Sep 17: The Rostrum

Today I did the Rostrum again. This time with Snort. This is the 2nd time I did the route. I didn't mind climbing it twice in a week because it's so good. About a week ago I climbed it with Holly, an American woman, Investment Banker from New York. I lead all the pitches at the time. Today Snort and I traded leads. The route is graded 5.11c. The route must be one the best climbing routes in the world. We have been using a Guide Book called Supertopo, written by Chris Mcnamara. Chris writes "It is hard to imagine a more perfect pillar of rock than the Rostrum. The face averages dead vertical, the cracks are laser-cut and the climb endds on spire-like sumit block." I could not have put it better. The North Face route we did is 8 full-length rope pitches (making it higher than Blouberg, as Snort candidly observed!) . When I did it with Holly I did the Alien Finish, which is 5.12b, my hardest lead so far in Yosemite. I was happy! When I did the route with Snort a week later we alternated leads and did the regular 5.9 off-width. But we had done Snake Hike the day before so I was a bit tired from the previous day. This is a world-classic route.