Rostrum Roof Yosemite

These aren t our words but those of alex honnold and he s referring to the alien tony yaniro s beautiful final variation to warren harding and glen denny s famous the rostrum which breaches the superbly exposed roof high above yosemite valley and which honnold soloed in september 2011.

Rostrum roof yosemite.

Kaukulator an 80 foot single pitch 5 11c on the west face of the rostrum that had a protective capstone roof. A summit trodden only by ravens and chipmunks. We marched to the rostrum. The rostrum is a truly rad climb.

A route caught my eye. 5 9 lie back and jam your way past a piton and exit to the belay station via a 5 8 squeeze chimney. Rather the wonderfully named formation was marginally detached from the main cliff and therefore afforded that wonderful goal impossible to find in yosemite now. Instead you must climb over on crimps to the other crack fifteen feet shy of the bolt and then climb more 12 climbing to the final 5 11 finish.

The roof is easily 12 c. Stays dry in a light rain i read to john from the book. The rostrum is probably the most enjoyable multi pitch 5 11 in yosemite valley. Although the rostrum lured the valley pioneers it certainly wasn t the preposterously steep north face that attracted them.

It is visable directly across from the reed s pinnacle area and is distinguishable by it s blocky summit. Every pitch is high quality and would be sought after individual classics were they at any crag but stacked on top of each other they create a superb and memorable challenge. Park at the pullout along the stone wall or just past it at a dirt pullout. 5 11a step off from the belay ledge and do a short traverse left.

Unfortunately if you are shorter than said height you cannot reach through to the regular rostrum roof crack. During that autumn the american also soled astroman on the very same day as alien cosmic debris 8a and heaven 7c and at the time we wrote those who know these routes and alien in particular are aware. Alex climbed all the harder variations on astroman including. I pored through the guidebook wanting this trip to be more than just a soggy day hike.

Pitch after pitch of clean steep and outstanding crack climbing. Featuring alex honnold free soloing astroman 5 11c 10 pitches and the rostrum 5 11c 8 pitches in yosemite valley in a single day. I thought the entire route was at last 12 d given my variation. Courtesy chris van leuven during much of the year yosemite valley s granite is slick due to glacier polish and how the.

Eliza kerr enjoying tea and cookies while midway up the rostrum. The rostrum is a beautiful pillar of gray rock with sheer orange sections and beautiful crack systems.