Little Slide Canyon
Outguard Spire is the first tower on the right
Tapin' for the Polish Route
Nuff' said!
Tim leads high on The Hulk
Tim dutifully retrieves our stuck rope
Outguard Spire, Pitch 2
Contemplating The Hulk
Tip of Outguard Spire
Amped for his first mission to the Incredible Hulk, Tim Dittman met me in Bridgeport, CA, one of the Eastside's many Republican strongholds. After wandering through the Twin Lakes RV city, the beaten path passed quickly beneath our feet. Returning to Little Slide always gets me fired up; this magical narrow canyon has some of the best granito anywhere!
Our mission for the day is the Polish Route, rumored to have excellent wide climbing on the left side of the Incredible Hulk. As usual, the Hulk did not disappoint, this route is amazing! The twin splitter cracks visible from afar were the highlight, two cracks to jam! After "finishing" the route on the large ledge below the ridgeline, we contemplated our options.
Continue up the ridge? Daylight fading...no.
Rappel into the gully to the North? Looks chossy and not so fun.
Rappel the unknown route to the left, hoping Peter Croft had a 70m rope as well. Yes!
The rappels down Blowhard went great, Croft did have a 70...
Except for one stuck rope, which Tim retrieved quickly.
The next day dawned cool and windy as a cold front moved into the area. As we lay in our bags it was pretty obvious Positive Vibes would be a full on Patagonian style sacrifice to the wind god, which we weren't into at the time. So, we headed down valley to Outguard Spire a really neat looking tower with a reported great route on the E. Face. The climbing was grand, really fun, and stimulating! The clouds swirled around us, occasionally gathering enough force to snow and quicken our pace. We summited in a calm moment and enjoyed the views of northern Yosemite's granite landscape.
After another great Little Slide trip, Tim and I are both really stoked to get back, for there is always more to do in this special spot of the world!
