/climbing
High Sierras
alpine granite · link-ups · 3d map
Summer climbing on the granite domes above Tuolumne Meadows, where the knobby friction slabs are a different animal from the cracks down in the valley.
Above is the High Sierra from the Sawtooth Ridge down past Mount Whitney, about 120 miles of crest. The range is too big for pitch-by-pitch route lines, so every climb is a dot. Click one to see the route and, over time, photos from my ascents. The lines are the classic link-ups and the walks that get you to the walls; select one to trace it across the terrain and see which climbs it connects.
Linking routes in a day#
The High Sierra is set up well for link-ups: stable summer weather, solid granite, and classic moderates that sit an hour or two of walking apart.
The Tenaya-Matthes-Cathedral traverse, the TMC triple crown, is a Tuolumne classic. Start on the Northwest Buttress of Tenaya Peak (5.5), then schlep it through the woods to the Matthes Crest traverse (5.7), and finish on the Southeast Buttress of Cathedral Peak (5.6) in one loop from Tenaya Lake. This is about 12 miles with 6,300 feet of gain, and you can't possibly reach your car in 24 hours without solo + simul-climbing. I have a great story with Dan Qazi where I actually got altitude sickness on Matthes, and we had to bail and turn back to my van. We got back to the car at 4 am after a 6 am start to the day!
Tenaya Peak#
Both of my favorite climbing partners are both named Dan (Dan Qazi and Dan Nguyen). When I tell stories I often disambiguate them as "doctor Dan" and "teacher Dan".
This is from a climb up Tenaya with Dr. Dan.
This is from a different climb up a nearby peak, also with Dr. Dan.
Me and Dr. Dan got some good explorations in during the COVID months, when there was virtually nobody up there.
For someone who spent over a decade getting a medical degree, Dan is remarkably willing to free solo easy routes with me.
This is the view from Tressider, there is a short section that is fun to climb but it's mostly a slog fest to the top. Definitely not in my recommendations, but a fun day nonetheless.
On the left below is a rope solo attempt up Tenaya Peak as I was getting my systems down, and on the right is some classic crag lunch with Dr. Dan.
Matthes Crest#
Dr. Dan is an absolute madman, he was fairly new to climbing at this point and he was just monkeying around on the ridge having a blast.
This is from the top of Matthes Crest with Dr. Dan.
These are from a different time I was on Matthes Crest.
Here are a couple more videos on Matthes and the absolute slog fest to get to the south ridge.
This is one of my favorite stories with Dr. Dan, where I was throwing up every 20 minutes from altitude sickness and we had to hike through the woods back to my van. Dan is such a great sport about everything that happens while we're out there. Everyone needs a climbing partner like him!
The lakes#
Around Tuolumne#
Other trip notes#
In the Palisades, Thunderbolt to Sill crosses five 14,000-foot summits on one ridge: Thunderbolt, Starlight, North Palisade, Polemonium, and Sill. Thunderbolt's 5.9 block and Starlight's milk-bottle summit is the spiciest. Come in over Bishop Pass and plan to spend 12 to 18 hours on the crest.
The Evolution Traverse is the big one: eight miles of ridge over nine 13,000-foot peaks at VI 5.9. Need to bivy on Mount Darwin part way across.
Down in the Whitney zone, the east buttress (5.7) can be done in the morning, down the mountaineer's route, and up the fishhook arête on Mount Russell (5.9) in the afternoon.
Temple Crag's three celestial arêtes, Venusian Blind (5.7), Moon Goddess (5.8), and Sun Ribbon (5.10a), share one approach up the North Fork of Big Pine Creek. Camp at Third Lake to get the full experience.
Mount Conness has two 5.6 ridges that make a natural lap from Saddlebag Lake: up the North Ridge and down the West Ridge, and then on the skyline nearly the whole way.