Stuck On Yosemite

A few friends of ours, David, Rachel and Eddie, have been out in Yosemite for the past few weeks.  After a few tantalizing emails about their exploits they were kind enough to share some photos.   The first few are from Rachel and Eddie’s recent ascent of the uber famous 5.11 Astroman followed by all 3 on the equally uber famous Separate Reality (5.12).  Here is what they had to say about each:

ASTROMAN
5.11+, 12 pitches. Washington Column, Yosemite Valley.
This route was definitely the most amazing route we have ever climbed.  Every pitch is relentless, sandbagged, and sickly splitter. You definitely get your moneys worth on Astroman… it packs ruthless endurance pitches, a boulder problem, the infamous Harding slot (which is FO-REAL!!), some run-out technical maddness, and pitch 12..”the sting in the tail” … harrrrd face climbing with some “bodyweight only” mank for pro.  This thing was totally exhausting… add in a 3 hour descent down a 1000′ choss ridden scree cone, and Rachel and Eddie are ridiculously in need of water and rest days.  We highly recommend this route, as it is fantastically classic.  It will test every aspect of climbing, both physically and mentally.

A SEPARATE REALITY
5.12, 1 pitch, splitter roof-crack!!!
This is a mega-classic line, with wild exposure, powerful jamming through a horizintal roof, and an exciting lip encounter.  Accessing this line requires a bit of tenacity…. first you must avoid being pummeled by oblivious turons while parking in the “first view of the valley” pull-out above the Valley floor. This can be cruxy, as they are for sure gawking at the glorious granite. Rappelling into “A Separate Reality” is crazy, mind-blowing, and simply awesome.  Steal as much beta as you can on decent, tie in, and prepare for the ride of your life.  Perfect handjams taper down to thin hands (#1 camalots) and then insecure .75′s. Plug the .75… try to not fall out of the jams…set your foot…. and launch for a pyramid shaped “jug” just around the corner.  Another dyno leads to a bomber lip and mantle exit glory.  SO STELLAR!!!

Tip:  Use your left and right keyboard button to browse the photos

Nice work guys!

On a related note…I surprised Mrs. Narc yesterday by revealing that we will be heading to Yosemite next month to celebrate our 2 year anniversary!  We will be heading there for a week after Youth Nationals in Sunnyvale the weekend of July 11th.  I was planning on keeping it a surprise a bit longer, but due to various circumstances I had to let her in on the secret plans.  Never fear, I still have a BIG surprise in store for her…and no, not that Craig.