Halfdome Approach Conditions

We walked by Astroman on our descent. It looked dry.

East Buttress of El Cap is probably wet (there was a lot of water coming down everywhere), and the descent from Middle Cathedral is probably full of snow (most of the couloirs on the south side of the valley still had snow). Good luck!

Hi Cory,

We climbed the East Buttress route on Middle Cathedral last Sat (April 30) and the route was pretty warm and totally dry. The descent gully was very snowy and looked tricky to descend. We opted for the alternative rap route via Penny Pinnacle that will avoid most of the snow. We finished by rapping the north couloir from Penny Pinnacle and this is not recommended because of bad anchors (we got our rope stuck at the end of the raps). Rapping straight down from Penny Pinnacle would have been a lot faster and easier. Have fun!

Cheers,
-Ville

SeanKuus wrote:Bump.. I'm hoping for condition reports on: Steck-Salathe Astroman East Buttress of El Cap...(Horsetail?) Descent from Middle Cathedral Thanks

You know, if you're going to be there anyways, you could always go and check for yourself.

Fat Dad wrote: You know, if you're going to be there anyways, you could always go and check for yourself.

You know Fat Dad, you're right. How dare I take up space in the forums with a silly question that will only help me plan my trip to Yosemite. Seriously, let's get back to the important issues that should be on the MP forum: What cams should I buy and what's better, dyneema or nylon? Thanks