Date: August 25, 2018
Team: Diana Anthony, Dillon Arey, Hannah Neville, Grant Oakley, Hannah Neville, Kevin Shenk
Leg 1: Trans Tenaya Swim
Leg 2: Calorie Bombin’
Leg 3: Tenaya Peak, Northwest Buttress, 14(?) pitches, 5.5
“So how much daylight do we have left again?”
I had hoped to write up something a bit more detailed, but alas, I procrastinated far too many months. Instead, here are some pictures of our “Tenayathlon.”
Trans Tenaya Swim
We kicked off the day by joining in on an El Portal tradition, an annual swim across Tenaya Lake in Yosemite NP. The strongest did an out-and-back. Us mere mortals joined them for the return trip. It was hard enough swimming a mile above 8,000 feet!
Calorie Bombin’
Fresh out of the brisk Tenaya water, we were greeted with a true feast provided by the Shenks’ friends and neighbors. Time to replace some much needed calories with wholesome foods and, of course, some climber fuel (a.k.a warm IPA).
Tenaya Peak
Dry and fed, we started off for a less-than-alpine start on Tenaya Peak. At this point Hannah realized we would definitely be topping out in the dark, so she made the wise decision to replace this round with a trail run. The rest of us started up on the scramble to the base.
We never really figured out if we were on route and what constituted a “pitch” on this climb. Pro and belay stances were plentiful, so we just kinda rolled with it. We roped up about a third of the way up and mixed simul-climbing and belaying to the top.
At this point, we accepted we would definitely finish in the dark. We decided it would be safest to wait below the final pitch for the second party Dillon and Diana to reach us so that we could top out together.
Right as we were starting to get a little worried, Dillon’s headlight popped over the ledge. We sat under a star-filled sky as Diana pulled the last few moves to the top.
Not pictured was the climb off the backside, which I’m sure would be beautiful in the daylight. Easy but high-consequences ledges made the return trip…interesting. Back at the car, I learned that my headlight does in fact have other settings than low (whoops).
Something tells me we’ll be back for round two!
Grant's Loose Parts Bin 