Climbing for 2011: Score is 1-4

Yes, 1-4, meaning 1 successful summit and 4 bails on long routes in Yosemite Valley. Let's examine a photo record:

#1:

Shern cleaning pitch 3 of the Nose (5.9 C2, 31 pitches) on El Capitan

We bailed after 6 pitches: heinous hauling (for me) and too much exposure (for Shern) shut us down.

#2:

Tarek jury-rigging kneepads for our attempt on Lost Arrow Chimney (5.10, 10 pitches)

We got up one pitch by 8:30am and then the sun blasted us...we now call the Upper Falls wall the Diabolical Parabolical.

#3:

Deep-space Explorer: Ben rappelling off the West Face route (5.7 C2+, 11 pitches) on the Leaning Tower

With a 3:00AM start time, we were planning on topping out in the afternoon. Pitch 3 had other plans for me when an offset cam I had just weighted popped out and sent me for a 25-footer. I lost my aider and the cam into the great beyond...and I only had one other aider. Bye bye.

#4:

Kristin cruising up the splitter hands on the Enduro Corner (pitch 4) on Astroman (5.11c, 12 pitches)

We had done these crux pitches previously on a test run (we had intended on rappelling after doing them) and had felt pretty good; this time around we got an early start (read: poor sleep) but yet again the great Helios had other plans for us as he rode his chariot across the sky. By pitch 6 we were tired (Kristin) and crampy (me). Bail number 4...

The only success so far was on Steck-Salathe (5.10-, 15 pitches) on the Sentinel. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera!

As a consolation prize, here is my redpoint of a recent project, Space Invaders (5.12):



Update: Make that 3(ish) successful summits! I climbed the Rostrum 3 times this season, twice by the popular North Face route and once by a route called Blind Faith, which is just right of the NF.