Dome Rock

I had the opportunity to go rock climbing with some SMR teammates on Saturday. The weather was chilly early, but beautiful. We climbed on Dome Rock, a popular crag in the national forest maybe 60 miles from home. It was my first chance to try trad (traditional) climbing a multi-pitch route (for routes that are longer than your rope, you must rig new anchors along the route, and each approximate rope-length section of the climb is called a pitch. After warming up with some short toproped climbing, three of us did a four pitched route called the Tree Route, which is over 300' long. It was also my first shot at slab climbing, where the climb is not vertical. The Sierra has a lot of granite domes, and the techniques for climbing them are different than with face climbing.

Found on the approach trail, this giant pine cone puts my size 11 or 11.5 (can't remember what they are =) shoe in perspective.

Mehmet belays Bo as he sets up a toprope for warming up.

John is lowered on belay after a top-roped climb.

View from the Tree Route, second pitch.

Christie setting up protection for an additional route.

Spring-loaded camming devices (SLCD's) in this crack form the belay anchor for the 2nd and 3rd pitches. The crack is also what makes this route a relatively easy climb.

Christie approaching Bo and the 3rd belay station.

Ready for the fourth and final pitch.

The climb was rated only 5.7, which is fairly easy, but it was perfect for me. Anyway, nothing's easy when you're a few hundred feet off the ground and the wind is blowing your snot sideways. I learned a lot and had a ton of fun. And going with the SMR folks is awesome- their knowledge of the locale, experience and focus on safety is both invaluable and free!

Oh, and in related news, on our way home, there was an official callout for a search and rescue, close to the area we had just left! An 81 yr old man with dementia was reported missing. The sherriff's office basically needed "ground-pounders," since it wasn't a technical rescue, and the county has teams for ground searches. A few SMR people responded nonetheless. As of today, the search is still ongoing. The subject's car has been located high on a jeep trail in the mountains, after having been driven with a flat tire more than twenty miles. Tracks and scent have been found heading south and downhill. The temperature up there has been dropping below freezing at night, so we all hope this gentleman is found soon. I didn't respond because I had a prior committment and I'm not yet qualified by the county (they're still in the process of conducting a background check).