Yankee Clipper  5.12a

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Type:  Sport, 15 pitches, 1500 feet, Grade III Consensus:  5.11 [details] FA:  Ismael Garza & Ed Wright 1999 Submitted By:  Charles Konopa on Dec 21, 2007 You & This Route  |  Other Opinions (29) Your todo list: Your stars: Your rating: -none- [change] Your ticklist: [add new tick]

Arin Trook on one of the lower pitches of Yankee C...

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Description 

This is a long moderate route with the 15th pitch being 5.12a. If you don't do the 15th pitch, it goes at 5.10b. I only did the first 14 pitches. We climbed with a single 60m rope and on the raps, we had the knot up against our belay devices multiple times. I recommend the 60m rope, a 70m would be an extra 10m * 14 * 2 = 280m of rope to manage. The rock is sharper the higher you go, until the 14th pitch...in shade and not as sharp. Here are the pitches as best I can remember:

All pitches are 80-100 feet long.

P1: 5.8 Climb pockets to a semi-hanging belay.

P2: 5.8 Climb pockets.

P3: 5.10b Some more pockets, but steeper and thinner. Some crimpers.

P4: 5.8 Jugalicious!!

P5: 5.9 Jugs to a fun roof.

P6: 5.10b Follow the fixed rope around the corner to a good belay stance. Climb carefully up left side of large spiny cactus. The crux comes about halfway.

P7: 5.9 Left angling face climbing with fixed quickdraws to aid in rapping down. Would recommend clipping your own draws to bolts on lead.

P8: 5.9 I led this one. I just remember it being fun. I think it went right and up through a crease in the steep wall on the right.

P9: 3rd Class. Follow fixed rope up for about 50 feet, then follow trail to right, then left as it winds around (140 feet?) to a nice belay stance in the shade.

P10: 5.10b After cooling off in the shade, climb up easy rock to first bolt, then do some 5.8 liebacking through 2 bolts, then pockets/jugs for a couple bolts, then pull through crux on sharp holds to a small stance at anchor.

P11: 5.9 Off the belay make some tight moves to right and up. This is a strong and continuous 5.9 pitch.

P12: 5.9 Less strenuous than the pitch before, but it pulls some vertical moves on jugs, but the jugs are starting to feel too sharp on my raw fingers! The belay is right near the ridgeline.

P13: 5.8 Climbs along the ridgeline on the sunny side up sharp rock to an awesome belay on the shady side. Did I mention there is glorious shade at this belay? There is a summit register of scraps of paper with names on it. Plenty of room here to unrope, drink, eat, cool off, chat, and take pictures.

P14: 5.9+ This pitch starts at a bolt on the far end of the lounge in the shade. Climb rock that is not as sharp on your hands. Do some fabulous stemming and some chimney stuff to gain the sunny ridgeline. Follow ridgeline to belay anchors.

P15: 5.12a I am not this good of a climber, and if I were, my fingers would be too raw, but I could see the closely spaced bolts running up to a cool top out point. I had my partner lower me back to the lounge area, because this belay stance was small.

Location 

Hike past the tin shed and about 30 feet uphill. This is the long clean line left of Space Boyz.

Protection 

Most pitches seemed to need 10-12 draws.

Photos of Yankee Clipper Slideshow

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Marga Powell on the fourth pitch.	BETA PHOTO: Main routes on Jungle Wall. Photo taken February, ...	Marga Powell on the fifth pitch.
P1 of Yankee Clipper splitting the desert vegetati...	Pitch 3 of Yankee Clipper.	Kelly cranking on pitch 5 of Yankee Clipper.
Chuck successfully climbed past the left side of t...	Pitch 10. Kelly after leading thru the 5.10b crux...	BETA PHOTO: The bolts of Pitch 15, 5.12a for those who would l...