Led two pitches to the crest, and simul-climbed to the North Summit at about the same speed as some of the other soloists. The 5.7 knob/crack pitch was a bit much with a heavy pack on so I had to ditch it at the notch to finish the pitch - stout!
rhyang - Sep 7, 2010 1:07 am Date Climbed: Sep 5, 2010
South to North standard route
Came back with Matthew Holliman. I led two pitches to the crest, then we soloed from there to the notch between the two summits. I tagged the south summit, and then led the 5.7 finger crack / knob pitch to the north summit (strenuous pitch for me). Beautiful day in Tuolumne !
Rapped off the north summit and then back down the notch -- some day I'll have to come back for the rest of the crest to the north !
--
Also attempted in July 2009 with Matthew, but we skipped the summits.
fossana - Aug 29, 2010 1:43 am Date Climbed: Aug 28, 2010
winter in aug
Full traverse solo w/ Die Zauberflöte on the mp3 player. Shivered at the base of the route for an hour waiting for the snow flurries to pass. Frigid winds finally subsided around the first summit, thankfully. Still among my favorite climbs.
apachedino - Sep 27, 2009 12:38 am Date Climbed: Sep 15, 2009
S to N
Wow, craziness, went north to a notch little before bailing, good thing too, got pretty dark on the way back.
Tom Fralich - Sep 20, 2009 11:40 pm Date Climbed: Sep 19, 2009
Traverse S-N
Mary and I did the traverse, starting from a camp at Echo Lake. Although this climb is reasonable to do in a day, the camping by the lake is absolutely stunning and made for a very relaxed day. It took us about an hour to get to the start of the route and then 3 hours on the route. We saw a really nice marmot on the way down and were back in camp by the time the wind picked up. Fun day in a beautiful area.
biz - Aug 22, 2009 11:07 pm Date Climbed: Aug 20, 2009
South to North Traverse x2
Another awesome day out on the crest. I love this climb. Finished up the North Summit with a 5.9 variation followed by what I thought was a very difficult direct climb straight to the slings. Very intense!
pjc30943 - Aug 5, 2009 2:35 am Date Climbed: Jul 29, 2006
Awesome
The most scenic alpine meadow ever on the approach, perhaps assisted by sunsets through stormclouds--and a cool Sierra Wave. Great climb.
haishan - Aug 3, 2009 7:53 pm Date Climbed: Aug 1, 2009
primo
Traversed S-N to N tower... T-storms in the distance, will have to come back for N end of the traverse. Opinion: if starting at south end, Cathedral Pass is a more efficient approach.
NeeDlzdos - Dec 7, 2008 12:58 am Date Climbed: Aug 12, 2007
Entire South-to-North, first simul climb!
This was an incredible climb. Super fun, super long, super exposed. Simuled w/ Tim Triche, 11 hours car to car, 5 hours on route. Did entire South-to-North traverse.
After 2 warm days in the Valley, a calm day in the Meadows was ideal. I soloed the full crest (S-N) with Peter. Beyond the north summit the terrain was more sustained but still no harder than 5.7 though more exposed (it didn't seem possible). Some fins were very thin and some holds sounded hollow so caution is advised compared to the well-trodden southern half. The 'granite cornice' (aka the wave pitch) is a unique and unbelievable formation. The whole effort is worthwhile just to see this piece of rock which most people skip.
We ran into Bighornmonkey and Shirley on the summit. Overall it made for a great day.
Having wanted to do the S-N Matthes Crest traverse for so long and having spent way too many hours drooling over pictures and dreaming about the big exposure I finally took the plunge and the adventure lived up to the expectations. Go do this route now! The exhiliration and the setting is outrageous. A full rush that should keep you boosted for a solid 36 hours. If not then you should throw yourself under a train.
Zzyzx - Oct 26, 2007 12:48 am Date Climbed: Jun 9, 2007
South to North traverse
Climbed with Steve Larson. Probably one of the most scenic climbs I've done. Pretty easy scramble, but very exposed with incredible views of the Yosemite high country. We climbed a little ways past the North Summit, but didn't quite finish the whole traverse. Got to come back for the Wave!
soslaw - Sep 17, 2007 11:47 am Date Climbed: Sep 13, 2007
South Summit
Did the traverse from south to north with Peter Doucette. Rapped after the south summit. Windy but spectacularly clear.
Dave S - Jul 30, 2007 3:53 pm Date Climbed: Jul 27, 2007
South to North (to North Summit only)
Climbed South to North with JM, rapping from the North Summit. Beautiful day and awesome exposure made for a great day!
J Fox - Jun 26, 2007 11:11 am Date Climbed: May 27, 2007
Sweet climb and awesome weather: South to North
Climbed with my bro "dervin" on our Memorial Day weekend mountaineering get away. What a sweet, sharp ridge. Nothing like a little exposure to get the adrenalin flowing. This has to rate as one of my all time favorites.
Steve Larson - Jun 10, 2007 4:41 am Date Climbed: Jun 9, 2007
South to North--almost
Made it to the south summit in good time, ropeless all the way with Kris. Then we took the wrong way to the north summit. Oof! It was a lot harder than 5.6 or whatever it's supposed to be. Made it down the north side, then across the ridge for a while before we decided to call it a day. Two raps, a little downclimbing, and we were running for the car. Then a loooong drive all the way back to LA. Ugh.
dervin - Jun 9, 2007 10:23 am Date Climbed: May 27, 2007
One Belay Short: South to North
This was day two of our memorial day festivities. First I had to run to mammoth the night before, cause I forgot a belay device, and then on the way to the climb we got stuck on hard snow with out an axe. A toenail is a small price to pay for a beautiful climb like this. Cheers.
PlanIt - Jan 28, 2011 12:42 pm Date Climbed: Sep 29, 2008
Loved itCan't wait to go back for some more Tuolumne granite. Super cruiser on Mathes with just a little snow.
PellucidWombat - Sep 7, 2010 2:31 pm Date Climbed: Sep 4, 2010
Wonderful Climb!Led two pitches to the crest, and simul-climbed to the North Summit at about the same speed as some of the other soloists. The 5.7 knob/crack pitch was a bit much with a heavy pack on so I had to ditch it at the notch to finish the pitch - stout!
rhyang - Sep 7, 2010 1:07 am Date Climbed: Sep 5, 2010
South to North standard routeCame back with Matthew Holliman. I led two pitches to the crest, then we soloed from there to the notch between the two summits. I tagged the south summit, and then led the 5.7 finger crack / knob pitch to the north summit (strenuous pitch for me). Beautiful day in Tuolumne !
Rapped off the north summit and then back down the notch -- some day I'll have to come back for the rest of the crest to the north !
--
Also attempted in July 2009 with Matthew, but we skipped the summits.
fossana - Aug 29, 2010 1:43 am Date Climbed: Aug 28, 2010
winter in augFull traverse solo w/ Die Zauberflöte on the mp3 player. Shivered at the base of the route for an hour waiting for the snow flurries to pass. Frigid winds finally subsided around the first summit, thankfully. Still among my favorite climbs.
apachedino - Sep 27, 2009 12:38 am Date Climbed: Sep 15, 2009
S to NWow, craziness, went north to a notch little before bailing, good thing too, got pretty dark on the way back.
scottmitch - Sep 26, 2009 6:47 pm Date Climbed: Sep 15, 2009
south to northclimbed with apachedino
long day
Tom Fralich - Sep 20, 2009 11:40 pm Date Climbed: Sep 19, 2009
Traverse S-NMary and I did the traverse, starting from a camp at Echo Lake. Although this climb is reasonable to do in a day, the camping by the lake is absolutely stunning and made for a very relaxed day. It took us about an hour to get to the start of the route and then 3 hours on the route. We saw a really nice marmot on the way down and were back in camp by the time the wind picked up. Fun day in a beautiful area.
biz - Aug 22, 2009 11:07 pm Date Climbed: Aug 20, 2009
South to North Traverse x2Another awesome day out on the crest. I love this climb. Finished up the North Summit with a 5.9 variation followed by what I thought was a very difficult direct climb straight to the slings. Very intense!
pjc30943 - Aug 5, 2009 2:35 am Date Climbed: Jul 29, 2006
AwesomeThe most scenic alpine meadow ever on the approach, perhaps assisted by sunsets through stormclouds--and a cool Sierra Wave. Great climb.
haishan - Aug 3, 2009 7:53 pm Date Climbed: Aug 1, 2009
primoTraversed S-N to N tower... T-storms in the distance, will have to come back for N end of the traverse. Opinion: if starting at south end, Cathedral Pass is a more efficient approach.
NeeDlzdos - Dec 7, 2008 12:58 am Date Climbed: Aug 12, 2007
Entire South-to-North, first simul climb!This was an incredible climb. Super fun, super long, super exposed. Simuled w/ Tim Triche, 11 hours car to car, 5 hours on route. Did entire South-to-North traverse.
atavist - Sep 2, 2008 5:48 pm Date Climbed: Sep 1, 2008
unbeatable exposureAfter 2 warm days in the Valley, a calm day in the Meadows was ideal. I soloed the full crest (S-N) with Peter. Beyond the north summit the terrain was more sustained but still no harder than 5.7 though more exposed (it didn't seem possible). Some fins were very thin and some holds sounded hollow so caution is advised compared to the well-trodden southern half. The 'granite cornice' (aka the wave pitch) is a unique and unbelievable formation. The whole effort is worthwhile just to see this piece of rock which most people skip.
We ran into Bighornmonkey and Shirley on the summit. Overall it made for a great day.
danman3156 - Jul 21, 2008 11:52 pm Date Climbed: Jul 19, 2008
S to N TraversA great climb, car to car. Beautiful rock in beautiful setting.
Drewid - Jul 7, 2008 6:53 pm Date Climbed: Jul 5, 2008
FinallyHaving wanted to do the S-N Matthes Crest traverse for so long and having spent way too many hours drooling over pictures and dreaming about the big exposure I finally took the plunge and the adventure lived up to the expectations. Go do this route now! The exhiliration and the setting is outrageous. A full rush that should keep you boosted for a solid 36 hours. If not then you should throw yourself under a train.
Zzyzx - Oct 26, 2007 12:48 am Date Climbed: Jun 9, 2007
South to North traverseClimbed with Steve Larson. Probably one of the most scenic climbs I've done. Pretty easy scramble, but very exposed with incredible views of the Yosemite high country. We climbed a little ways past the North Summit, but didn't quite finish the whole traverse. Got to come back for the Wave!
soslaw - Sep 17, 2007 11:47 am Date Climbed: Sep 13, 2007
South SummitDid the traverse from south to north with Peter Doucette. Rapped after the south summit. Windy but spectacularly clear.
Dave S - Jul 30, 2007 3:53 pm Date Climbed: Jul 27, 2007
South to North (to North Summit only)Climbed South to North with JM, rapping from the North Summit. Beautiful day and awesome exposure made for a great day!
J Fox - Jun 26, 2007 11:11 am Date Climbed: May 27, 2007
Sweet climb and awesome weather: South to NorthClimbed with my bro "dervin" on our Memorial Day weekend mountaineering get away. What a sweet, sharp ridge. Nothing like a little exposure to get the adrenalin flowing. This has to rate as one of my all time favorites.
Steve Larson - Jun 10, 2007 4:41 am Date Climbed: Jun 9, 2007
South to North--almostMade it to the south summit in good time, ropeless all the way with Kris. Then we took the wrong way to the north summit. Oof! It was a lot harder than 5.6 or whatever it's supposed to be. Made it down the north side, then across the ridge for a while before we decided to call it a day. Two raps, a little downclimbing, and we were running for the car. Then a loooong drive all the way back to LA. Ugh.
dervin - Jun 9, 2007 10:23 am Date Climbed: May 27, 2007
One Belay Short: South to NorthThis was day two of our memorial day festivities. First I had to run to mammoth the night before, cause I forgot a belay device, and then on the way to the climb we got stuck on hard snow with out an axe. A toenail is a small price to pay for a beautiful climb like this. Cheers.