Alpine straight jacket

[No_Bivy]

Back from my Cali trip.......a little frustrated with weather, but when life gives you lemons....make lemonade

 

[MasterBlaster]

That's you? What's up with your hands???

Straight jacket? I'm all confused...

 

[flushcut]

Doing a little crack climbing I see.

 

[No_Bivy]

First , land in reno and haul ass to Cali. Second, rendezvous with Devas buddy Paul to retrieve extra gear and weather summary ....... Flash floods there that day. Motor up to 9800' to sleep.....thus beginning our acclimatization

Day two, drive to bishop to procure supplies......and weather forecast ......still bleak

Camp at north lake campground/ 9800'.......drive to climb cardinal pinnacle. 4 pitches of 5.10 cracks . Total gain including talus 2000'

 

[No_Bivy]

 

[No_Bivy]

Clouds built every afternoon......lightning was the issue . No place to be in middle of thunderstorm.
Cruised the pinnacle, back to camp

Decided to go for it anyway. Packed to hike into darwin canyon the next day.

 

[No_Bivy]

 

[No_Bivy]

 

[No_Bivy]

Up and over Lamarck col into darwin canyon. Set up base at darwin bench.....planned to rest next day

 

[No_Bivy]

Took time to fish

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Rugged and amazing country up there John. Looks like a hella climb.

 

[No_Bivy]

Here's the straight jacket part........9 hrs of 35 degrees and raining. Stayed in bivy sack trying to keep precious down dry. Success at that but it's enough to drive one insane. Rained off and on all night to. Woke up to thick fog

 

[No_Bivy]

Decided to climb the gully to gain ridge to start route. We were hoping cold front had passed and would be followed by splitter blue skies. Once at we ridge we realized it was bad.......back down loose gully

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Cooped up insane in the membrane

 

[No_Bivy]

40% chance of rain in Cali means 100

 

[CurSedVoyce]

YUP. In high country it does.

 

[No_Bivy]

At least I caught fish while hiking out. We made the decision that attempting ridge but be suffer fest with potentially lethal lighting. Changed our plan to previous style. Car to car. Headed to bear creek spire to bag it before tstorms had a chance to build

 

[No_Bivy]

Set up camp, watched a couple of school bus size boulders come off ridge....probably from heavy rain followed by sub freezing temps p

 

[Old Monkey]

It's been a rough Summer in the high Sierras. I am in the planning stages of an attempt to hike the John Muir Trail from Yosemite. I need time to get my business to where it can run without me for a month in Summer, so I'm shorting for 2015. What will the weather be then? Will the streams be too high to ford? Will the passes be too snowy. Will thunderstorms come up every afternoon making hiking over 12,000' passes precarious. You picked a rough Summer, my fingers are crossed for July into August, 2015.

 

[No_Bivy]

I guess I'll see the ridge again

 

[Old Monkey]

I see you roll ultralight style. I'm thinking on going for that new 1lb. tent and being fully enclosed for the rain and mosquitos.

 

[No_Bivy]

I see you roll ultralight style. I'm thinking on going for that new 1lb. tent and being fully enclosed for the rain and mosquitos.

Had to keep pack sub 20. Bivy gear and climbing gears was 11, food 4 , rest was water. We could have totally lucked out if skies cleared after rain. Would have been plenty of water along ridge.

I choose a 7 oz tarp for camp. The bivy whist on ridge.on the way out we were blowing past dudes lugging insane loads. They were miserable. I would go light if at all possible. Bugs weren't bad.

 

[No_Bivy]

Drying shit out again

 

[No_Bivy]

Drove to pine creek canyon next to climb. Some uber classics like Sheila 5.10, rites of spring 5.10d.
Elevation was 8000' so were sparred from thunder until about 3. Also climbed some sport routes.....so ridicously over bolted I didn't take pictures. Maybe my partner bruce did. Most of climbers there were more about drilling and clipping bolts......sad

 

[Old Monkey]

I assume you had to carry swag bags. How was that?