[Hide Comment] A great classic to a wonderful summit. Aug 15, 2006

[Hide Comment] We decided to take a line on the left most side. There was only one other party on the climb when we started. I lead a knobby arete left of the 5.6 offwith for a variation. My wife and I were all smiles on the awesome summit. Aug 21, 2006

[Hide Comment] PERFECT climb that is NOT to be missed; great protection most of the time (by Tuolumne standards) with a truly classic and amazing summit! I prefer the standard start as the first 5.4 splitter crack is a blast; also don't skip the chimney, it's a lot of fun (getting actually inside the thing is the crux) as chimneys go! We noticed many parties getting somewhat confused at the top wondering "which way to go", when you hit that final steep wall, follow the wide looking crack on the left side up to a stance and then over the huge flakes to the amazing summit!!!! Have Fun
PS: The downclimb from the summit looks much harder than it actually is, if you're freaked out I would recommend downleading this section as it's really easy to set up and do!! Aug 28, 2006

[Hide Comment] Great climb! It seems that many parties bottle neck at the chimney, so plan accordingly. Also, there are many features inside the chimney, so you don't need to actually "chimney" the whole thing (which was a concern for me due to the pack I was carrying). Mar 23, 2007

[Hide Comment] One of the greatest summits of all time. Apr 7, 2008

[Hide Comment] Very cool climb and spectacular summit. We climbed the right side-ish, over many crystal studded faces, and avoided the chimney traffic jam by climbing a 5.7(?) hand/fist crack about 15' to the right. We were able to pass several parties and do the route in 4 near-rope-length pitches (w/a 70 M rope). I had a double rack, and of course had gear left over, but found placements for everything from nuts to 4" cam.
The walk-off was pretty easy after finding the way down the back slabs (kind of a zig-zag pattern), we saw a few parties rapping over this section, but there is an exposed 3rd. class descent that is a bit faster.
Make sure to bury any food under the talus to keep the marmots from stealing it.
Don't forget your headlamps!!! (if you start late) Jul 10, 2008

[Hide Comment] Beautiful and easy climbing. Lots of pitches to practice your trad placements on. My partner and I started slightly left of center at the toe of the buttress and ended up on an "interesting" third pitch. There is a lieback crack between two completely blank walls. My partner did it as a difficult offwidth. The topo for the route on Supertopo labels this area as "not recommended"; i'd call it 5.10 at least.

At the chimney there was a minor bottleneck but at the belay station for the last pitch there was a serious bottleneck. We stood there with 4 other parties for literally 90 minutes waiting for summiting parties to clear the last pitch. We couldn't bail out because we were well above the last set of rap rings. Several people on the ledge were nearly hypothermic and we didn't get off until well after dark. Expect at least 8 to 10 parties on a weekend day. Bring headlamps and anything you need to wait for a couple of hours and hike off in the dark because it very well could happen.

If you are climbing with parties behind you, be considerate and climb quickly and clean the route so others can follow. If you are moving slowly, let others pass you. One slow group at the beginning of the day put 4 other groups in serious danger.

Putting in an additional rap station at the ledge before the final pitch could help a lot. Sep 20, 2010

[Hide Comment] Fun alpine route with spectacular views. Feb 28, 2011

[Hide Comment] As good as people say. Although, I will say this. This is NOT the place to learn multi pitch climbing folks. Despite its easy, laid-back climbing. This is a fairly involved climb that does require efficient technique, decent route-finding, good time-management and the ability to deal with multiple other parties, above and below you. Do not come here to hone your multi pitch skills, you're either in for an epic or a royal pain in the ass for others. :) Also, there is no way in hell this is to be considered a PG13 route(above rating). There is more pro than you could ever want. Aug 3, 2011

[Hide Comment] With all the hype I'd read about this route I was pleasantly surprised to find that it surpassed all of my expectations. From the surprise splitter crack on the first pitch to the fun and easy chimney to the unbelievable summit panorama, this route is truly full-value. There's a lot of steep gully hiking, but it's broken up by a variety of climbing challenges, albeit solidly within the reach of any 5.6 leader with some route-finding skills. There might be one short section of face climbing that can't be protected. The rest is either cruiser or really easy to protect.

The supertopo for this route is spot-on. Use it and you almost can't get lost. A very "civilized" peak, with an easy to follow trail, clear approach, and absolutely spectacular views from the car to the summit.

DON'T miss Eichorn's Pinnacle on the way out! Don't believe what the nay-sayers say about the quality of the climbing...it's great fun, and the summit gives an awesome view of Cathedral Peak, Matthes Crest, Budd Lake, and an ocean of unparalleled beautiful granite.

A day I won't soon forget! Sep 19, 2011

[Hide Comment] What a great climb! What a great day! Trad-with-Dad with my 12 y.o. daughter. Wish we had enough time for the Pinnacle.

The only surprise we had was the descent. We were the second-to-last party and it was starting to get dark. Getting the last climber off the small summit block requires either some 5.6ish downclimbing or a "toprope belay" (drape the rope over the block and have the first descender belay from below and behind. Of course, the rope will snag when you pull it.

Luckily, another climber led us down, but it was a bigger slog than I expected. If anyone has better descent beta, please add it!

Once down off the block, the basic idea was to scramble down the back side, staying skiers left until you find a way to traverse all the way to the right ridgeline. Hop over the ridge and pick up a climbers trail that leads back to the base. I guesstimate that we crossed the ridgeline 100-150 yards from the summit. Jul 8, 2012

[Hide Comment] The Cathedral Peak and Eichorn's Pinnacle link-up was an incredible day in the mountains. Highly recommended. Nov 11, 2012

[Hide Comment] Descent
As of August 2013, the route around the East side of the rock peak is a improved trail -- even with some stone steps (and official-looking carabiner-icon signs near its top and bottom). Anything near the E side not on that trail is forbidden as part of a plant restoration zone.

The descent from the summit goes roughly like this:
Just below SW side of summit block, go down steep about 12 ft on double cracks - (positive holds or jams, but not all obvious or straightforward to see how to use) - traditionally graded class 4, but likely will feel like class 5 to those inexperienced with down-climbing ... so just plan on continuing the belay from the final pitch of the ascent.

Next traverse NW about 10 ft to a notch in the summit range. Cross the ridge to the NW face. Descend about 20-30 ft NE diagonally to near the NE edge of the NW face, to a ledge. Then down SW like another 20 ft.

Next work down like 60-90 ft whatever way works. The goal is to end at the NE edge of the NW face, at a flat spot with some bushes -- which is at the boundary between the solid rock above and the talus slope below. There is a narrow ledge system (not difficult) which spans across pretty much the whole face, so the idea is to spot that flat spot, then down-climb to that level but no farther.
. . (There is also a wider ledge above that, which is tempting, but then it requires a low class 5 down-climb move to reach the flat spot.)
Many people find it easiest to first traverse all the way over to the SW side of the face and go down there, then traverse all the way back across to the NE side.

From that flat spot, traverse horizontally around the N corner through bushes onto the East side of Cathedral Peak. Scramble down about 30 feet to the new improved trail. Down on that trail along the base of the cliff of the E side of Cathedral Peak summit area, at first SE, then curving S -- back down to meet the approach trail near the bottom of the SW buttress climb. Aug 17, 2013

[Hide Comment] GPS cords for the bud lake trailhead. Lat 37º 52' 10"N, Long 119º 23' 12"W Aug 25, 2013

[Hide Comment] Got much fuller value whilst passing parties: did the harder crack variation to the right of the chimney pitch. Later, did the steep hand crack leading to the summit ledge before the true summit block. Anybody try it and have an opinion? Aug 17, 2014

[Hide Comment] Fantastic climb. Celebrated my partner's recovery from knee surgery with this route. Next time, less gear and climbing in approach shoes. We started on route B, but ended up casually passing folks somewhere in the middle area. Met many new friends at crowded belays. Sep 3, 2014

[Hide Comment] The climbers route Beta in the Tulumnoe free climbs guide book ( supertopo.com/packs/tuolfre… ) is pretty off. We were hiking in pre-sunrise and using that book as beta for the approach and got pretty lost. The actual climbers trail has been uploaded by me to wikiloc.com.

wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do…

Also some descent beta since I couldn't find visuals anywhere.
wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do… Oct 13, 2014

[Hide Comment] I just climbed this again, taking the center route this time. Perfect day, tee shirt weather. Be ware on the summit to not rap directly down the crack which faces SW. Rope eater ! The anchor on top is now a couple stoppers. I advise you inspect it prior to rapping, one of the stoppers was not engaged when I checked it. Aug 2, 2015

[Hide Comment] This is a climb that reminds you why you even started climbing in the first place! If you need a Re-up on your stoke get on this thing asap!! Super fun movement over stunning quality rock in a sublime environment. A metamorphic route that can be whatever you want it to be, a hundred different ways to make the send. And what about that summit—whow—an historical and aesthetic pinnacle in the Yosemite Rock climbing world!! We Backpacked out, slept at the lake for two nights and climbed the route half a dozen times; varying from simul-climbing to free solo’ing to full Moon solo missions!! Yes, it truly is that freaking fun!!

• *Obviously Watch out for crowds on this Mega Popular Classic. To avoid the masses I recommend the “Autumn Full Moon Roaring Wild Fire Ascent”**

Dec 18, 2015

[Hide Comment] We climbed it last Saturday, almost no snow on approach. Took a chimney variation, it was great. Easy route finding except last 25 ft or so just before the summit when you have option to go over the top or go around on the left side. I went left, which was mistake, because moving rope around over the top was very hard. My 2nd and 3rd partners climbed over the top without any problem.

No rap bolts or any kind of permanent anchor on top (06/25/2016).

On the summit block there is enough space to build 2 anchors, so if route is crowded easiest way to descend is to wait next party and ask to use their anchor. If there is no one around you can downlead, that's what we did.

Descent was not obvious, I think you need to go toward Eichorn first and then make a traverse to the right. We went straight down via ledges with trees and across to the right, which involved few sections of easy 5 class.

Great route overall, highly recommended. Jun 27, 2016

[Hide Comment] Well that was pretty awesome! We camped at Tuolumne and got up at 430. Drove to the trailhead and a short hike later realized we had made it to the base first! With our speed, my partner and I didn't make it to the top first but we definitely had a blast. This was our first real trad route on a bigger wall and boy was it worth it. Until a couple days later this was the best route I had done. As we were setting our anchor above the chimney a couple of guys passed us free-soloing. Always a rush. Aug 18, 2016

[Hide Comment] So good! If you follow the right lie back at the start of pitch 3, make sure you cross back into the crack system left. I continued up and had to do some exposed slab moves. Jan 9, 2017

[Hide Comment] Simple climb! 5.8 crack to top described in topo seemed more like 5.7. By farm one of the most incredible summits! Aug 21, 2017

[Hide Comment] Bored, sitting here in my back yard so I'll share a tidbit of my experience on cathedral... we decided to approach from the west, by hiking up medlicott to cathedral lakes, then up under eichorn pinnacle and around the south side (lots of fucked up 4th class there...). We did it because of the views. From that perspective, it was a huge success. Spectacular scenery from medlicott all until sunset... because the sun set on us as we topped out. This meant navigating the west side back to the car.. our navigational gear? A topographic map of the area, a compass, and one cell phone for light between the two of us. I remember staring at my headlamp on the front seat of my truck thinking, "nah we shoundt need that." Mmm... lessons...The stars helped us identify nearby peaks as we set compass bearings and followed them... avoiding cliff outs as best we could. Very frustrating to find the path down from the base of medlicott under a moonless night: many cliff systems with only a single path through them. But holy shit, the stars!!! Took us 3.5 hours to achieve the base of the climb... and almost 6 hours to find our ice-encrusted car (temps were in the upper 20s). If you want to combine exquisite hiking and exquisite climbing into one long fucked up adventure to never forget for the rest of your naive life, try it out! Feb 13, 2018

[Hide Comment] Met up with Yosemite legend, "Zep" free soloing at the top, as we were trying to decide how to descend from this climb's amazing summit block. Here's the beta he gave us for an easy descent:

1. Lower your partner to the backside 4th class ledges from your summit anchor.
2. Have the lowered partner build an anchor down there and put you on belay.
3. Drape the rope over the summit block in the groove and remove your summit anchor.
4. Downclimb the 5.2 summit block via the ascent route (on tr via the draped rope ) and flick the rope over the summit block after traversing to the the ledges. From there it's a 4th class downscramble toward Eichorn and over or rapping to the base of the 4th class portion of the Muir route.

From what we could tell this appears to be the easiest and safest way to descend from this must-do summit. Jun 23, 2018

[Hide Comment] Amazing climb. Fun climbing, we stated far right and joined up at the base of the chimney. Trailed my pack for the first 20' with a alpine draw. After that, it was no problem. Super fun pitch, I was going to go left but glad we didn't. We hit it the Saturday before Labor Day and got cut off multiple times by inconsiderate parties. It really is that busy, so if you are a more considerate person, beware. Coming off the summit block should not be a problem downclimbing. I am sketched out by downclimbing most the time, this was super easy to downclimb and put in gear for the second. The rope over the summit block sounds complicated and super hard on your rope. Awesome climb! Sep 5, 2018

[Hide Comment] If you're concerned about finding the branch for the approach trail off the John Muir or being able to follow the climbers trail back to the car (potentially by headlight if you're like my partner and I and take WAY longer than you plan to do this route), use the maps.me offline trail map app. You can download the map for the area in advance, which includes the approach trail and many other Yosemite climber's trails, then use GPS to find your way even if you don't have cell service. (I'm not affiliated with this free app, I just really like it!)

As for the climb, did this Sept. 14 and it was amazing. Cold and brutally windy to be sure. Opted for the face climb alternative to the chimney as (1) there was a lot of traffic on the route that day and (2) my partner and I both had packs and didn't feel like climbing with them hanging between our legs. The face climb felt a little sketchy to me, but protected better than I'd expected with nuts in small cracks (or with small cams, if you're into that kinda thing). Cut the face climb pitch short which left my partner 20 feet short of the summit, leading to a very short summit pitch.

The descent is not trivial if you don't know where you're going. I guess the right way is to start down the slabs towards Eichorn?? We tried to work straight down through the middle of the slabs and ended up leaving a sling on a tree to rap out of slab hell to a better ledge to follow up to the ridge to cross over to the descent trail. Nov 3, 2018

[Hide Comment] I would give this one five stars if I could....the perfect climb in terms of length, view, and exposure. Good clean rock.

Set an anchor below the summit block so that you can downclimb after your summit party. Jul 24, 2019

[Hide Comment] What’s the best guide Book or site for detailed approach info? Feb 14, 2020

[Hide Comment] Recommend not bringing too much gear. Recommendation for a rack 6-8 finger-to-hand size cams, a set of nuts, 4 alpines, and 2 long slings/cords for anchors. There are placements everywhere. Ends up just being dead weight.

I put a piece every 10-20ft for pitches 2-4 and kinda solo-ed pitches 1 & 5. Feb 14, 2020

[Hide Comment] Climbed this on Sunday - opted to bypass the chimney pitch for the sake of time.. It can get very backed up if there are lots of parties. Posted a video on climbing the bypass to the left of the chimney. youtube.com/watch?v=-bg77fI… Jun 24, 2020

[Hide Comment] Super fun route! For me the crux was definitely getting into the chimney with the full rack on my harness. Once inside, the chimney was featured, fun, quite roomy, and secure. I alpine butterflied into the rope and left about 25 feet on the end with which to haul my backpack once I exited the chimney. This made the chimney much more enjoyable because I was able to climb easily without hanging the pack off my harness. I really felt like I could climb all over the face! I will for sure be back to try another line. Jul 5, 2020

[Hide Comment] a couple of big thanks to the NPS:

- the climbing ranger today for retrieving a stuck green alien that my 2nd couldn't get out (1st pitch, 1st piece, arrrrggggghhhhhh....)

and, more importantly....

- the awesome descent trail that has been built since i was up here last. that's a lot of hard labor - THANKS MUCH to those who participated, it is very much appreciated! Oct 19, 2020

[Hide Comment] A steller climb! Here's what we did + some beta for climbing and decending:
Started hiking at 8:30, started climbing at 10:30 via the left start. Did the chimney variation passing 2 pitons along the way and did a belay station at the top of the chimney. (Nice to do a belay here to avoid rope drag + better communication). Continued up and ended up in a traffic jam due to slower parties at the summit block. Some beta for the final pitch just before the summit block: once past the mantle, zig-zag your way up following the cracks. Once you get the a horizontal crack, traverse right to the arete and climb around that into a large crack to take you to the start of the traverse into the summit block area. Really good spot for staging if the final block is being slow. Just watch for HELLA rope drag.

We got onto the summit block at 6:00 right as the sun was setting. THERE ARE NO BOLTS AT THE MAIN SUMMIT BLOCK AS OF POSTING THIS. There is at the summit block a crack that eats BD cams from .3 - 2 that is in a perfect spot for setting up a rappel. We set up a 3 piece anchor leaving a .75, 1, and 2 and rapped off due to nightfall, temperatures, not wanting to risk a downclimb, and expediting the other parties still behind us for their summits. (If you cleaned those pieces, it would be super nice to have them back in my rack. My email is joshuagross18@gmail.com and I would happily pay for shipping). I personally think it would make sense to put a pair of bolts on the side of the main block for faster descents due to the increasing popularity of the climb. I think due to the lack of bolts, people may be more rushed in the downclimb as to not leave gear behind and not waste a bunch of time for the parties below them, and therefore might risk an injury that would ruin everyone's day.

Decent beta:

After rappeling down to the lower ledge, we then decided to rappel off of the tree and skip past a bunch of steep ledges. With our 70m rope, we were able to just BARLEY get to a ledge below a giant bush. If you plan to rappel off of that same tree with a 60, be careful to not go off the end of your rope and look for a ledge above the large bush to aim for. That large bush was a perfect height for traversing right (towards the talice) to get to the notch that the climber's trail goes to. If you don't move up or down too much after begging your scamble over the talice, finding the notch should be pretty smooth sailing. Shame there are no carins set up for easier route finding, I totally would have made a few if it wasn't so dark and cold. At the notch you will find the climbers trail. (You know that nice trail you walked up to get to the start of the climb? That trail continues up right next to the base of the rock all the way up to the ridge. It gets a bit dirty towards the top but is still really nice to decent on compared to the slabs on the other side). If you decide to aim for the trail, stay near the ridge and continue traverse away from Cathedral to the north east until you see a large monolith type rock on the very top of the ridge. On for the far side of that and you will catch up to a dirty climbers trail. If you are having trouble spotting the large rock that is 40~ feet wide sitting on top of the ridge that really stands out and you somehow really just can't find it, you can also peek over the ridge and 50~ feet below the ridge is a white plastic sign that is super reflective in the dark that is near where Cathedral's rock hits the climbers trail. If you spot that and are right above it, continue traversing another 150sh feet and you will find the notch. Descend right back towards Cathedral once over the ridge and soon the trail will be nicer and easier to spot with cut steps. Take your time, go slow, and make sure you have a light of some sort if you get benighted like us.

Overall a fantastic day. 13ish hours car to car with spectacular views and some of the best rock I have ever climbed. Just make sure to bring an extra coat as in fall, the shade and night hike down is COLD. Be safe out there y'all! Oct 26, 2020

[Hide Comment] Fantastic climb! There's no shortage of trip reports out there for this one, but I'll add mine to the mix: Trip report: TheMtsAreCalling.com/cathedral Oct 27, 2020

[Hide Comment] ^^^ @ Connor Brass.
Typically, no, because Tioga Pass will not be open. You can always ski in, and then sure, it is mostly south facing, so if it hasn't snowed in a while, it would probably be good to go (except maybe the chimney pitch?) And no matter what, the approach will probably have snow, so be ready for that.

Tioga occasionally opens in the first half of May though, which you can see here:
nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/… Mar 7, 2021

[Hide Comment] Gets windy enough on upper pitches to render communication impossible. Bring walkie talkies. For the walk off descent you need to first traverse way to the left (towards Tenaya lake). Jun 16, 2021

[Hide Comment] Just a quick heads up to newer climbers, or those not used to it: you will almost certainly be passed by people free soloing the route. Don't let it freak you out, just be polite and give them space.

Another thing to learn is girth hitch an old sewn runner on the haul loop on your pack, clip an old biner to it, then triple clip that down and twist to keep it out of the way (I should make a video tutorial). When you get to a chimney, you can clip your pack to your gear loop and hang it between your legs so that you can do proper chimney technique.

Also, don't take a walkie talkie, learn how to handle breakdowns in communications, it will happen again if you do this long enough and you need to know how to deal with it. Jun 22, 2021

[Hide Comment] We took route C in the Supertopo book making our 3rd pitch 5.7 staying right of the chimney. We did this in 4 almost full rope length pitches and summited about an hour before the only group that started before us on the regular route using the standard belay stances. Was happy to booty a nice BD 0.3 C4 on this one. Bootied a nice big #11 stopper on the West Pillar of Eichorn Pinnacle last week too. These seem to be great ones to hunt for used gear if you’re poor like me haha. Aug 28, 2021

[Hide Comment] I second that. No need for any bolts up top. Super easy downclimb off the summit for the leader after lowering your followers if they’re uncomfortable with the downclimb, but please feel free to keep bailing on gear on this one haha. Nov 23, 2021

[Hide Comment] Climbed on May 28, it was coooooold! Super windy, we were in the mist much of the time, and the sun was rarely out. We also climbed with a group of 3 so someone would always be waiting at anchors for quite awhile. As a result, this was a bit of a sufferfest for us – with 3 layers on I was full on shivering with teeth chattering while waiting at anchors and my hands got 100% numb each time I waited without either climbing or belaying. So if you're going to come this early in the season (this was the second day this year Tioga was open), be prepared for the cold! We were fine but if something catastrophic had happened I don't think we could have safely waited for a rescue (plus no cell phone reception here). We also had to wait at the bottom for quite awhile, not starting until around 1pm, because the fog and mist were just too bad until that point.

As for the climb: totally worth being cold! Amazingly fun and beautiful. We just sort of went up the wall, didn't look at topos or anything. Depending on how you rate the climbs (am I comparing to After Six or to Holdless Horror?), I would say the route we took was around 5.7. The first pitch of After Six is harder than any pitch we climbed on Cathedral, but most pitches on Cathedral were harder than any pitch on Holdless Horror.

I would avoid the first pitch I took... I ended up climbing up and climber's right mostly from the middle, and ended up on a bunch of rock that clearly hadn't been climbed much. Rock was crumbling under my feet and there were plants and dirt in every crack (often very small cracks as well), adding up to feeling uncomfortable and most importantly difficult to protect frequently (PG-13). 4 pieces over a 150 foot climb. I totally did it to myself because I was having fun just running up the face and slab and didn't really scout the route much ahead of time. Still, it went fione and wasn't difficult for me (5.10 Yosemite climber). I got a bit nerved out at the end, around 50' run out looking for some kind of ledge to belay from.

The rest of the climb, we went closer to established routes and so the rock quality was much better and there were many more opportunities to place protection.

The chimney pitch is a great time! Since it was so damn cold we had the route to ourselves, and I think this might have been my favorite chimney ever. Just felt very cool and was super easy with many options (pure chimney, or climb on holds inside, or climb on cracks inside, or climb on the face outside).

The final pitch might be a bit scary to some because you can't really protect the summit and then need to downclimb it, but it felt pretty chill to me leading it and climbing down without pro.

Amazing climb, all in all! May 30, 2022

[Hide Comment] After summitting, assuming you come down the way you went up (the easy double crack system), remember the descent notch to cross over to the northwest face is only 10-15 feet traverse to the climber's left. Going 50-60 feet over to the very rectangular notch on the east side of Panic Pillar is NOT the correct descent route. And it's a bad traverse to get over there. Ask me how I know...
(Though it might be possible to downclimb from that notch on east side of Panic Pillar to some ramps on the other side that will let you reach the normal descent path.)

Other than that, GREAT climb. A few notes... 1) The great hand crack on p1 starts out as thin hands (for me) but widens into regular hands. 2) At top of p1 you can belay from the tree or build a gear anchor in some cracks just above the tree since there's a nice ledge there. 3) At the top of pitch 2, the anchor tree sits above a ledge and right before the ledge you can go left of it into some wide cracks (didn't try that) or up a short hand crack on the right side which can be done with laybacking or hand jams and it has a knobby face to the right for your right footholds. 3) At the end of p2 you can belay off the tree or build a gear anchor in one of the cracks--seems most comfortable to sling the tree for the belay, though the tree blocks the belayer's view of the leader. 4) Once you reach the alcove on pitch 3, be sure to go up and right for the easiest way up (up and left from the alcove is like 5.7 but also a valid way up). 5) There is a small runout section of slab right below the chimney but it's fairly easy climbing on knobs. 6) If you can't squeeze into the chimney from the start, you can climb up the outside of the chimney and place protection in cracks on the left side of the chimney and use knobs on the face to the right of the chimney. Once you get higher, the chimney gets wider so it's easier to get in, and the inside has some nice features (cracks, small ledges, etc.) that take gear and make it easier to do the chimney. Sep 30, 2022

[Hide Comment] Climbed it twice a few years apart. Did not see a soul either time. Camped on the ridge and swam in the cold Budd lake. A highlight of my climbing career and the only time the only word I could mutter at the summit was "God"! Jan 12, 2023

[Hide Comment] This is absolutely spectacular ski and climb combo in winter. Starting from Lee Vining, skiing to Tuolumne (20+ miles) and up to the peak. The climb (in winter) can be fairly dry if there are couple weeks of stable weather. One of the most incredible winter Sierra trips you can do. Jul 18, 2023

[Hide Comment] Descent info (no rappels):
After the peak, climb down off the summit block and head down towards Eichorn Pinnacle as in the description. Eichorn is the large pinnacle down and to the left as seen from the summit looking north. We didn't see the climbers trail from here, and it is tempting to just continue down the large slabby gulley below Eichorn. Don't go down this way! Instead, cut across the gulley heading away from Eichorn, passing under the summit block, and hike back uphill over some boulders for a bit until you get to the "notch". It's not clearly a notch until you're right at it. After going through the notch with a downclimbing move or two, you will be back on the south side of Cathedral. The trail should pick back up from here with a sign and clear switchbacks heading back to the base of the route where you started. At no point should the descent be scary, very steep, or at risk of getting cliffed out. The most unnerving part is heading down towards Eichorn from the summit block, and some folks may want to leave their climbing shoes on for this part. Apr 8, 2024

[Hide Comment] This can be a fantastic winter ski/climb combo skiing from Lee Vining (closed gate on Tioga Road) all the way to the base of Cathedral Peak. Some 26-28 miles of skiing plus nice, mostly sunny SE climb. Absolutely the best winter trip in the backcountry of Yosemite. Jun 20, 2024

[Hide Comment] No rap rings as of June 2024. This route sure could use some. Heard from free soloists as we were descending: “wow this 4th class descent from the summit was more exposed than the entire rest of the route!” A rappel would avoid the scary downclimb and put you right on track for a walk in the park traverse to the descent path. Jun 24, 2024

[Hide Comment] Rap rings on the summit? Cmon, John Muir soloed up and down it with clogs made of granite.. ok it was leather boots, but still, if an old Scot can do it without sticky rubber, I think you can do it with sticky rubber. Jul 21, 2024

[Hide Comment] No bolts on the summit, and none needed either. If you can't figure out how to get off the top of this without rappelling, then you really have no business in the mountains at all, and are a liability to everyone in the area. Hint: you can down-lead it for security, it's SUPER easy. Jul 24, 2024

[Hide Comment] Bolts on el cap? Cmon Alec Hardhold soloed up and down it with balls the size of boulders …

I was stuck up on the pinnacle block for 3 nights and 3 days with my partner after we couldn’t figure out how to get off the top. Watched 50 parties climb through, call me a liability, rap off a single cam, and leave it behind. I bootied it all and now i have a full rack! Luckily Yosar flew in with a heli and lifted me off. They were installing some bolts up there to set up for the new Tuolumne Walmart/McDonalds they’re building at the summit. It’s a real shame what they’re putting in the outdoor nature parts these days.

About the hint to downlead the SUPER easy face that JM soloed in his old boots, that was a 5.10 in my gym (5.4 on mtn project).

Jokes aside, when did it become a crime to add anchor bolts to HIGHLY trafficked SUPER EASY routes that many first time climbers take on. It’s a single piece out of sight that adds protection to the most exposed part of the entire route! We get it, everyone and their mom has soloed all up down and around this thing and the FA did it without chalk or rubber, but the subsequent ascentionists seem to have done it with a stick up their ass :). Jul 28, 2024

[Hide Comment] Bowling ball size rock launched by a party of 2 who was starting up pitch #2 while my party was racking up. Extremely close to a fatal accident, make sure you know alpine rock before coming out on a busy day.

You’re more likely to kill someone else on this route than you are yourself, climb with care for the lives of those around you on busy days. Jul 29, 2024

[Hide Comment] Here's my two cents since I haven't seen it mentioned; This is a fun climb but the approach and descent are tough.. I also feel like 5.6 is an accurate rating for the top crux pitches, but there are some sections that are maybe PG-13.. With some spicy slab moves. Overall, it's more of an alpine climb than a trad climb in the sense that the approach is 2 hours long, and the descent is 1000ft of 3rd class descending.

I would also absolutely recommend roping up for the scramble off the summit block. It's easy if you're a competent climber, but the consequences of a fall are huge. Aug 19, 2024

[Hide Comment] We did the 5.7's for pitch 3 and 4 which is more direct and passes up the chimney bottleneck, plenty of places to get in gear. The down climb, walk off is confusing, but there is plenty of repeat climbers who can point the way. Would like to go back and do the chimney and the 5.9 hand crack at the top. The climb is a must do, fun climbing, but route finding is confusing. Unless your team is fast, it's going to be a long hard day of hiking and climbing. Bring a headlamp. Sep 4, 2024

[Hide Comment] OK, here is the safe and easy way to get off the top: From your 2 cam belay on the top, belay your partner while they down climb. They will go down and around the corner to the great big ledge behind the top. Now flip the rope so it is going directly down to them. Now they will pull all the slack out and belay you on the down climb. You remove the belay cams, down climb and come around the corner to them. We've done this at least 6 times over the years! Sep 12, 2024