Trip Report
Second Ascent of Nataraj on North Dome TR IV 10b A0 13 pitch

by Karl Baba
Friday October 17, 2008 12:43am
This is a wonderful route. Mark Albosta and I did the second ascent a week or so ago. First ascent by Dan Dingle, Bob Steed, Chris Callegari on Aug 31st, 2008.

Other guys that helped with the first pitch were:
Steve Swan
David Whitelaw
Dennis Rutherford

Here's our trip report with images

http://yosemiteclimber.com/Nataraj.html

Here's the approach beta and Topo (with link to printable topo)

http://yosemiteclimber.com/Nataraj_topo.html

Enjoy! This is penance for political posting, and also for posting spam about my photo books and calendars here:

http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.html?topic_id=695137

peace

karl

  Trip Report Views: 1,670
Karl Baba 		About the Author
Karl Baba is a trad climber from Yosemite, Ca.

Comments
Ed Hartouni

Trad climber
Livermore, CA
  Oct 17, 2008 - 12:47am PT
sweet Karl, thanks for posting this
Mighty Hiker

climber
Outside the Asylum
  Oct 17, 2008 - 01:16am PT
What's a Nataraj?

(And don't say "Jaratan" spelt backward.)

Bump.
MisterE

Gym climber
Small Town with a Big Back Yard
  Oct 17, 2008 - 01:22am PT
Very nice work. Proud.

This, if anything should get Doug's elbows down
bluering

Trad climber
Santa Clara, CA
  Oct 17, 2008 - 11:52am PT
Awesome looking route. Thanks for posting it up.

I still have yet to do anything up on ND.
BrassNuts

Trad climber
Save your a_s, reach for the brass...
  Oct 17, 2008 - 02:47pm PT
Good job Karl, you SlabMonster! :-)
nature

climber
Boulder, CO
  Oct 17, 2008 - 02:53pm PT
Nataraj or Nataraja is Dancing Shiva.

Shiva sat on the Mountain top in north India for a while. Then for some reason decided to descend to the graveyard in Southern India where he danced the Ananda Tandava (which brought the universe into existence). To look at Lord Shiva in the form of Nataraja is difficult. He's covered with cremation ash, has long natty dreads - but the women think he's way haught.

Edit: oh yeah, very nice looking line and a very nice send. WOW!
nature

climber
Boulder, CO
  Oct 17, 2008 - 04:00pm PT
bump. because it's a climbing thread.... not it belongs on the Taco or anything...


I'm just sayin'...
Karl Baba

Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
Author's Reply  Oct 17, 2008 - 05:31pm PT

Here's the line
John Moosie

climber
Beautiful California
  Oct 17, 2008 - 11:32pm PT
Thanks for the trip report karl. Beautiful shots. I'm glad you had a good climb with the Lumox.
Mazzystr

Gym climber
Homeless...
  Oct 18, 2008 - 02:45pm PT

i can't beleive this route is finished?!?!? i have just emailed Dan for confirmation. if so, i'm sad to not be a part of the final push. i remember kind of going crazy on long 12hr days of hammering and praying to god ascending 9.4mm ropes over that headwall.

who got p5? the brain pitch? p2 edging and p5 brain pitch were my favourite pitches. the p3 lasso is insane scary for me. i won't climb the route again because of that pitch. my mouth dropped seeing Dan do the two lassos. i can't beleive p4 went clean. i can't beleive p12-14 went clean. i have 11 pitches in my topo (THE ORIGINAL TOPO!). The thread claims 13 pitches. We were at least 300ft from the top last I heard and Dan put up two more pitches in Sept. He didn't mention that he COMPLETED the route, lol!

Standy by for a picassa link to pictures of this route in the making

Thanks,
/Chris
Mazzystr

Gym climber
Homeless...
  Oct 18, 2008 - 02:47pm PT

I'm also surprised by the name. I thought we agreed on The Infinite Lotus...

Thats ok though. I like the new name.

/Chris C
Mazzystr

Gym climber
Homeless...
  Oct 18, 2008 - 03:36pm PT

here is my picasa link

http://picasaweb.google.com/mazzystr/Yosemite20060817Nataraj#

Thanks,
/Chris C
Mazzystr

Gym climber
Homeless...
  Oct 18, 2008 - 03:38pm PT

Karl,
all those pitches went at 5.10?

what about the p2/p3 pitch that crosses with Dakshina? thats 5.10 climbing too?

I can't believe this! I'm distraught!

/Chris C
Karl Baba

Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
Author's Reply  Oct 18, 2008 - 10:53pm PT
Chris's questions in ""

"who got p5 the brain pitch??"

I got all the odd pitches. Pitch 5 had two crux sections (reasonable to good pro in both section) The second crux of Pitch 5 is where I went too far left and had to pray my way back right. Best to stay low.

" the p3 lasso is insane scary for me. i won't climb the route again because of that pitch. my mouth dropped seeing Dan do the two lassos."

Pitch 3 has a lot of A0 now. There's nothing too scary about it except for a little potential sliding on the 5.10 upper part. Don't know anything about Lasso. See the revised topo on my site.

"i can't beleive p4 went clean."

Pitch 4, just left of where Dakshina comes in, has a couple tricky moves, but it's all there, check the topo.

"i can't beleive p12-14 went clean."

Obviously, there is no pitch 14 (actually i led past the end of 13 with a 70 meter rope so we wouldn't have a 4/Easy 5th class finish) The final two hard pitches were continuous but all there and pro was good. The last pitch goes up a gritty corner with a good crack. Easy.

"i have 11 pitches in my topo (THE ORIGINAL TOPO!). The thread claims 13 pitches. We were at least 300ft from the top last I heard and Dan put up two more pitches in Sept. He didn't mention that he COMPLETED the route, lol!"

After the two last hard pitches, the final pitch only had two bolts to drill for whomever finished up.

Hope this helps

peace

Karl
Karl Baba

Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
Author's Reply  Oct 20, 2008 - 02:43pm PT

Nataraj in black compared to Crest Jewel in red

Peace

Karl
cragnshag

Social climber
Gilroy
  Oct 20, 2008 - 04:23pm PT
Hey Chris,

I'm the guy that helped Dan finish the route. I think the reason why it's 13 pitches and not 11 is that Dan and I decided to break up the old pitch 3 into 2 pitches. After the AO and 10a freeclimbing there was too much drag so we made a natural belay in the crack. This made the subsequent free climbing much more enjoyable. Also, the free climbing here avoids the "lasso."

The new pitch five (the one that is shared with Dakshina)avoids the 5.11 with an improbable 10b mantle onto a knob just left of the belay. Once you are standing on this knob, the rest of the pitch is cruiser.

Dan was supposed to send me some pictures of all this.... Dan you out there?

A very enjoyable route!!

Bob
Larry

Trad climber
Bisbee
  Oct 20, 2008 - 09:39pm PT
I'm glad to hear that Dan and friends' efforts produced a good route.

It might be worth noting that the part of Dakshina above the big overhang has had its bolts upgraded.

Most, if not all, of the hangers on Dakshina are colored. If you think you're on Crest Jewel or Nataraj and are clipping variously colored hangers, you may have wandered onto Dakshina.
Jingy

climber
Random Nobody
  Oct 20, 2008 - 10:29pm PT
Bad Azz Karl!!!

Really cool photos, great story...

P.S. You're not that old! Heck, if you can make it to the base of that thing.. you're doin way better than me!

Thanks for the post, and it was good to see you at the Art Auction.
halfhitch

Trad climber
Steamboat Springs, CO
  Oct 20, 2008 - 10:41pm PT
NICE Karl, The pictures had me back a mid 80's with a summer's sweltering early ascent of crest jewel. Say hello to Mark for me - I'm doin fine these days out here in Steamboat - nice place for a retired guide. cheers, Wil
nutjob

Sport climber
Almost to Hollywood, Baby!
  Oct 20, 2008 - 11:19pm PT
Le_bruce, we have a new mission whenever we get back out there...
Doug Hemken

climber
Madison, WI
  Oct 21, 2008 - 10:09am PT
Is there another project to the left of Nataraj? A couple of years ago, the first time I did CJ Direct, we had wandered over in this direction and spotted a couple of bolts going up the slab (Baba's approach makes more sense to me than Dingle's). Now I wonder if that was Nataraj-in-the-works ... but I don't remember the low roof.

Just wondering.
Zander

climber
  Oct 21, 2008 - 10:35am PT
Looks like fun!
dickcilley

Social climber
Wisteria Ln.
  Oct 21, 2008 - 11:14am PT
Whats it looklike for freeclimbing?
cragnshag

Social climber
Gilroy
  Oct 21, 2008 - 12:34pm PT
The AO bolt ladder on the 1st pitch is about 40' long.
15' of the ladder is way steep and holdless (spiderman).
25' of the ladder might go free at 5.11+ or harder.
I aided all 40'.

The AO bolt ladder on the 3rd pitch is about 50' long.
I freed about 30' of it to about 5.10d and aided the other 20'.
There is mandatory 5.10a at the start and finish of the ladder.
The 20' I aided would likely go free at 5.11+

Everything else goes free at 10a or easier with the exception of the 10b knob mantle on the 5th pitch. The character of the entire climb is that there is a lot of 5.7 and 5.8 climbing with a few cruxy sections here and there to spice things up.



Crimpergirl

Sport climber
Boulder, Colorado!
  Oct 21, 2008 - 01:01pm PT
Very cool stuff!
hungry man

Trad climber
around
  Oct 21, 2008 - 04:00pm PT
Beautiful trip report, Baba. looks like a must-do.
le_bruce

climber
Oakland, CA
  Oct 21, 2008 - 04:07pm PT

Sounds good, Scott. I climbed for a few weeks with Mzzystr during the summer he helped put this up - what's up Michigan Chris. Sounded like a lot of hot and sweaty toil putting those bolts in.

Looks like a great line.
hoipolloi

climber
A friends backyard with the neighbors wifi
  Oct 21, 2008 - 06:07pm PT
Anyone ever done Dakshina ? When I went up there for Crest Jewel (direct) I looked at it and thought it looked like a really spectacular climb. That roof is pretty amazing, dont have the topo at the moment, but isnt the climbing after the roof traverse a bit runout and scary looking?

Think its possible to do Dakshina under the roof then get onto this new route?
Karl Baba

Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
Author's Reply  Oct 21, 2008 - 06:33pm PT
Dakshina and Nataraj share a bit of stone after the roof, so yes, you could jump onto Dakshina.

Not sure that would be a good idea but I haven't looked at the Dakshina topo to see where the devils are

Peace

Karl
Clint Cummins

Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
  Oct 21, 2008 - 06:56pm PT
Great stuff, Karl, Bob, Chris and Dan!

Here's my best guess on a combined overlay (note: I haven't done Crest Jewel in awhile, and I haven't done Crest Jewel Direct, Nataraj or Dakshina).
dogtown

Trad climber
Cheyenne, Wyoming and Marshall Islands atoll.
  Oct 21, 2008 - 09:20pm PT
Thanks for posting up ! looks like a nice line.
Mazzystr

Gym climber
Homeless...
  Oct 22, 2008 - 09:37am PT

Wow...how the memory changes things over time! I consulted the topo I drew up in my journal. We indeed did only bolt 11 pitches that summer! Not sure where I got 14 from! lol! My work has a scanner. I will post pictures when I get some breathing time.

Dan called me up last night with an update. It was great hearing from him again.

He said he changed P4. Originally, when you are standing on the pedestal above the 4" offwidth he had the line going straight up. It was required to lasso a thin sloppy piece of diorite with a sling, crank up, lasso another piece of diorite with your other hand. At this point you would be about 10ft off the pedestal, you could stand on the first diorite and you can clip the first bolt. My mouth hit the ground watching this lead. It was the most amazing piece of climbing I've seen. I thought about mentioning it in one of the Amazing Climbs Witnessed thread. So now P4 swings left onto the face then up and right and hooks back up with the original line and avoids that nasty slinging business. The pitch sounds like it has been... defanged, heh!

I called P5 the Brain pitch because there was a dike that you followed to the right 50-60ft and you end up pulling a steep section using this bulbous thing that was about 3ft around. It had all sort of veiny intrusions on it so it reminded me of a big brain.

I'm still amazed that we are considering P3 and the higher pitches could go completely free. Maaan...There are some awesome climbers out there.

/Chris
Larry

Trad climber
Bisbee
  Oct 22, 2008 - 12:56pm PT
hoi,

Rumor is that Dakshina has only seen two ascents. One guy was on both first and second ascents, and he's gone from this world now.

Does anyone know where "Mass Assault" goes? Or how to contact member(s) of the FA party?

Ken Boche, Dennis Hennek, Judy Sterner, Russ McLean, Sibylle Hechtel, Tim Auger, Mike Farrell

I met a few of these folks at one of Millis's gatherings once. Some may be on the East Side?
sibylle

Trad climber
On the road!
  Oct 23, 2008 - 06:47pm PT
I was on Mass Assault, but don't remember where it goes ... I think that Mighty Hiker has contact info for Tim Auger. I last saw Ken Boche at the Camp 4 dedication in 1999 (I think) - he lived in Hawaii then. Judy moved to Calgary, Canada and Tim may be in touch with her - or Anne Marie.
Old&InTheWay

Trad climber
NC
  Oct 23, 2008 - 09:48pm PT
Climbing related bump
Karl Baba

Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
Author's Reply  May 12, 2009 - 12:30am PT
Spring Doable again related bump
Mighty Hiker

climber
Outside the Asylum
  May 12, 2009 - 12:39am PT
If it is still of interest, I have contact information for Tim Auger. Dennis Hennek very occasionally posts to SuperTopo, possibly encouraged by Don Lauria.
ß Î Ø T Ç H

Boulder climber
ne'er–do–well
  May 12, 2009 - 12:59am PT
These seemingly blank faces (crested jewel) makes you a good candidate for new line(s) back side of Half Dome .
Steve Grossman

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
  May 12, 2009 - 11:23am PT
Where does Mass Assault fit into the picture???
Clint Cummins

Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
  May 12, 2009 - 01:14pm PT
from the 1987 Meyers-Reid guide:

Mass Assault 5.9
From a point near the highest trees, up and right of the huge
overhangs on the southeast face, this five pitch route meanders up
the slabs above.

Sounds like an O4 to me - no topo, semi-vague description, and the one person from the FA who has volunteered doesn't remember much about where it goes. :-)
http://www.stanford.edu/~clint/yos/obscurity_scale.txt
Steve Grossman

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
  May 13, 2009 - 10:06am PT
Hey, it is a friction route, anything was possible BITD! LOL

I thought MA started at the low point....next!
Karl Baba

Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
Author's Reply  Jul 22, 2009 - 01:41am PT
Has anyone even gone for a third ascent? That's madness, this is a fine route on North Dome and it's not hard! Wake up and hike to the dome!

It's new, it fine, and why not, it on North Dome (not as hot as the valley but doesn't get stormed near as much as the meadows)

Bump to get ya'll crackin

Baba
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