch was a rope snag after Darko led the first pitch. Started climbing at 9am and topped out at 1:15ish. Beautiful fall weather and awesome views of the fall folliage.