Regular Route (Higher Cathedral Spire) 

A large portion of the last pitch of this route fell off in the 80's or so, changing this pitch substantially. Watch out for loose stuff!

Only "classic" in terms of its history and a nice view of the Valley from the top. The climbing itself is unmemorable and there is quite a bit of loose rock.

Some loose rock, yes, but unmemorable? 3 pitches of 5.9, incredible setting, great exposure, and a plethora of variations for your choosing. The hike isn't even bad. Definitely classic in my book.

Just my opinion. Of the 100 or so Valley routes I've climbed to date, this is just not one I'm anxious to jump on again. Again, just my opinion. Glad you liked it though!

No worries, just adding some positive balance. We climbed the NE Butt of HCR (just across the talus field) after I wrote my last comment and watched climbers disturb a crazy amount of rock, I think from the ledge above pitch 4. Careful on the "shattered rock" variation in Supertopo for pitch 4.

The pitch 2 variation out over the roof right onto a foothold sparse arete and flaring hands adds some challenge and comes straight up to the belay. Seemed a bit harder than the rest of the route.

This is a fun climb in my opinion, and the historical nature of the route only adds to the experience. Great summit.

I agree. I had a great time and the top-out is insanely awesome. What a view! So much of the time in the valley, you just get to the top of some cliff and hike down. It was fun to climb something with a more "alpine" finish.

This is an unbelievable climb for its era, and highly recommended. Five pitches as we climbed it.

Not sure why this wouldn't be a classic - it's steeped in history, has a truly awesome (I don't use that word lightly) summit with sweeping vistas, and gets some massive exposure as it progresses. Not the kind of exposure you earn as you climb but the kind that suddenly jumps out at you, unexpectedly, increasing it's impact.

How many moderate routes can boast this? Even in Yosemite. IMHO the traverse on P4 is about as good as rock climbing gets - like a scene from "The Mountain" with Spencer Tracy easing his way across, above the abyss, blowing on in his cold hands and hammering in pitons as he goes.

Maybe I'm just old, grey, and way too romantic.

See the spectacular shot of the final variation pitch in the latest Rock and Ice (#183) where it's featured under "Routes Less Traveled - The Best Yosemite Moderates Off Beaten Track".

There are at least 3 possibilities for P2, of which I have done 2, and both were quite good. There is the alternative pitch listed to the right of P2 to go up the corner direct, which people kept saying was a sandbag at 5.10, (specifically listing it as being harder than the crux of Serentiy Crack and the Boulder Problem on S/SW) but honestly, it isn't harder than 10a. There is also another unlisted pitch to the right of that one another 7 meters that is good, and probably also 10a.
As well, the P3/4 can be linked to a direct varriation on cracks on the right into the R-side variation on the top, which is also good.

Seems to me that there are practically 2 different climbs sharing almost no territory at all there, save for P1. We did it one way, rapped pitches and repeated on varriations for bonus mileage.

Was expecting old school Yosemite 5.9 climbing, but I thought it seemed fairly mellow. We did the bathtubs variation on pitch 2 and the 5.9 traverse variation on the last pitch. The approach is a pain, but well worth it!

Bailed off P4 due to time and group size. Going back soon to reach the summit.

I agree with Les. The climbing is fairly mellow if you stay on route. The hand crack finish at the top is good.

I posted back in 2010 that we were expecting old school 5.9 climbing but that it was fairly mellow. So, I just went back and did the original line on P2 and the shattered rock variation/steep hands variation on P4. Those made the route far more challenging! P2 was stout - more like 10a/b. P4 was stout 5.9.

No variation was better than the other. All is great climbing.

Variations upon variations available on this one. We did:
Standard pitch 1,
Straight up through pins and roof variation on p2 (.10- I thought),
Straight up and right variation on steep flakes for p3 (.10-?),
And wrapped completely around the spire for two airy, moderate, and beautiful traversing pitches,
Finishing with a short steep pitch on good locks to a finishing jug on the east side of the spire. Odyssey!

Rapped down and linked up to Braille Book for a great day.

Don't leave food at the base, the squirrels will chew through everything to get it.

Like previous people have alluded, there are 3 ways to go for P2. Supertopo only lists two ways, but if you go straight up from the top of P1 that is the third way not in the guide. It can be deceiving because it 'kinda' looks like a 5.9 finger crack in a corner,... but it's not. I went up it thinking it was 5.9 and was really surprised. The fingers section down low is probably 5.9 but pulling the roof felt more like 10b/c and you have to make some more delicate moves afterwards before you can get gear in.

I also thought the rest of the route was going to be as difficult as P2 and was pleasantly surprised to find it pretty easy (all the other 5.9 sections are one-move wonders). Even the 5.9 hands variation at the top was really mellow for 5.9 and quite short.

Only while rapping the route, did I see the actual 5.9 variation for P2. You'll know you're on that one if you see about 5 pins in the crack.

Great route and a fun feature to top out on. Yeah there's some lose rock and a majority of the climbing is unsustained, but I still thought it was a fun day out.

This is a great route, classic history, amazing summit. The climbing is not the kind of pure, clean crack you get on Central Pillar of Frenzy, but still an awesome route.

A couple notes:

Lose rock is mostly stuff sitting on ledges at belays: be careful not to knock it on to people below you! Other than that, the rock on the route itself was solid with the exception of the direct shattered route section. That was...delicate. It will eventually all come out but fine to climb right now.

When rapping off the top, try to stay to climber/rappeller's right to go to the trees on the right of the route if another party is coming up. Avoids a cluster

Definitely do the direct variations - they are so much more fun and clean. P2 variation has a ton of pins and the roof-like move is well protected and maybe 10a-.

For P3 you'll see the orange rock / "rotten chimney" and a big fin-like buttress. Normal route goes in back of (to the left) this fin and the direct just continues in the corner then does a quick move onto a bit of the face. Really nice - small nut and small cam protect well.

For P4, I did the shattered rock variation, but if your aim is to do the steep 5.9 crack finish (recommended), you can actually just do the normal P4 and then hop up to the ledge off to the right of where you would belay to set up a belay for the P4 crack. This avoids the shattered rock.

The P5 steep 5.9 is very short and is more of a flake than a straight in crack. Fun finish and avoids all the weirdness to the left.

Fun to hear and see everyone on Braille Book and NEB throughout the climb!