Climbing House » Where Climbers Live

California only ever seems to get bigger. Every time I think it’s time to narrow my focus and zone in on a particular locale, style or project, a friend calls me up stoked about an area I’ve never been to – or even heard of. So when Gabe suggested a trip to Way Lake and Hartley Springs, my total ignorance didn’t come as a surprise.

“Cool. Let’s do it. Where the hell is Way Lake?”

Conversations like this are the way most of my summer adventures have started.

Gabe setting up for a toss on Ugly Duckling (V9)

The bouldering at Way Lake near Mammoth will leave you breathless – figuratively and literally at 10,000 feet. For three days we had the serene scene nearly all to ourselves, only running into one other party.
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Climbing successes give the feeling you can handle anything the rock gods throw at you. But inevitably these moments of triumph are followed by being thoroughly humbled. Sometimes both extremes can happen on the same route. That was the case when Luke and I returned to the Hulk with our eyes on an amazing linkup: Solar Burn (5.12b) to Solar Flare (5.12d).

The mediocre scenery on the hike to the Hulk

Check out some images from the route as well as a few of the Yosemite fire, captured over the weekend while climbing Fairview Dome classics in Tuolumne with David.
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Bay Area climbers chase weather like a dog that just can’t catch his tail. In the Winter, Bishop and Jailhouse get plenty of sun and the cool, dry days mix with neurotic retentiveness to create perfect sending conditions. Fall and Spring bring the type 2 fun only the Valley can inspire. In Summer, the High Sierras, Tuolunme and Tahoe are perfect high altitude destinations for escaping the heat. My list of ‘must-do’ climbs and boulder problems has grown impossibly large.

Ben Taking a nap on Power Surge (5.12c)

I woke up Saturday next to a dirty buttress called Woodford’s in South Lake Tahoe where I was happy to join Jonathan, Casey and Ben for a weekend of adventurous climbing. Many of the routes in the area are trad lines established by Dan Osman and company in the late 80s but see relatively little traffic today. Ben and Casey spent half the day cleaning the second pitch of Power Surge, knocking off dust, pebbles and the occasional widow-maker. The reward for all the effort was a pristine upper pitch that is one of the wildest lines in the area. I caught some good shots of them working through the route. They were both making big strides and Ben had a quality attempt before river-cooled beer became the watermelon of our perception. Enjoy a few shots of the climb and a couple anecdotes from the weekend.

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Like many climbers, I’ve gravitated closer to the ground and now spend more time sport climbing and bouldering than routefinding and fiddling in stoppers from tenuous stances. But scary trad climbing clicks back in like riding a bike and our trip to the Incredible Hulk reacquainted me with the mental space unique to hard alpine gear routes.

The Incredible Hulk (Photo: Vitaliy M.)

Luke and I had an agenda laid out:

• Friday – hike the 5 mile approach and tick off Sunspot Dihedral (1000 feet, 511b).

• Saturday – Tradewinds (1000 feet, 5.11d).

• Sunday – Polish Route (800 feet, 5.10c), hike out, then relive the heroic moments in an epic montage serenaded by Journey’s greatest hits on the drive home.

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