Re: Mt. Clark

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eeek
You'd probably figure it out from the other side.

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szalkowski

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eeek
You'd probably figure it out from the other side.

Which other side?
(NWerly Yours)
The Marmots

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eeek
You'd probably figure it out from the other side.

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chick-on

Ok, I just tell you... that's Yosemite Pt. And in the shadow there is Upper Yosemite Falls.

This shot was taken on top of the ridge just west of Lake WL9235.
(the ridge is v. similar to Horse and Buena Vista Crest)

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plawrence
When I first looked at the photo, I thought what is actually Yosemite Point was just an extension or a shoulder of the dome itself, so that threw me off. And Upper Yosemite Fall in the shadow just looked like a light colored piece of freshly exposed granite. I didn't recognize it as a waterfall. I'm still a bit puzzled that I can't see any landscape features beyond "El Cap Ridge". Was the sky beyond El Cap Ridge smoky or hazy that day?

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basilbop
while in the area, did you happen to notice any signs of the old calvary route that (supposedly) traversed around Mt. Clark to the north? I've read that people have stumbled upon old blazes while climbing Clark from the west, and I think my wife and I found a segment of it while climbing to Obelisk Lake from Merced Lake years ago.

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chick-on
Adair is one of the 6 named lakes I have left to touch in Yose...

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oakroscoe
Out of curiousity are you counting lakes that have a name (such as Mercur Lake, which I know you've been to) but aren't named on the official map?

After you knock those 6 out, are you going to do the same feat in the Emigrant?

what are the other 5 you have left?

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ryanmj
Cool photos, Starr King looks like you could just walk up it from that shot

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chick-on

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ryanmj
Cool photos, Starr King looks like you could just walk up it from that shot

The two southern domes are a walk up. No problem. (I'm on middle in a pict. in the set)
I've never even attempted an inch up Starr King Proper. It is supposedly 5.6. (soon though <supposedly> )
Gone up or down all the gullies between the domes... the gully west of middle and Starr King proper
is very steep at the very bottom... but able to get down with full pack on w/o issue really.
(YMMV!)

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ryanmj
any idea how many pitches it is to the top?

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btnicholas
What was the total mileage and how many days?

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chick-on
It's a "neat" "little" block. Means something to me... so I took a zoom of it from above:

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chick-on
Need some help:

John S. Christopher - 1949-1969

Is memorialized on the mountain. Who was this person and why is he memorialized on the Summit of Clark with a plaque?

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One other interesting thing... I found an Arrowhead below the summit NW face at about 11,000 ft. elevation.
Was incredibly surprised to find it in the gravel there. I may post a photo...

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chick-on
I put some more photos in the set of the plaque and the arrowhead.

The plaque location is in this photo. My royal pinkness is on the summit up there...
and the plaque is on the left. ... taken from the west...



Take a look at the set for a zoom of the plaque.

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chick-on
You got it right about the Miwok/Paiute imo. I'll leave it at that.

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Speaking of which, how many miles have you hiked there?

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mrcondron

Chick-on and Bill-e-g have traversed literally every trail in the park in both directions in every season and multiple times. Add to that all the cross country and you'll be in the several thousands of miles. They are probably in the very top ranks of Yosemite hikers.

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SierraGold

In a later post, you referred to Paiute OR Miwok. Considering the fight that's going on between the two tribes as to who was there first, that could mean something very significant. Knowing some of the history behind the feud (and whether someone may have carried it there while hiking and dropped it), my money is on Paiute.

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chick-on
John S. Christopher - 1949-1969

Is memorialized on the mountain. Who was this person and why is he memorialized on the Summit of Clark with a plaque?

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chick-on
I've never seen a plaque on any other mountain, have you?

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buster
No, I haven't necessarily seen a plaque on a mountain before. On Mt Ansel Adams there is a memorial of sorts for Ansel Adams. At the base of Ribbon Falls there is a plaque/board for someone who died there. I have a picture of it somewhere, I'll try to find it when I get back home.

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buster

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chick-on
John S. Christopher - 1949-1969

Is memorialized on the mountain. Who was this person and why is he memorialized on the Summit of Clark with a plaque?

He is not in the Death in Yosemite book so it appears he did not die on the mountain or in Yosemite. I checked with a friend who works in Yosemite who went to the research library and wasn't able to find anything. So it isn't an official plaque. The librarian stated to him that these sorts of plaque's are not unusual. Anyone can go up to a mountain and affix a plaque if they wanted and it would be hard to stop them, ala graffiti. I was up there in 2003 and didn't see it, though obviously my recollection from then could be wrong.

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ryanmj
Id like to see the arrowhead

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chick-on

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ryanmj
Id like to see the arrowhead

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chick-on
Just thought someone may be interested in the route taken up:

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ryanmj
when you climb up these peaks is there a lot of back tracking before you get to the top?

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chick-on

But... bear in mind that there are 100s of peaks out there that are pretty easy so
on most it's non issue. Take a look at the SPS Peak List sometime... the vast vast
majority are class 3 or less (over 200 of the 248)
http://angeles.sierraclub.org/sps/spslist.pdf

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plawrence

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chick-on

But... bear in mind that there are 100s of peaks out there that are pretty easy so
on most it's non issue. Take a look at the SPS Peak List sometime... the vast vast
majority are class 3 or less (over 200 of the 248)
http://angeles.sierraclub.org/sps/spslist.pdf

Is Half Dome really a Class 2, as it's listed on that list?

Seems that there has been far too many deaths and serious injuries even with the cables to be considered a Class 2. With the amount of exposure on either side of the cables, isn't it closer to a Class 3 hike to reach the summit of Half Dome?

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From the Sierra Club website

Yosemite Decimal System:

Class 1: Simple walking with few hazards.
Class 2: Walking with very little chance of danger, but some places where you might need to steady yourself with your hands.
Class 3: Steep slopes requiring scrambling. Falling would be more likely to result in injury than death.
Class 4: Basic climbing, often with use of a rope.
Class 5: Technical climbing requiring rope and other equipment. A fall without protection could result in serious injury or death.

SierraClub.org: Evaluating a Trail

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From Wikipedia's Yosemite Decimal System article

The system now divides all hikes and climbs into five classes: The exact definition of the classes is somewhat controversial.

Class 1: Walking with a low chance of injury.
Class 2: Simple scrambling, with the possibility of occasional use of the hands. Little potential danger is encountered.
Class 3: Scrambling with increased exposure. A rope can be carried but is usually not required. Falls are not always fatal.
Class 4: Simple climbing, with exposure. A rope is often used. Natural protection can be easily found. Falls may well be fatal.
Class 5: Technical free climbing involving rope, belaying, and other protection hardware for safety. Un-roped falls can result in severe injury or death.

Wikipedia: Yosemite Decimal System

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From the ISU Mountaineering & Climbing Club website

The YDS rates a pitch according to the most difficult move on it. A route may be divided into several pitches of varying degrees of difficulty.

Class 1: Walking and hiking, generally, hands are not needed.

Class 2: Hiking, mostly on established trails involving some scrambling with occasional use of hands.

Class 3: Climbing or scrambling with moderate exposure. Angle steep enough that hands are needed for balance.

Class 4: Intermediate climbing with exposure extreme enough that most mountaineers will want a belay. A fall could be serious or fatal. Intermediate climbing requires the use of your hands and arms for pulling yourself up.

Class 5: Technical rock climbing is encompassed in Class 5 climbing. A rope, specialized equipment and training are used by the leader to protect against a fall.

5.0-5.4: A person of reasonable fitness can climb at this level with little or no rock climbing skills.

5.4-5.7: Requires rock climbing skills or strength.

5.7-5.9: Good rock climbing skills, rock shoes, and strength are generally needed to climb at this level.

5.10-5.14: Excellent rock climbing skills and training are required to climb and maintain the ability to climb this level of rock.

Many climbs have also been subcategorized with a (+) or a (-) indicating more or less difficult. I have found that some guide books will often use the (+) (-) ratings for climbs easier than 5.10. Many guide books use a,b,c,d to define the difficulty of a climb rather than the (+) or (-). For example, a 5.12d would be more difficult than a 5.12b.

Class 6: Rock so shear and smooth that it is unclimbable without the use of aid.

ISU Mountaineering & Climbing Club: Yosemite Decimal System

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plawrence

Using ANY of these definitions, how can one honestly rate the cable portion of the Half Dome hike as a Class 2?

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mrcondron

Let's get back to Mt Clark and put the HD hike class on its own thread.

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mrcondron

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plawrence

Using ANY of these definitions, how can one honestly rate the cable portion of the Half Dome hike as a Class 2?

Class 2: Simple scrambling, with the possibility of occasional use of the hands. Little potential danger is encountered.

This seems to be what HD is.

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chicagocwright

As Almost said, you can walk up the slope next to the cables. I would probably call that a scramble and as Almost pointed out there is a lot of exposure. So what would the route be classfiied if there were no cables? Class 3?