First chick ascent of the Evolution Traverse

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Michelle PeotMarch 2012

The High Sierra

Mt Humphreys, Basin Mt, and Mt Tom from the Buttermilks

The Area

Sierra Nevada Range• ~400 mi in length

• Predominately granite

• Most stable weather in Aug-Sep, t-storms in Jun-Jul but not as regular as the Rockies

• High concentration of quality alpine routes between Bridgeport and Lone Pine (~150 mi)

Map from UC Davis’ Information Center for the Environment

The Area | BridgeportIncredible Hulk

photo by Luke Stefurak

Red Dihedral on the Hulk(5.10b, 12 pitches)

The Area | Yosemite (Tuolumne)N Ridge of Mt Conness (5.6)

Third Pillar of Mt Dana

Bear Creek Spire

N Buttress on Merriam Peak (5.10, 10 pitches)

photo by Jed Porter

The Area | Rock Creek/Pine Creek

The Area | Bishop

W Face on Cardinal Pinnacle (5.10a,4 pitches)

N Buttress on Mt Goode (5.9,pitches)

Temple Crag

PalisadesThe Area | Big Pine

Keeler Needles & Mt Whitney

N Ridge on Lone Pine Peak (5.5)

The Area | Lone Pine

The Pioneers

Jules Eichorn

Norman Clyde

Galen Rowell

Vern Clevenger

Peter Croft Glen Dawson

Barbara Lilley

Evolution Traverse

The Mystique

How we got spanked on Evolution Traverse (Shay of pullharder.org, 2007)

“16 hours car-to-car; 22 miles; peaks reached: 0/9” (Warren C and Dave J, 2009)

“Cycling through 3 partners over 3 attempts…” (Ryan H in reference to Josh G, 2011)

“The best traverse I have done.” (Peter Croft in The Good, The Great and the Awesome; FA on attempt #3)

17 documented successful ascents prior to my 2011 attempt (all by men)

The Route

• 5.9, VI

• 10 mile approach over Lamark Col (3,600 ft of gain and 1,600 ft of descent)

• 8 mile ridge traverse over nine 13K ft peaks

• ~16 mile hike out

5.6

5.8

5.9

5.7

1966Gordon Waddell does Spencer to Huxley.

July 1997Peter Croft and Galen Rowell climb Mendel to Haeckel, with Croft continuing on alone for the last 4 peaks.

August 1998Peter Croft and Dayle Mazzerella traverse from 13,360 to Spencer.

June 1999Croft returns to complete the full traverse solo.

The Route | History

Source: Croft’s The Good, The Great, and the Awesome: The Top 40 High Sierra Rock Climbs

My Background

Climbing Been climbing on/off since the mid-90s Since ~2006 increased focus on trad/alpine climbing Comfortable leading ≤ 5.10 trad Enjoy exposure, soloing, and mega days

Work Work full-time as a data geek for a search company in

Glendale CA, but fortunate to work remotely

The Prep

First (half-assed) attempt in Sep 2010 Base camp support from Jascha Bailed before the Mendel summit due to (chronic) hip flexor

issues Major focus on the Aug 2011 attempt

Made the decision to do the traverse alone and unsupported Ton of climbing (trad, sport, bouldering, alpine soloing) with

a focus on alpine speed and endurance Planning & logistics (balancing weight and comfort/safety) PT

The Prep

2011 conditions and my dismal ability to forecast snow levels

(in cm)Data from skiinfo.comRaw data from skiiinfo.com

The Prep

Surprisingly early start to the alpine season given the winter’s record snowfall

N Ridge of Lone Pine Peak (5.5), 30 May

The Prep

Spent much time on Temple Crag to avoid sloggy conditions

Moon Goddess Arete (5.8)

The Prep

Sun Ribbon (5.10a) | Galey | Sill traverse

The Prep

Last minute Evolution crux recon and bivy gear stash 1.5 weeks prior

The Approach

Darwin and Mendel from Lamark Col

The Approach

Darwin Canyon 2010 Darwin Canyon 2011

The Approach

Base camp at Darwin Benches

Darwin Canyon

DarwinBenches

The Climb

13,360 from Darwin Benches

Darwin CanyonDarwinBenches

The Climb

Looking into Evolution Basin fromthe ridgeline on 13,360

Darwin Canyon

DarwinBenches

The Climb

Self portrait en route to 13,360

Darwin Canyon

DarwinBenches

Mendel from the 13,360 summit (5.6)

The Climb

The Climb

Ridge traverse to Mendel

The Climb

Mendel headwall (~25 ft, not 5.9)

The Climb

Darwin from Mendel

The Climb

Picket fence to Darwin (5.8)

The Climb

Darwin summit block

The Climb

Chimney section off the Darwin summit (5.9)

The Climb

More down-climbing off the Darwin summit

The Climb

Traverse to 13,332 (5.9)

The Climb

Golden slab (photo from recon)

The Climb

Bivy #1 with the evening’s entertainment, This American Life

The Climb

13,332 summit

The Climb

Haeckel from 13,332 (class 3)

The Climb

Looking toward Wallace from just below the Haeckel summit

The Climb

And…the wall

The Climb

And…the wall

5.6

5.8

5.9

5.7

The Climb

Emma

The Climb

Fiske from Wallace?

The Climb

Warlow from Fiske

Photo courtesy of Laura Molnar

The Climb

Huxley from Warlow

Photo courtesy of Laura Molnar

Bivy #2

The Climb

Morning light from bivy #2

The Climb

Huxley, the final obstacle (~5.7)

The Climb

The last summit!

The Descent

Hike back on the John Muir Trail through Evolution Basin

The Descent

First real food in 2.5 days

Darwin CanyonDarwin Benches

Summary

~22.5 hours of climbing over 2.1 days

Tips

Go as light as you can taking into consideration your limits and conditions.

Be efficient at route-finding, moving quickly unroped over 4th and easy 5th class terrain, and rope/gear management if you plan to use them.

Consider your water options (snow melt versus dropping down 500’ to Haeckel Col).

Acclimate. A full day at the Darwin Benches helps significantly especially if you are a flatlander.

Note to self: Have your food plan perfected and make sure your camera is fully functional.

Have fun. It’s an amazing climb no matter how far you get.

Questions | Beta

user name fossana on summitpost and mountainproject

slides will be posted on slideshare.net (same user name)

Gear List

80’ of 7mm Mammut Pro Cord – did 1 pack haul, 1 pack lower and 1 rap 3 nuts (sm, med, lg) – didn’t use ATC guide / locker Camp XLH 95 harness 40’ 9/16” tubular webbing – way too much Lightest pair of climbing shoes I could find at the Gear Exchange Western Mountaineering VersaLite (10 degree bag) 2L MSR Dromedary bag (for melting snow) + 100 oz hydration bladder Black Diamond Speed 40 pack Montrail CTC approach shoes Camp Corsa ice axe (left this at Lamark Col on the hike in) Cheap closed cell foam pad cut down to ½ length and minimal width* Rab Storm Bivi* * Cached on recon

More Eye Candy | TRs

Josh Garrison’s video covering 3 attempts: http://vimeo.com/15555114

Patituccis’ blog: http://dolomitesport.com/2009/12/climbing-the-sierra-nevadas-evolution-traverse/

Alan Cattabriga’s TR: http://neice.com/2010/09/the-evolution-traverse/

My TR: http://www.supertopo.com/tr/Evolution-Traverse-How-I-Owe-it-All-to-an-Apple/t11143n.html

Many Thanks To

the following people for beta, encouragement, company on recons/training climbs, and tolerating my obsessive ramblings:

Alan C, Vic L, Peter C, Mike C, Ben H, Jason L, Ian C-B, Tricia L, Matt S, Tai D, Em H, Todd T, Joe L, Lisa R, Wills Y, Jascha L, Joan P, Miguel F, Sandra S, Janel C, Jessie M, Yoshiko and Jim M, Nathan W, Laura M

and especially Emma

Many Thanks To

especially the Limits episode (Apr 2010)