The PCS Quiz #2 Answers

True or False

1.	Yosemite was named in honor of the Miwok Indians who inhabited the valley.

True -- In 1851, Dr. Lafayette Bunnell gave the valley the name Yosemity thinking it was the name of the tribe that had occupied the valley.  It was later learned that the tribe called themselves the Ahwanechee, not Yosemity, and that they in turn called the valley Ahwahnee.  But the name stuck.  The spelling was changed to "Yosemite" in 1852.

[Source: Place Names of the Sierra Nevada, p.242]

2.	Modern geologists believe that the northwest face of Half Dome was created by the action of glaciers.

False -- It is believed that the glaciers never reached high enough to affect the face.  Tens of millions of years ago, the basic shape of Half Dome was formed when a granitic protrusion cooled deep underground.  Uplift and erosion eventually exposed the rock, and due to the decreased pressure the rock began to exfoliate.  This process continues today to slowly shed rock from the dome.

It should be noted that Half Dome is really not "half" of a dome at all; it has a fairly symmetric shape, with the south face nearly as shear as the northwest face.

Climbers have referred to Half Dome as "expando-dome" due to the large number of expanding flakes -- due to exfoliation.

Read the Native American Myth:  How Half Dome Was Formed.

3.	TM Herbert was named for Tuolomne Meadows

False -- But TM would like you to think it was the other way around:

"Yeah, they named it after me." - TM while in Tuolomne in the mid-1990's

4.	Washington Column is so named because it is said to resemble George Washington when viewed from a certain point on the south rim of the valley.

True -- Although not many people can attest to seeing this likeness.

[Source: Place Names of the Sierra Nevada, p.232]

5.	John Salathe was the first to set foot on the summit of Lost Arrow Spire at the conclusion of his 1946 climb.

False -- After John Salathe rope-soloed to the ledge named for him, he returned a week later with John Thune and pushed the route to within 40 feet of the top.  But before Salathe could return again, Anton "Ax" Nelson and friends beat him to the summit by tossing a rope from the rim over the tip, climbing the Spire to this rope, and then ascending the rope to the summit.

The first true ascent came the following year.  After several aborted attempts, Salathe and Nelson spent five long days climbing the Spire from its base via the Lost Arrow Chimney.  Their meager rations for this climb included just six liters of water -- about 20 ounces per person per day!

[Source: Defying Gravity, p.30-31] 

 

Multiple Choice

6.	Which of the following Yosemite climbers was NOT part of "the great triumvirate of Yosemite Little Men"?

Tom Frost -- The "triumvirate of Yosemite Little Men" included Yvon Chouinard, Chuck Pratt, and Warren Harding.

[Source: FISH Quiz #2: http://www.fishproducts.com]

7.

In the winter of 1986, a party was caught in a storm high on the South Face of Half Dome.  In a scene reminiscent of the 1968 first ascent attempt by Warren Harding and Galen Rowell, these climbers struggled with the elements for several days before being rescued.  Who were the members of this party?

John Middendorf, Steve Bosque, Mike Corbett

John Middendorf took a three year break from climbing after this near-death experience.  He returned in 1989 to climb the Kali Yuga on Half Dome with Walt Shipley.

Read John's version of the story:  Rescue on Half Dome.

8.	Who first soloed the Salathe Wall?

Peter Haan -- Peter soloed the Salathe 1972.

Read The first solo ascent of the Salathe Wall, by Peter Haan.

9.	In 1980, John Bacher shocked Yosemite locals by free-soloing Butterballs (11c), a thin crack on the Cookie Cliff.  The first ascensionist of Butterballs had raised eyebrows years earlier by soloing which climb?

Steck-Salathe -- Henry Barber on-sight soloed the Steck-Salathe on Sentinal in 1973 in 2 hours 45 minutes.  He carried a twenty foot sling for protecting some 5.9 face, but otherwise free-soloed the route.  Henry first climbed Butterballs in 1974 with George Meyers.

10.	In 1968, Royal Robbins spent 10 days alone on the Muir Wall and became the first person to solo a route on El Capitan.  Who was the second person to solo El Cap?

None of the above -- It was Tom Bauman who soloed The Nose prior to Peter Haan's ascent of the Salathe Wall.

[Source: Defying Gravity, p.93]

11.	Check all the of items which are part of the "Mayfield Big Wall Rating Scenerio".

NBD, PDH, NTB

NBD = No Big Deal
NTB = Not Too Bad
PDH = Pretty Darn Hard!

Some have used a modifier:

RHU = Real Heads Up (for bad falls)

And Jim Beyer would add:

YFYDFS = You Fall You Die For Sure!

[Source: Defying Gravity, p.143, and rec.climbing]

12.	In 1993, Peter Croft and Hans Florine raced up The Nose on El Capitan in 4 hours and 22 minutes, a record that stood until October 2001.  What did Peter do immediately after this climb?

Free-soloed the Steck-Salathe on Sentinal

Croft describes what it's like to climb The Nose:

"The fun thing for me is that by doing it fast I hardly have to take anything -- just a tiny bit of water and maybe a PowerBar.  I'm not really up there long enough for it to be a big issue.  During the ascent I really wasn't pushing that hard.  So when we got down I went over and soloed the Steck-Salathe on Sentinal."

[Source: Defying Gravity, p.166; and Speedclimb.com  (El Capitan Records)]

13.	On which El Cap feature did the first ascent party leave a double-headed dildo?

Cattle Prod Pillar -- In 1984 Rob Slater and John Barbella made the first ascent of the Wyoming Sheep Ranch.  In addition to the dildo, the pair left a deer skull and a sheep doll on the route.  Randy Leavitt contributed the item in question upon observing that "Slater's rack for the route was a dildo short."

[Source: Yosemite Big Walls Supertopos, p.84]

14.	Who broke his arm in an 80 foot fall while attempting a first free ascent of the DNB?

Eric Beck

A climber named Beck was wrecked
Low on the North Buttress Direct
Alas poor Eric; he's now part ferric
And his season, we're afraid, is fekked.
    - Galen Rowell

[Source: Camp 4, p.162, 179 and Defying Gravity, p.70,74]

15.	Who purchased and modified the four enameled stove legs that were used as pitons by Harding on the first ascent of the Nose?

Frank Tarver  [Source: Camp 4, p.70]

16.	Which of the following did Galen Rowell, Doug Robinson, and Dennis Henneck complete in 1973?

The first hammerless ascent of Half Dome

17.	What unique piece of climbing equipment did Randy Leavitt and Rob Slater take on the first ascent of Scorched Earth, El Capitan?

Lovetron -- The Lovetron was a 14-foot cheater stick with a hook on the end which they used to scrape the wall above them until it caught on a feature.  The leader would then (carefully) ascend slings attached to the hook.  They used this technique to bypass blank sections which would have otherwise required drilling.

There is no such thing as a Leavittator, although Leavitation is a technique used to climb offwidth cracks.  A Lariat is what cowboys use to do rope tricks.  A Long Dong is a Lost Arrow piton, the largest, longest size.  A Leeper hook is simply a hook sold by Ed Leeper -- this includes a smallish flat hook, a pointed bathook, several sizes of camhooks, Z-nailers, and others.

[Source: Defying Gravity, p.143] 

 

Who Said It?

18.	Match each quote with the person who said it.

A. "Al, if only I could have a little orange juice!" - John Salathe Said to Allen Steck midway through the first ascent of the Steck-Salathe route on Sentinal, during a heat wave. [Source: "Ordeal by Piton", by Allen Steck, The Vertical World of Yosemite, p.28]

B. "It looked 5.11, but after several days of working the traverse, I determined that it was a lot harder.  So I bought a chisel and made it 5.11."         - Ray Jardine Ray's description of the creation of the Jardine Traverse on The Nose in 1981. [Source: Defying Gravity, p.131]

C. "Climbing is 99% torment, 1% fun." - Russ Walling

D. "(Some people) probably wouldn't get into climbing if they had to take on the placing of protection, and lousy rock sometimes, and the whole adventure part of it.  They do just want a sport.  Just like tennis is a sport."         - Peter Croft [Source: From the video Moving Over Stone II]

E. "I'd worn my bright blue Robbins boots to school just so I could field questions about them and admit I was a rock climber."         - John Long [Source: Direct North Buttress, Middle Cathedral Rock, Yosemite Valley, by John Long]

F. "Goddamn it!  His parka doesn't fit me!" - Steve Roper Shouted to Yvon Chouinard upon finding the remains of Irving Smith on a ledge in the Lost Arrow Chimney.  Smith had fallen into the chimney from the notch the previous year.  Roper (climbing with Chouinard) was the first to come across the body. [Source: Camp 4, p.111]

19.	Match each quote with the person who said it.

A. "When one considers the amount of time (Fred) Beckey spends driving to and from Seattle, talking on the telephone, and shitting, it seems more than likely that he has done virtually no climbing at all, despite the fact that he is reputed to be the oldest climber in the United States."         - Warren Harding [Source: Downward Bound, p.186]

B. "If you wait for the weather you'll never climb jackshit." - Charlie Porter

C. "A sense of uncertainty that is potentially fatal is what makes climbing an adventure."         - Jim Bridwell [Source: Climbing magazine]

D. "Within me still worked away the strange agony and terrible longing that had been mounting for years and would not stop, pushing me towards an unknown edge."         - Peter Haan [Source: Recollections of the First Free Ascent of The Left Side of the Hourglass, by Peter Haan]

E. "By this time things had gone so far that I was getting greedy.  I was anxious to get a certain wall before someone else did, and a new route on El Capitan would be that much more to add to one's reputation.  So I started thinking more in terms of doing climbs for fame than of doing them just for the fun of it."         - Royal Robbins [Source: Interview with Royal Robbins, The Vertical World of Yosemite, p.191]

F. "I remember talking to El Cap.  I was apologizing for being so cocky as to think I could solo this route."         - Jimmy Dunn Dunn describing his 1972 ascent of Cosmos, the first time a new route had been soloed on El Cap. [Source: Yosemite Big Walls Supertopos, p.46]

20.	Match each quote with the person who said it.

A. "What about Chingando!" - Dale McCauley During a discussion of various offwidths, in a cafe in the small Baja town of La Rumorosa, Dale loudly interjected "What about Chingando!" and the whole restaurant went silent.  He apparently had no idea what the spanish translation meant. The answer was originally listed here as Galen Rowell.  Thanks to John Smallwood for correcting this error. [Source: rec.climbing and John Smallwood]

B. "Yeah, I used to sleep in the dirt.  I was focused on the walls and staying in shape for them and little else.  Bathing just didn't seem necessary.  Another regular, Derek Hersey -- Dirty Derek, they called him -- gave me some competition for a while.  We climbed the Nose route together and for weeks traded compliments on each other's smell.  But I really don't think he had my stink endurance."         - John Middendorf [Source: Outside magazine, September 1995]

C. "What are you, attached to this world?" - Walt Shipley Said to Eric Kohl, who was anxiously preparing his portaledge for a storm, on the first ascent of The Reanimator, Washington Column. [Source: Yosemite Big Walls Supertopos, p.84]

D. "Is everybody awake?  I've actually been sleeping.  This is the first time I've ever slept on a bivouac.  Damn it, wake up and listen to me.  I've been sleeping.  This is incredible."         - TM Herbert [Source: Camp 4, p.163]

E. "You should treat snow like a radioactive pile of dogshit." - Chuck Pratt [Source: Climbing magazine]

F. "Stay up there, you chickenshit!" - Frank Sacherer Shouted to Steve Roper while watching him retreat from from the second pitch of Crack of Doom. [Source: Camp 4, pg.183]