Yosemite rockfall - Middle Cathedral descent
Clint Cummins
Middle Cathedral. We encountered it on Monday 5/27, after climbing
the East Buttress. It is in the "Cathedral Chimney" gully, which
is where one descends after traversing the Katwalk.
Judging from the very fresh rock dust everywhere, large sections
of unstable talus, and unwithered leaves from destroyed trees/bushes,
it occurred sometime in May, possibly within the past week.
The gully is quite hazardous, definitely more dangerous now than the
Sentinel gully descent which I used to rank as the riskiest in
the valley. It is going to take a lot of rain and snow to clean it
up and stabilize it again. The rockfall is also still active -
we experienced a very close call when rocks fell from above the
level of the Katwalk into the gully and nearly wiped us out.
See the excerpt from my trip report below.
Clint Cummins
------------------
...
We hiked up to the Katwalk, and traversed along it, until
things started to get strange. There was a big slide area
in the forested trail section, 300' from the Cathedral Chimney
descent gully, but no obvious source of rockfall. Further
along, the leaves were covered with rock dust, and we saw there
had been a massive rockfall in the gully. Pulverized rock was
everywhere, and no vegetation was left in the gully. The gully
was deep in unstable, dirty/dusty talus. The rockfall was very
fresh and had come from further up the gully, where I recall
there used to be some giant chockstones. There was one party below
us in the gully, so we moved very carefully to avoid sending the
extremely loose rocks down on them. We found the first rappel
bolt, with its hanger slightly bent. Erik sacrificed a biner there,
to avoid using the old perlon sling and thin lock link. We
rapped down the wet V-groove, with the doubled 200' rope barely
reaching the ground to avoid the second short rappel. The new
rope got a bit wet and dirty. We carefully picked our way to
the second rappel point. I knew I had been able to downclimb
this one in the past by tunnelling under the chockstone.
Dennis headed down a coreshot fixed line (fixed to a semi-buried
chockstone). As he hand-over-handed down the wet wall, we
heard the sounds of rockfall from far above. I stepped up
to a vertical section right of the rap anchors and tried to
make myself small under my little pack. The rocks (1-2' diameter?)
missed me, but after a few seconds delay we heard a bigger rock
and clearly deadly (3-10' diameter?) cut loose. Apparently it had
been tipped over by the first rockfall, and now it thundered
and crashed down the gully, bringing other large rocks down
with it. I yelled to Dennis that big rocks were coming down,
"WATCH OUT!!!". I didn't try to look at this one, but as
it started slow, it seemed to be coming more down the center
of the gully, and was not flying as randomly as the first one.
It crashed by and I was not hit. But I envisioned Erik in the
gully below, being right in its path. But he yelled up first
to me, thinking I may not have survived. I yelled back that
I was fine, and we were both shaking a bit. It turns out he
was halfway down the fixed line when he heard the first rockfall,
and he jumped off from about 15' up, and cratered into the
dirt/gravel pile. Then he jumped up under the giant chockstone,
where he was pretty safe. I tunneled under the chockstone,
unwilling to push my luck on the fixed line, and joined him.
We related how we each thought the other guy was a goner.
There was no further rockfall, and we hurried down as fast
as we could. When we got back to the car, we drove to
Camp 4 and left a message about the rockfall on the bulletin board.
Dingus Milktoast
"Clint Cummins" <cl...@Stanford.EDU> wrote :
> There has a been a large, dangerous rockfall in the descent gully for
> Middle Cathedral. We encountered it on Monday 5/27, after climbing
> the East Buttress. It is in the "Cathedral Chimney" gully, which
> is where one descends after traversing the Katwalk.
> Judging from the very fresh rock dust everywhere, large sections
> of unstable talus, and unwithered leaves from destroyed trees/bushes,
> it occurred sometime in May, possibly within the past week.
> The gully is quite hazardous, definitely more dangerous now than the
> Sentinel gully descent which I used to rank as the riskiest in
> the valley. It is going to take a lot of rain and snow to clean it
> up and stabilize it again.
I've done this descent a couple times a year for the past 10 years or so.
Watched it evolve and all that rot.
A few years back a hiking tourist was killed in the Cathedral chimney, very
near the location of the first rappel bolt Clint mentions. In fact, that
bolt was placed during the body recovery operation. Angus and I passed
through there the very next day. We examined the accident site while
preparing to rappel.
No one ever reconstructed this solo accident as far as I know. We wondered
if the guy fell while trying to make the notch. We couldn't really reconcile
that to where the body was found. I guessed rock fall from the Catwalk may
have played a role.
A season or three later Burl and I were approaching that first anchor. In
fact we were standing right above it, getting ready to pull out a rope. A
football sized rock that by our estimate fell from the summit overhangs on
Higher Cathedral exploded literally right between us. Scared the hell outta
us both!
I've understood the chimney to be a death zone ever since. To this day I
believe that guy was killed by rock fall from the same vicinity that Clint
guessed/noted recently.
No place to dawdle, that chimney.
DMT
Jason Liebgott
<snip>
> The gully is quite hazardous, definitely more dangerous now than the
Man, I'm glad you made it okay. That place is always a mess - a grapefruit
sized rock missed my head by only a few feet.... I can't imagine one the
sized you mentioned.
I'll be staying clear for some time.
j.
Joe Collins
-Joe
-- ------------------------------------------- Joe Collins Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy F-529 Gamow Tower Phone: 303-492-4057 http://casa.colorado.edu/~jcollins
Milkdud
> I did the Steck-Salathe on May 12th and the DNB on May 17th.
Hi Joe, that must have been you that flashed headlamps, as Bob and
I were topping out on The Shield. We mentioned to each other 'must be
a snot to come down THAT gully in the dark'
Cheers, Michael
Clint Cummins
>I did the Steck-Salathe on May 12th and the DNB on May 17th. The rockfall in
>the Cathedral chimney is obvious: large boulders as well as dust and rock
>fragments. However, even in this condition I would say that the descent is
>still nowhere near as hairy, loose, nasty, and exposed as the Sentinal
>descent. The cathedral descent was done in pitch black night while the
>Sentinal descent was done in twilight and I still found the Sentinal descent
>to be far more serious.
descent for a couple of years, although I've done it at night and in
daylight. It's a lot longer and has more mandatory downclimbing,
plus there is the stream crossing to deal with. I've never seen it
as loose as the Cathedral Chimney is now, though. Maybe I'm a
little swayed by the "near death" experience, but I swear I was
saying the "death" word upon entering the gully and before the volleys
came down. I guess it's hard to compare a short, ultra-loose gully
with a long, difficult, semi-loose one. I wouldn't recommend either
one, but there is not much choice if you want to do those classics!
Clint
Karl Baba
<cl...@Stanford.EDU> wrote:
One thing about the Sentinel decent is, if you go the wrong way in any
number of places, it goes from bad to hell. It's hard to get as screwed
descending from Cathedral (although possible)
Darn! I hate it when rockfall spoils the fun on some Yosemite Classic
Karl
--
Guide Guy
http://member.newsguy.com/~climbing/
Joe Collins
Hey Michael-
yep, that very well could have been us as we did flash our lights over at El Cap accompanied
by a couple very loud howls. On the other hand, it could have been the party we (fortunately)
passed that got benighted and ended up getting a fire going on the ledges before the Katwalk.
I'm glad I didn't hear about other folk's (mis)adventures in the Cathedral bowling-alley
beforehand. It certainly made the descent much more pleasent. BTW- I understand that it isn't
such a big deal (but much, much longer) to go over the summit of Middle and over to Higher for
that descent.
Take care,
Joe
-------------------------------------------
Joe Collins
Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy
F-529 Gamow Tower
http://casa.colorado.edu/~jcollins
Clint Cummins
"TR Oz boys on the big stone". It describes their experience
on the Cathedral Chimney descent (mislabeled as Lower Cathedral).
-------------------
Marty and my descent of the chimney from Lower [sic]
Cathedral has to be on eof the worst things I have
done. Only a few days earlier we had heard a massive
rockfall and avalanche from the Cathedrals but didn't
realise where it was. When it came to getting down we
were forced to pick our way along a complety-destroyed
wall of smashed trees, rocks and old climbing anchors.
Our three raps were on badly damaged bolts hit by
tonnes of rock that had fallen from hundreds of metres
above. All the area was covered in a thin layer of
dust and water, which made it a dirty and
uncomfortable journey. All around us the huge scars of
very recent rockfall was present reminding us that we
were on borrowed time. After a couple of hours of
intense abseiling and scrambling we made it to safety.
We were mentally wrecked; it felt like I had been
walking on avalanche prone slopes in the big
mountains.
---------------------
Clint Cummins
Joe Collins
-Joe
------------------------------------------- Joe Collins Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy F-529 Gamow Tower Phone: 303-492-4057 http://casa.colorado.edu/~jcollins
Karl Baba
<ad...@pls.post.to.newsgroup> wrote:
> Has anyone ever rappelled the entire route? It looks like
> it would be doable but it sounds like no one ever does that. Is it
> because you'd have to leave slings and gear, the traversing nature of
> the climb, or because one would get in the way of climbers coming up?
I would advise that rapping the route would be a very negative thing to
get started. The route isn't free from loose rocks itself. The anchors
aren't well set for it either. I heard there was a rap route to the
South but nobody knows much about it. Maybe it's time to set something
up down the Southeast buttress to the to where the chimney spills out
Peace
karl
Dirtme
potential rap route? Maybe a series of trees before you hit the
gully?
Clint Cummins
>Friends want to climb East Buttress on June 8th and were asking me for
>more info. I've steered them to this thread but wonder if rappelling
>down wouldn't be a fair alternative. Since we weren't aware of the
>new rockfall/problem, I wasn't really looking for possible rappelling
>locations. Has anyone ever rappelled the entire route? It looks like
>it would be doable but it sounds like no one ever does that. Is it
>because you'd have to leave slings and gear, the traversing nature of
>the climb, or because one would get in the way of climbers coming up?
reasons, plus potential loose rock/flakes that could get dislodged.
Sometimes people bail out from the end of the pitch above the bolt
ladder, or at the end of the next (traversing) pitch. This is
the highest fixed anchor (chains), although there are trees above,
here and there.
Karl also mentioned the possibility of a rap route to the
south (I think he meant southeast, roughly above or north of Alley Kat?).
A couple of my friends, in an ill-advised move, rapped down
this area some years ago, following old rap slings. They survived it,
but it would have to be carefully checked out before recommending it
to anyone. It would probably take too long, and have too much
hazard of hanging up a rope. And it might be quite difficult to locate
from above.
>Also, can someone give opinions and directions for an alternative
>exit, such as up and over Cathedral rock (direction away from the
>gully and landslide). I could have sworn one of the other posters
>mentioned such an alternative, but now I can't find it to cite. Also
>looking at my USGS topo it looks like one might be able to get "up
>top" and then hook up with a trail by Bridalveil falls or something.
>Perhaps I am way off, as EB was my first climb in that area.
It is possible to climb to the summit of Middle Cathedral
via lower 5th class climbing (at least from the top of the DNB),
and then descend by going up/around the SW side of Higher Cathedral,
and down the Spires Gully. This was mentioned in a previous post.
It would be pretty tiring, and add 1-2 hours to the descent.
I haven't tried to reach the summit from the area of the Katwalk
where the East Buttress tops out, so I don't know if it's harder
5th class.
So for now, I'm not sure what to recommend for a descent.
Things will have to be checked out. I might do a recon of
the upper Cathedral Chimney (from above), to see how much
debris is still up there.
Clint Cummins
Dingus Milktoast
"Clint Cummins" <cl...@Stanford.EDU> wrote
> It is possible to climb to the summit of Middle Cathedral
> via lower 5th class climbing (at least from the top of the DNB),
> and then descend by going up/around the SW side of Higher Cathedral,
> and down the Spires Gully. This was mentioned in a previous post.
> It would be pretty tiring, and add 1-2 hours to the descent.
Been there, done that.
It'll add a helluva lot more than an hour! More like 2 hours minimum for
those in good shape who know the way, 3 hours for mere mortals and 4 or more
for some of the parties typically seen on the E Butt.
It is arduous getting to the top of H. Cathedral from the E. Butt. I'd say
an hour minimum from the traditional unroping spot, probably more. The time
I did it it took two tries to find an acceptable route to the summit of
Middle, so it took us longer than that. The manzanita between Middle and
Upper has to be experienced to be appreciated. I recommend shorts for a
class in true appreciation.
What, 20 - 30 minutes to the base of Braille Book from there, then easily a
full hour to get back down the Spires Gully. This for someone who knows the
way.
A rap route would be good but the logistics of potential stuck ropes and
rock fall aren't simple. Not sure where it would be best situated. Also, a
convenient rap route would attract even more climbers to this route. Maybe a
"death warrant" on the Cathedral Chimney is a blessing in disguise. I'm sure
the route could use the rest?
DMT
Brutus of Wyde
> It is possible to climb to the summit of Middle Cathedral
> via lower 5th class climbing (at least from the top of the DNB),
> and then descend by going up/around the SW side of Higher Cathedral,
> and down the Spires Gully. This was mentioned in a previous post.
> It would be pretty tiring, and add 1-2 hours to the descent.
> I haven't tried to reach the summit from the area of the Katwalk
> where the East Buttress tops out, so I don't know if it's harder
> 5th class.
The way to the summit from East Buttress is considerably easier than
the pitches to the summit from the "top" of DNB, which I thought were
as hard as any on the DNB. We rated some of the "4th class" pitches
from the top of DNB to the summit as strenuous 5.8, and full of lichen
and looseness to boot.
From the top of East Buttress, I headed toward the summit one day long
ago. Not much difficult ground up there (with good routefinding),
mostly 3rd class slabs with an odd steeper 4th class section and
occasional brush. From the summit of Middle Cathedral, its a VERY
casual walk down to the notch and over the top of Higher. Climbing to
the summit of middle would be the bulk of the time expenditure, rather
than the descent down and up and down Spires Gully trail. You can take
your climbing shoes off at the summit of Middle.
> So for now, I'm not sure what to recommend for a descent.
> Things will have to be checked out. I might do a recon of
> the upper Cathedral Chimney (from above), to see how much
> debris is still up there.
From the top of East Buttress, I would definitely recommend a decisive
pace up and up over the top. Wuss rock climbers all too often miss out
on the summit these days anyways. From the top of DNB... well, I
really don't like the pitches from there to the summit. OTOH, neither
do I like that other option Slime and I took years ago... rappelling
the right side of the U-shaped bowl, down to Powell-Reed Ledges and
thence DNB to the bottom. Bad, bad, bad.
Single-mankyanchor-200-foot-rap-into-nowhere-are-we-gonna-survive-this?-terrortory.
Nor, I see, does Clint recommend the Turret rap route. Mebe Catwalk to
top of East Buttress and over the top. Long days this time of year,
pertnear 17 hours or so.
Brutus
Karl Baba
posted it on my website in case somebody wants to scope potential rap
route locations. I don't know if I'm suggesting that or not but folks
will continue to climb the East Butt and DNB. If it's really that
dangerous, maybe we should develop an alternative so folks don't get
hurt. It should be discussed anyway.
East buttress overview
http://member.newsguy.com/~climbing/Eastbuttressoverview.html
Peace
Karl
Clint Cummins
>I took a picture of the climb and descent from Taft Point yesterday and
>posted it on my website in case somebody wants to scope potential rap
>route locations. I don't know if I'm suggesting that or not but folks
>will continue to climb the East Butt and DNB. If it's really that
>dangerous, maybe we should develop an alternative so folks don't get
>hurt. It should be discussed anyway.
>
>East buttress overview
>http://member.newsguy.com/~climbing/Eastbuttressoverview.html
which is most likely where my friends (Evan Bigall and Ian Nixon)
rapped down using old slings a few years ago (after failing to find
the Kat Walk!!). It is right of the Alley Kat route, and
it ends up in the notch behind Penny Pinnacle (in the Roper guide;
not in the topos of Meyers/Reid guides). From there another
rappel or two reaches the Cathedral Chimney below the main hazard zone
(at the highest red dot in the photo for the lower Cathedral Chimney
gully). The area of this last rappel or two got blasted by the
rockfall, though, so it may have a little loose stuff to be cleared.
I haven't rapped down this myself, but it would not be too hard
to check out.
Clint Cummins
Clint Cummins
notch between it and the main wall, and some of the trees
on the main wall above:
http://member.newsguy.com/~climbing/MarcRappingemail.jpg
It also shows how nice the Cathedral Chimney descent used to
be (clean rock, vegetation that is no longer there, etc.).
Although with the abundance of small stones, there was
always some risk of rockfall.
Clint
Clint Cummins
Kat Walk which avoids the hazardous section of the
Cathedral Chimney. It involves 7-9 single rope (60-80')
rappels. It was an existing rappel route; I refurbished
the slings and added 2 rap rings to nearly all stations.
It goes down from tree to tree on the 450' wall
right of the Alley Kat route, reaching the notch behind
Penny Pinnacle near the bottom. After scrambling down to
near the first rappel tree, a good view of the destruction
in the Cathedral Chimney (gully) can be found. So a choice
between the rap route and the gully could be made at that point.
A topo and further details can be found at:
http://www.stanford.edu/~clint/yos/katpen.htm
I think most people will simply wait until winter rain/snow
clears out some of the loose rock and dust/dirt layer from
the gully. But this is an alternative for people who want
a relatively safe descent for this year.
Clint Cummins
Wiclimber
Even though I won't be
Wiclimber
> http://www.stanford.edu/~clint/yos/katpen.htm
OK lets try that again. Even though I won't be in the area too soon, here's a
big THANKS from WI.
ak
Gnarling
> On June 1, I checked out a rappel route descent from the
> Kat Walk which avoids the hazardous section of the
> Cathedral Chimney. It involves 7-9 single rope (60-80')
> rappels. It was an existing rappel route; I refurbished
> the slings and added 2 rap rings to nearly all stations.
Thank you Clint. You are a pillar of our climbing community!
Best regards,
Inez
Eric D. Coomer
news:adkj9i$qek$1...@usenet.Stanford.EDU...
THANKS Clint. Nice job!
e
Bill Folk
> On June 1, I checked out a rappel route descent from the
> Kat Walk which avoids the hazardous section of the
> Cathedral Chimney. It involves 7-9 single rope (60-80')
> rappels. It was an existing rappel route; I refurbished
> the slings and added 2 rap rings to nearly all stations.
> right of the Alley Kat route, reaching the notch behind
> Penny Pinnacle near the bottom. After scrambling down to
> near the first rappel tree, a good view of the destruction
> in the Cathedral Chimney (gully) can be found. So a choice
> between the rap route and the gully could be made at that point.
> http://www.stanford.edu/~clint/yos/katpen.htm
Thanks Clint. What a great effort for the climbing community.
Bill