I am going to Yosemite Valley in october and was wondering if u knew of any easy 5.4 (3,2,1, or 0) multi-pitch safe climbs in the area for a begging multi-pitch climber.

-- (Redstone14@aol.com), September 15, 1998

Answers

i am not aware of anything like that, but you might want to check in the index of the guidebook by D. Reid, "Yosemite: free climbs" which lists climbs by grade. actually the climbing in the valley is pretty hard generally speaking. you might want to consider "The Grack, center", which isn't too bad for a 5.6.

-- Quang-Tuan Luong (luong@ai.sri.com), September 15, 1998.

Also take a look at the left side of Monday Morning Slab. It's rated 5.2 in the guidebook and goes in three pitches. I personally have climbed this several times with beginning climbers and have never had anyone not be able to get up it. The protection is good where you need it, but make sure you have a 2-3" cam to protect the crux, which seemed harder than 5.2 to me. The crux is obvious once you're at the first belay stance.

You can rappel from the top of the third pitch (go ALL the way up the slab), or from the second pitch.

-- James Waldrop (sulam@construct.net), October 13, 1998.

Although I have not climbed The Grack, Center, I have seen it up close, and it looks like a great climb for the grade. Just left of The Grack is The Cow, which has a left (run-out, 5.7 friction), a center (5.5 crack/friction), and a right (5.6 crack/friction) routes. I've led and followed the center route, and followed the right route, both of which end at a great ledge/rap station, although there are one or two more pitches above this ledge, but the grade is harder, like 5.7 or 5.8, some with good pro, another with little to none. One climb that I have done, that is multi-pitch, and rated 5.6, and I recommend, is Munginella, which is in the 5 Open Books area, just left of Yosemite Falls. My partner and I did it in three pitches, and each pitch gets steeper and harder as you go, but the protection is good, the location is great, with trees and a dihedral wall for shade, and a good ledge for belaying at the top of the first pitch. Another climb that I haven't done but want to do is After Six, on Manure Pile Buttress, in the Three Brothers area. It, like Munginella, is supposed to be up to 5.6 with 5 or 6 pitches, but I've heard that the best climbing on this route is the first pitch, and some recommendations say to escape off the route to the left after the first pitch. Enjoy, and be safe (take your helmut, your time, and double up and double check your gear)!

-- David L. Cole (dcole@hevanet.com), January 12, 1999.