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My companions on this
trip were Misha and Thibaut (a/k/a "T-Bo" or
"T-Bone"), friends
from my occasional forays into the
local SF climbing gym. Misha was our
"experienced hand", having gotten back into rock
climbing last summer after a hiatus of many years.
T-Bo was a natural in the gym, but had never been
climbing outside. I was somewhere in between; I
had a lot backcountry experience but was quite simply
a shitty climber. With this trip, I hoped to
improve on that. Our plan was to start off on
easy ground, then graduate to something more
challenging once we felt comfortable.
After leaving our
bandit camp near Big Oak Flat (see photo), we
cruised up the Tioga Road for our surprise appointment
with the wayward deer. We pulled over en route to
gaze up at the Northwest Buttress of
 Tenaya Peak,
a beautiful but apparently moderate piece of granite.
We debated climbing this for awhile but then decided
to continue on to Tuolumme Meadows and stick with the
original plan of climbing around the
Echo Peaks.
The Echo Peaks are a
cluster of around 10 granite peaklets that mark the
highpoint of the incomparably beautiful Budd Lake area. The
summits are generally short scrambles of a few hundred
feet with outrageous views and fun but not overly
spicy climbing -- sort of like rock climbing "lite",
which is a perfect warmup for a shitty climber like
myself. The exception is "Echo Peak #9",
a fiendish-looking detached pinnacle that warrants a
5.7 rating via its easiest route. Our intention
was to scramble up a few of the easier Echo Peaks
without roping up, and then graduate to #9 and to
neighboring Cockscomb for more technical climbing.
The plan was working great until the weather blew in.
After bagging a couple of the easier peaks and seeing
the development of some threatening clouds, we became
anxious to use the rope and climbing rack we had schlepped up there.
So Misha led us up the nearly vertical west face of #9. I followed and
trailed a second rope for T-Bo, who cleaned the pitch.
Despite a stuck rope (which T-Bo retrieved after a
very skillful downclimb) and some crybaby bitching by
your faithful correspondent at the crux overhang, we all made the summit and
signed into the register. By this point, dark
clouds had appeared all around us and distant thunder
was telling us it was time to bail. We rappelled
off the pinnacle, had a quick lunch, and then hiked
out. Cockscomb was simply not in the cards
today. Fortunately, the clouds never found us,
although it seemed like it was raining all around our
area.
The crest near Lee Vining was especially pounded and
saw several inches of hail.
We had availed
ourselves of the obligatory dinner
stop at the Whoa Nelli Deli (where, as always, we
bumped into several friends). This was followed by
yet another great bandit camp high along the Tioga Road -- location
undisclosed!
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Bouldering along Budd
Creek
(photo: T.Weise) |
SE Buttress of
Cathedral Peak
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Mount Conness and the
Tuolumne High Country
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T-Bo and Misha near Budd
Lake; Echo Peaks above |
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T-Bo and I nearing
the top of Wilts Col; Cathedral Peak behind
(photo: M.Logvinov)
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Matthes Crest from Wilts
Col |
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T-Bo and I scrambling Echo Peak
#5; Budd Lake below
(photo: M.Logvinov)
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Gathering storm
clouds over Echo Peaks
(photo: M.Logvinov)
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Misha atop Echo Peak #5
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T-Bo atop Echo Peak #5 |
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The sinister looking
Echo Peak #9
(photo: M.Logvinov)
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Misha and T-Bo
descending the knife edge of Echo Peak #7 |
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Fresh snow/hail on Mt.
Dana |
Your correspondent on
the knife-edge of #7
(photo: M.Logvinov) |
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Matthes Crest
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Misha at the start of
Echo Peak #9
("Why are you taking
my picture and not keeping me on belay?!") |
My First Hanging
Belay
(photo: M.Logvinov) |
T-Bo cruising up Echo #9 |
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More T-Bo
(photo: M.Logvinov) |
Misha atop Echo #9;
Cathedral Peak behind
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Me and T-Bo
atop Echo Peak #9
(photo: M.Logvinov) |
T-Bo rapping off the
summit block |
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Your correspondent
rapping off the summit
(photo: M.Logvinov) |
OK, Misha gets a poster
boy rappel shot too
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Misha raps into the
chasm between Echo #8 and #9
(photo: M.Logvinov) |
Yo, can I get another
rappel photo?
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T-Bo on the walk-off
from the #8/#9 gap
(photo: M.Logvinov) |
Another shot of the
sinister looking Echo Peak #9
(photo: M.Logvinov) |
T-Bo and Misha
heading down Wilts Col |
Looking back at Echo
Peaks under dark clouds |
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