before the storm...

The rain has arrived and shows no signs of letting up. There should be some serious snow accumulation by the end of the week, up to 10 feet. Luckily, the weather was fine and clear on Saturday and most of Sunday. I snapped the above picture late in the afternoon just as the rain moved into the Valley.

After a quick chat at the Church Bowl lot we decided the day was ripe for Royal Arches. The first time I did this route I went up the chimney pitch to start, but Saturday we went for the crack start to the right. Good choice. That first pitch is fun. After that, the climb started to blend into a mix of hand jams, perfect granite, and occasional smears to avoid water streaks. Some of the face moves to avoid wet sections were more then I would have normally take on, but I had a good spotter. The traversing pitch after the pendulum was wet but not really an issue. After a dozen or so palm and sole smears across the final traverse the climbing had ended, but the descent had just begun! (no camera on this climb, photos are from Sunday's hike up Indian Canyon)

The views were great. We stopped to rest along the way. We soaked it up as much as possible knowing the storm was on track for a week long stay. At the bottom we checked out the start of Astroman. Not ever having been to the start before, I was surprised by how much the Harding Slot stands out. That thing looms. Word on the street is to lay it back until until your shoulders wedge. Then wiggle. And wiggle, until you cut your feet and make one desperate move to get them up into the chimney.

We did most of the descent in bare feet and happily strolled back to the Awahnee lot by 3. Deli. Sandwich. Beer...

Found a seat by the fire in the corner and brought out the Ukulele. No one seemed to mind my strumming, so we chilled for a bit until motivation returned. I would have gone farther into that six pack of green label but my partner was keen.

We finished off the day with After Six just in time to watch the sunset. Lovely red clouds as the sun sunk below the hills. Thankful for another day in the Valley.