Multi-Pitch Climbing Weekend

Longer multi-pitch climbing is where it is at for us! We love getting up high and the sense of commitment that comes with being hundreds of feet above the horizontal. This program continues our Rock II course and gives you more practice on longer multi-pitch routes.

Location
We have selected two of the finest local climbs for this outing. One climb is out of Lone Pine at the end of the Whitney Portal road. The second is in the Bishop area above Cardinal Village just west of Bishop in the North Fork of Bishop Creek.

Itinerary
Day One: Premier Buttress at Whitney Portal is a great warm up and is rated 5.7 /A0. The A0 part means a short 20 foot bolt ladder through a steep slab where you can swing from bolt to bolt easily and then get back onto the rock as the angle eases off. Great climbing, perfectly framed views of Mt Whitney and oceans of white granite everywhere. The route is five pitches long and has an easy rappel route to a few feet away from our gear.

We plan to get done early enough to retire to the Portal Store where our friend Doug will feed you the best burger and fries in the Eastern Sierra.

Day Two: This blocky tower offers several great routes to choose from. The four pitch Regular Route is rated 5.6 and has a short, but stellar crack up high. A little harder is Red Bush with some technical hand jamming, but our favorite is the 5.9 West Face link-up. Local hardman Peter Croft popularized this route and hasn't stopped raving about it since (But then every route Peter does is the best he has ever done). Each pitch has a little 5.9 on it. Not long and not sustained, but certainly enough to get you thinking and working. Finger cracks, perfect jams and wide stemming. Some of every type of climbing you can think of.

Instructors
Our guides are American Mountain Guides Association trained so you can expect the highest level of climbing and safety knowledge combined with solid instructional skills and professionalism.

We highly recommend that you spend at least one night at moderate altitude (higher than 8,000') just prior to the trip. Spending a night in Mammoth would do the trick. Please refer to our Planning for Success info sheet for more info.

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