October 7th 2007

Last fall Tyler and I decided to have a go at the Direct route on Washington Column. Once a popular route it has since faded and for good reason. We had no Topo, just the memory of the old description in Ropers green book. The direct garners a III 5.7 rating read "old school 5.7”. We started at around five in the afternoon.
The route started from the 3rd class ledge system that leads up to the line of demarcation splitting the arches and the column. Bulging puke starts to the left about 60 feet I think. I lead 3 200 ft wandering pitches with just a touch of 5.7, This brought us to a ledge with a tree we dubbed “Helper Monkey Ledge”. IT was dark and we had a monkey party at our perch hundreds of feet above the valley floor.
Pitch off of Helper Monkey Ledge leading to Lunch Ledge:
Morning, The wine is gone and climbing has to ensue! I lead up and left on chimneys and corners traversing to a bolt and hard offwidth I think is named “Offenbacher chimney”? The old book said it was 5.6, well as I soon learned Don’t take the book to heart. I make the Lunch Ledge and its around 9:00 am. Tyler wasted no time taking the next lead the notorious Fat man Chimney 5.7b. Toward the end of the grunting and the rope I hear “Slack, Take, F*#k, AHHH. He makes the belay. I follow with the Mini Pig on and have a brutal time. I notice the sporty runouts between the ancient pins and Thank god T led it. At the belay Tyler explains that the last pitch may well have been the hardest pitch he has ever lead. We laugh and I take the lead on the “Friction Step” Pitch, Starting by a tree on a large ledge I notice a big right facing corner, go for it and then back off of it moving further out and right to a tremendously exposed face/friction move into a crack, then 80 or so feet of loose rock to the belay.
All the while up to this point the rockfall was moderate. Rope drag was a constant problem and following pins and aiming for the Great Chimney was only working so well. Communication was non existant due to wind. This made the long wandering pitches difficult on both of us.
A few pitches that are blocked from my memory, read: SCARY! Voila, The Great Chimney. This was going to suck. T led the 1st pitch. A huge 6-foot Death Spike lay right under the start of the chimneying. T was apprehensive about the pro and so I told him I would tell him where to put it when he got there. No problem he says. 25 feet later I’m yelling purple Camelot, 6inches higher, yeah now push! First piece is in, now comes the pin and then squeeze technique.
The chockstone belay. Now That the famous picturesque first pitch of the Great Chimney was down it was my turn to lead the second. Steep, Loose and filled with ancient soft iron pitons. I commit to the kitty litter, wandering up this chute thinking; it’s not a Death chute, it’s not a Death chute.
Pitch 2 of the Great Chimney
I make it up to a very large tunnel made by a chockstone.
Then a 2nd class forest. Its now around five thirty, where has the time gone? T and I decide there is no way we are going to bivy on this route twice and begin the summit assault.
In the roper book it mentions the forest and that there are many options on exit pitches, all around 5.7. We take stock and decide “Were on the direct, may as well go directly to the summit. These last 3 or so pitches involved everything in the book and some 5.10. Finally, after T runs it out 75 feet on suspect rock in the dark He yells, “I see North dome”. Sweet, I take one look behind me and see the campfires 1800ft below and think “Grade III 5.7 my ass”. We topped out. No idea how many pitches, beat up worse than the grade V we had done together and all alone on the Column’s summit.
A huge bonfire and much ranting to folks on the RNWF of half dome and we were asleep.
This was a fantastic chimney fest and definitely much harder than the Royal Arches route. 16 or so odd pitches with its fair share of bad rock. Read: A must Do!
Peace Mucci