First Ascent info, pre-guidebook

This post is intended to illuminate folks looking to get out and climb some of the not-yet-published routes in Southern Yosemite. Each topo obviously comes with a few caveats. First, quite a few of these topos are quite old as I have just recently returned to the area, but most of the routes were completed before I moved to Seattle in 2008. So take it for what it's worth, this is not gospel, and if you really want up-to-date beta contact me or look for it in the forthcoming guidebook that will soon be published by my long time friend Grahm Doe. Second, these routes represent quite a bit of work and since returning to the area I have noticed quite a bit of re-growth in many of the trails that access our local crags. Please, go out and purchase a pair of mini pruning shears and chop that manzanita, chinquapin, and bull thistle back so we can all get out there and rage. Third, whatever your motivation for checking these out is, please do not direct your spray in my direction. I have better things to do.

The Balls, Nightwatch Dome.

I've put up a quite a few routes on this dome. The rock is really good, think South Face of Dome Rock. In a few places the rock has been so hard that I have completely smoked my drill bits to oblivion, drained the battery and been forced to finish drilling the hole by hand by pounding on just the bit itself. Good fun!! There are quite a few new routes on this dome that I have not had time to draw topos for so contact me if you'd like to get on them. Most of the routes can be done with a single 60 M rope, but a few are done in old school style with long pitches, no rapp gear on the anchors, mandatory simul-climbing etc.

Fresh Off the Farm Grade III 5.10b

Fresh off the farm, and Get into the groove

This route ended up being alot of fun. I started up it roped solo climbing the crux first pitch with a gri-gri solo. The start is off a ledge, traverse out left and clip a bolt then purple or green camalot, continue up the crack to a ledge and start up the 5.10 bolt clipping. I broke a hold off this section while rope soloing the FA and took a good whipper so I can say the bolts are definitely good!! Rappell from there with a single 60 m rope or continue up from there up the slab clipping bolts as you go. This is run-out. The route goes up what looks like a black triangle from the ground. It got called Fresh off the Farm because of the fresh snow we got on the route just as I finished drilling the final bolts. We rappelled the route, got back to the car, and the climbing season was over for that year!! Thanks to my amigo Dave DeMasi for accompanying me on this awesome adventure.

Get into the groove 5.12-

The 5.12 on this route can be bypassed via a high clip off the start, and traversing out right making the route 5.7.

Photo of the topo. Sorry I don't have anything better at the moment.

Schuting Gallery

First pitch of 'Balls Deep' 5.8

This is for an area to the right of the main south face of Nightwatch. The parking area is a bit up hill from the previous parking area, go for an unofficial campground and look for the cairn just before you get there. Approach time: 25 minutes on a good trail. There are a few routes there, all of which are fairly 'adventurous' meaning that you should make sure you're comfortable doing runouts of 30-50' on ground that is typically 5.5 or so. As grades get harder, protection gets better.

General overview of the area. I have a topo for each of these routes somewhere...

Other new routes in 'The Balls' area include routes on Book Of Revelations, JLT dome, Tempest Dome, Piwiau dome (formerly named Squaw Dome) other parts of Nightwatch dome, and various other formations in the area. Contact me for details if you'd like to know what's been done in the area in general, by me or other locals.

Shuteye Ridge

Red Eagle, Thank Knob

This route is the furthest left on Red Eagle right on the edge of the gully separating Red Eagle and Minerva Dome. The consensus grade on this route is .10C. Bring lots of slings for protecting knobs on the 2nd pitch. The route gets a PG 13 protection rating for how spicy it is between the bolts. 

The Consensus grade is .10C

Climbing Resume'

Significant Free Climbs


Venusian Blinds, Temple Crag, Grade IV, 5.9, Sierra High Country, Ca


Sun Ribbon Arete, Temple Crag, Grade IV, 5.9, Sierra High Country, Ca

Tyrolean Traverse, Sun Ribbon Arete

N.E. Buttress Mt. Goode, Grade IV, 5.10, Sierra High Country, Ca

Original Route Rainbow Wall, Grade IV 5.12 Red Rocks, NV

Steck Salathe' The Sentinel, Grade IV 5.9 Yosemite, Ca

N.E. Buttress Higher Cathedral, Grade IV 5.9 Yosemite, Ca

East Buttress Middle Cathedral, Grade IV 5.10c Yosemite, Ca

East Buttress El Capitan, Grade IV 5.10b Yosemite, Ca

Poly-Grip, Meat Wall, 5.12- Indian Creek, Utah

Coyne Crack, SuperCrack area, Indian Creek, Utah

Aid Climbing

South Face of Washington Column, Grade IV 5.11b A1Yosemite, Ca

Skull Queen, Washington Column, Grade V 5.9 A2 Yosemite, Ca

Zodiac (hammerless), El Capitan, Grade V 5.9 C3 Yosemite, Ca

The Shield, El Capitan, Grade V 5.9 A3 Yosemite, Ca

Triple Direct, El Capitan, Grade V 5.9 A1 Yosemite, Ca

Deep Voodoo (third clean ascent), Grade III C3+ Kane Creek Tombstones Moab, Ut

First Ascents


Slice-N-Dice, Afterlife Crag, 5.9, Mazama, Wa

Death by Cookies, Afterlife Crag, 5.10a, Mazama, Wa

Sugar route, Turtle Creek Dome Grade III 5.10 Dinkey Creek, Ca

Flabberghasted, Electric Eagle, 5.11c Shuteye Ridge, Ca

Starting out on the lead drilling, Flabberghasted.

Control Your Pipe, Gray Eagle, Grade III 5.9 Shuteye Ridge, Ca

The Path, Schuting Gallery of Nightwatch Dome, Grade III 5.9R The Balls, Ca

Intrepid Voyage, Gray Eagle, Grade III 5.10b Shuteye Ridge, Ca

Intrepid Voyage

Intrepid Voyage

Road to Zion, Gray Eagle, Grade III 5.10B PG-13 Shuteye Ridge, Ca

Dances with Bush, Gray Eagle, Grade III 5.10D PG-13 Shuteye Ridge, Ca

Get Into the Groove, Nightwatch Dome, Grade III 5.12- The Balls, Ca

Fully Baked, Nightwatch Dome, Grade III 5.11+ The Balls, Ca

Wham Bam Thank You Jam, Red Eagle, Grade III 5.10+ Shuteye Ridge, Ca

18 Cans of Oly, Book of Revelations, 5.10a, The Balls, Ca

Storming the Castle, Gray Eagle, Grade III 5.12 Shuteye Ridge, Ca

Topped out on Storming...with Nico Favresse

Thank Knob, Red Eagle, 5.10C Shuteye Ridge, Ca

placing a bolt, getting ready to fire the crux, Thank Knob

Fresh off the Farm, Nightwatch Dome, 5.10 The Balls, Ca

Getting close to topping out, Fresh off the Farm

The Arete of Captain Obvious, Gray Eagle, Grade III 5.9 Shuteye Ridge, Ca

Ben Schutz Memorial Route, Kerchoff Dome 5.10+ Big Creek, Ca

Misc FA's:
many, JLT dome, The Balls, Ca

many, Calico Basin, Red Rocks, NV