Elcapitan- East Buttress

[윤창열]

EAST BUTTRESS of EL CAPITAN: The 13 Pitches

The Rack:
Double set of TCUs from Blue to Orange, single set of the smaller ones.
6-8 wired nuts, medium sizes best.
Double set of Camalots, .5 to 2, one #3, nothing larger (if you plan to do the offwidth, bring bigger stuff).
There is a fair amount of fixed iron on the climb, so quick draws are useful.
Long slings are helpful for meandering pitches.

Pitch One:
Unlike most 5.9 Yosemite chimney climbs, this one is pretty reasonable. I climbed right side in, with good foot holds on the left wall. Protection is good. The real crux of the pitch is right at the end, a short fingery section. Belay at slings below bolt.

	Pitch 2

Pitch Two
The crux move, a 5.10 a/b move right is now protected with a nice bolt. Once you do the move, follow a cool groove to the belay. I climbed left side in at first, then switched to straight in or slightly right side in. Cool pitch, but a bit awkward. Rather than stopping at the obvious belay (at 90 feet), keep going. The belay tree is swarming with biting red ants that found there way onto every part of my body, and challenged my ability to keep my hands on the rope. Instead, keep going up easier ground for another 30-40 feet. Keep in mind that the next pitch drops down and left, onto an arete.

Pitch Three/Four/Five:
Climb the 5.6 arete (protection sparse). Great climbing on varnished black knobs. The leader should go as far as possible, heading to easier third class ground. Move the belay up to the base of the next 5.7 pitch, belaying at a tree.

Pitch Six
There are several ways to do this pitch. We stayed on the ridge (right). The 5.7 pitch is a bit greasy and devious. I went about 140 feet to the base of a really good hand crack (steeper), right on the true ridge. There are grassy cracks to the left that we did not climb.

Pitch Seven:
Awesome pitch. Steeper, follows a clean hand crack in a great position, directly on the arete. Follow this pitch all the way to an obvious and comfortable ledge.

Pitch Eight
I would call it full value Valley 5.9. Nothing heroic about the pitch, but it's athletic and sort of awkward. I started slightly left of the ridge (two feet?), using a crack for protection, then did a move that took me right onto the ridge for a few feet, then back left into a left trending crack that leads to an alcove at the base of the 5.9 offwidth. Belay at old bolts (I went higher into the alcove, but it's less comfy).

Pitch Nine:
Great pitch. Bypass the 5.9 offwidth by climbing left onto the face. Go left at an old purple sling that is threaded behind a flake. Clip an old funky bolt, then two fixed pins (one newish), and follow the face climbing straight up, ending below a roof, as the topo shows. I think this pitch can be combined with the next pitch. Both are about 100 feet. We did not do it, but a party willing to simul climb on 5.9 could do it.

Pitch Ten
The topo calls it 5.5 (whatever?), but I'd give it a 5.7 rating. Cool climbing, trending left on a knobby face. Stop on a ledge on the left. You'll know you are in the correct spot when you can see the large white flake about 30 feet to the right.

	The Traverse

Pitch Eleven:
Spectacular pitch, probably the best on the climb. Airy, exposed, moderate. Follow flakes right, until the climber goes around the corner onto knobs. If you are having trouble moving right, you're too high. The traverse is not hard, but does go up and down a bit. The last part of the traverse goes down, then back up on knobs. The pitch goes way up after the traverse, so keep rope drag in mind when protecting. The knobs are protected with fixed pins, although they are hard to find. This pitch ends on a ledge with loose talus, a full length pitch. There is a spot to belay about 30 feet below the talus (Chet belayed here), but you can keep going too.

Pitch Twelve
Unremarkable pitch. The climb backs off and you are near the top. Head straight up above the belay, through a 5.6/5.7 slot. I belayed just below a right facing corner, below a black, knobby face that starts with a bulge.

Pitch Thirteen:
This move is supposed to be 5.5, but I thought it was 5.8. Chet led it in his 5.10 approach shoes, since it was so hot and our feet were pretty sore. The temp was 90 degrees and there is no place to hide. Climb the black, featured face just right of the right facing corner. There is one fixed pin. After this move, trend slightly left on easier ground to a tree. You're done. Follow a ramp right to the east ledges descent. You'll be on the valley floor in 90 minutes. The first thing we did was jump in the river!

The climb can be done in about 8 hours, valley to valley. Start early to beat the heat.

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