Trip Report
Solo of The Full Evolution Crest Traverse (VI 5.9)
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Tuesday October 4, 2016 6:22pm
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A few years ago I encountered the report about the traverse of the full Evolution Crest in the 2014 AAJ. It got me excited to cover a whole lot of mountain terrain which would be completely new to me, as it shares only two and a half out of sixteen miles of ridge climbing with the regular Evolution Traverse. It seemed like attempting to solo it in a series of marathon-like days would be a big step up from the car to car climb of the Evolution Traverse, as Evo Crest is at least double the length of the regular Evo. Naturally it seemed fairly damn intimidating and I procrastinated till beginning of September 2016. Glad I did do it, as it surpassed all the expectations and I liked it A LOT! Highly recommend the route and the only other party that repeat it wrote "better than Evolution traverse!" in one of the registers.
I don't make people click the link often, but I took SO MANY photos that it would take an hour to move them over. Click the link below for the short story and A LOT of pictures. If you don't, here is a summary - V send the gnar. Traversed over 20+ summits in 3 days and took a ton of photos. There was exertion, great views, fun and 'I wish I had diapers, oh never-mind, too dehydrated to piss myself.' All the yoga helped the knees hold up. Lack of brain helped to be persistent.
For A LOT of PHOTOS click below:
http://vividrea1ity.blogspot.com/2016/10/solo-of-evolution-crest-traverse-vi-59.html
 Missing photo ID#473299
Vitaliy M.
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About the Author
Vitaliy M. is an annoying gym climber from San Francisco. |
Comments
Gnome Ofthe Diabase
climber
Out Of Bed
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Great thnx again, I realize, and wavered on saying more for taking such great pictures showing exactly the nature of the game. The second to last picture :
exposed, unforgiving drops and sloping into space, chunks of rock - frozen but moving. the fractured nature of the terrain . The blue bird sky.
The definition of passion is the culmination of conflicting emotions.
This time this climb defines that definition. . .
To get to have the reach of the Giants - the ability to go and see,
can come with a very high price.
Beautiful, raw the crest ! It looks so good thnx again again.!
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SC seagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, Moab, Bozeman, the ocean, or ?
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I just love your stuff! So good to see you at Facelift!
Susan and Michael
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ruppell
climber
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Freakin rad V. It's on the list after that TR.
The next logical step would be to link it into the Palisade Traverse. Start training harder. lol
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Larry Nelson
Social climber
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Great traverse, great pictures, TFPU
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thebravecowboy
climber
The Good Places
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nice pasties. nice hike too! not sure if the jump across DQs "full" traverse though. HAHA! way to stick the landing!
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i-b-goB
Big Wall climber
Nutty
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Nice, but you could have done it in 2 days with a few less shots!
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Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
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Author's Reply
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Oct 4, 2016 - 08:58pm PT
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Had to take it easy on my knees and accumulate photos for the instagram. More followers, more power.
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Spider Savage
Mountain climber
The shaggy fringe of Los Angeles
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Nice.
There are some very good 2" thick air mattresses that are sturdy and VERY comfortable these days. Maybe you can get sponsorship or something after this.
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Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
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Author's Reply
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Oct 6, 2016 - 11:34am PT
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I like paying for own gear and being independent. Enjoy earning it, from fitness, to climbs and possessions. My mom always told me the free cheese is in the mousetrap.
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kunlun_shan
Mountain climber
SF, CA
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Now we know what the "something crazy" was that Cosmic mentioned you'd said you were going to try.
Great climb, V. Thanks for all the photos... will be going back to look at these again and again!
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norm larson
climber
wilson, wyoming
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"The free cheese is in the mousetrap" is going to be in my brain for some time now. Thats a great way of putting it.
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johntp
Trad climber
Punter, Little Rock
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Kick ass! Another great and appreciated TR.
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clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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V, this reminds me of what a powerful man you are.
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Reeotch
climber
4 Corners Area
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Awesome V.
Have a look at the Great Western Divide. Could provide a similar objective . . .
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skcreidc
Social climber
SD, CA
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Nice work! And I like your blog/thingy too.
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G_Gnome
Trad climber
Cali
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Awesome V. That there was one heck of a lot of choss. Keep it up but be safe!
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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When you have time.... It would really cool if you could go back through you blog post and label more the photos (where the photo was taken)
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micronut
Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
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A proper outing for sure young lad. A proper outing. Well done.
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
https://nutagain.org
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You are a burly monster machine!
It must have been a funny moment considering the jump-across
after the pack didn't stick the landing.
Trying to convince yourself that it wasn't foreshadowing :)
I hope you are fully letting the beauty of the landscape
seep into your soul,
as you suck up more special views and nature moments in a weekend
than many of us will get in a lifetime.
Livin' large bro!
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FRUMY
Trad climber
Bishop,CA
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Nice to see you keep getting after it.
TFPU
Your mom is a smart woman.
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labrat
Trad climber
Erik O. Auburn, CA
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All those wonderful pictures and only two selfies? Or maybe you only decided to post two of them?.......
Thank you for posting! Keep getting out and having fun
Erik
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Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
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Author's Reply
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Oct 6, 2016 - 03:57pm PT
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people care more to see the scenery, me thinks :) Or maybe I personally like to shift the focus to that. Plenty of selfies out there otherwise!
Pretty much the only reason I try to include a few photos of self into report(s) is because I send them to my parents as well. They on the other hand, want to see more of me...lakes, nature and flowers. And no mountains preferably. Can't please everyone!
It must have been a funny moment considering the jump-across
after the pack didn't stick the landing.
A funny moment in retrospect. Climbing is a ridiculous activity. :)
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shipoopoi
Big Wall climber
oakland
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v, nice tr, and great photos, what a wild traverse. hey, any chance you scored my shoes and cam off romulan warbird this fall? the shoes say hans on them. shipoopoi
nice talking with you at facelift.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Stellar!!! Keep the stoke!
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ms55401
Trad climber
minneapolis, mn
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^^^^ Donini sighting ^^^^^^
KEEP STOKE ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111111111
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Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
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Author's Reply
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Oct 6, 2016 - 05:30pm PT
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v, nice tr, and great photos, what a wild traverse. hey, any chance you scored my shoes and cam off romulan warbird this fall? the shoes say hans on them. shipoopoi
nice talking with you at facelift.
Yes, I handed them over to Hans during the facelift. They were on a biner with an old sling, connected to the anchor. Hans said it was his shoes but was confused about why they were on Romulan. lol. Said the carabiner is not his and gave it to me, I have it in my car. Will likely be in the valley this weekend, is there a good place to drop it off?
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Ezra Ellis
Trad climber
North wet, and Da souf
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Respect, way to go Vittles!
Awesome photography all around, those Milky Way shots are stellar!
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Munkeybog
Trad climber
Spartanburg, Sc
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Oct 11, 2016 - 07:15pm PT
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I was 1/2 of the first ascent. This report made my year. After the we completed the traverse I didn't know how to feel about it. Was it worthy? Who cares? Why would anyone care with Bouldering pads and speed draws snuffing out the holy suffering of mountains. Hehe. So my buddy, Scott, finally wrote it up 5 years later in the AAJ. And now I read this! Genuinely happy. I couldn't have read this at a better time for me personally. I needed this. So thanks.
I commented on the blog page but thought it worth repeating. The day Scott and I launched we bumped into Peter Croft at the gas station in Bishop. Fanboying we admitted what we were up to. His response justified all the hubris and absurdity of our goal. He said, "These are real routes. You can see them from space."
Unbelievable endeavor V!
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Munkeybog
Trad climber
Spartanburg, Sc
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Oct 11, 2016 - 06:45pm PT
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For fun... and because few have ever seen these. day1
a "joke" summit post
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BLUEBLOCR
Social climber
joshua tree
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Oct 11, 2016 - 06:48pm PT
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Awesome V!
I commented on the blog page but thought is worth repeating. The day Scott and I launched we bumped into Peter Croft at the gas station in Bishop. Fanboying we admitted what we were up to. His response justified all the hubris and absurdity of our goal. He said, "These are real routes. You can see them from space."
Awesome! Awesome!
There's some very good meat being chewed on on the taco lately😋
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Munkeybog
Trad climber
Spartanburg, Sc
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Oct 11, 2016 - 06:49pm PT
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Croft/Rowell summit post.
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leema
Mountain climber
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Oct 11, 2016 - 06:51pm PT
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Nice climbing Vitaliy! After completing a traverse from Southfork Pass to Mt. Agassiz in 2004(with Adam Penney), I wanted to return the following year and traverse from Bishop Pass to Piute Pass in order to experience that incredible stretch of the Sierra crest. Well it took a few more years than I thought, but Kyle Sox (a super climber and partner)and myself got the opportunity in 2008. I figured it would be a long time before it was repeated, do to its length. Apparently I was wrong! Thank you for your write-up, the pictures you took throughout the traverse, and especially the work you do as a Registered Nurse - one of the most important jobs in the world. Scott McCook
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Munkeybog
Trad climber
Spartanburg, Sc
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Oct 11, 2016 - 07:01pm PT
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Love this photo of Scott on Darwin. Maniac!
Scott's smashed toe and swollen ankle after Darwin. Maniac!
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BLUEBLOCR
Social climber
joshua tree
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Oct 11, 2016 - 07:10pm PT
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^^^RAD!
I love that that first post by Craig was from Folsom! I used to love to skinnydip in Folsom;)
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Munkeybog
Trad climber
Spartanburg, Sc
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Oct 11, 2016 - 07:13pm PT
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This is on Lamarck night before last day. We thought crux was behind us. WRONG! V knows! Between Piute and Lamarck is some serious biz.
So thrashed at the end. I jogged out and hitched a ride to get the car for Scott. I still don't know how he muscled from before Darwin to the finish *3 full days* with his toe and ankle in the state it was in!
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Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
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Author's Reply
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Oct 11, 2016 - 10:34pm PT
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Great you guys saw it. I thought of trying to find your emails through someone from the AAJ to let you guys know it was an amazing outing and to thank for the write up. As I said in the report, the climb is the REAL deal! And yes, the stretch from Piute to Lamark had a load of unexpected difficulties. As George Bush would say, 'I misunderestimated.' Of course now I'm happy with the way it all went, aside from smashing my camera and the air mattress, yet even that added some adversity to the whole experience.
The only reason so many people get after the regular Evolution traverse is because of word of mouth and online reports. Hope this report will attract more people to this route. It is an amazing journey. So many peaks, kind of mindblowing. Please post on if you guys did some other cool climbs, now that you have ST accounts. There are people who would love to hear all about it, not just first ascents too. Which part of US are you from? Would be happy to climb with you some day and bullshit about this whole thing in person. There is much more not mentioned in the report of course.
Also, another party climbed it a few years back.
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nah000
climber
now/here
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Oct 11, 2016 - 10:50pm PT
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awesome vitaliy!
and always cool to pull in a first ascensionist [or two]...
awesome report, awesome route, awesome comments...
did i mention awesome, yet?
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Munkeybog
Trad climber
Spartanburg, Sc
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Oct 12, 2016 - 05:34am PT
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Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Lots of trad climbing in North Carolina. And I make bigger plans for specific things when I travel. We are true lowlanders that just like to get lost.
Would love to see a TR of the second ascent.
I've got tons of pics. And kept a journal for the most part on the FA. I am a suit and tie guy with a wife and kid now. So spraying is about as close to projecting something as I get anymore... :-) There are more plans in the works though.
Someone in this thread mentioned linking the palisade with the Evo traverse. Scott has done both. Maniac. Such a traverse in a single push would be an Olympic feat.
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Bad Climber
Trad climber
The Lawless Border Regions
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Oct 12, 2016 - 06:08am PT
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Great stuff, Mr. Vitaly. Man, that's a lot of slag to traverse. I've climbed a bunch in that range and have no real desire to do that traverse, but I loved being taken along for the ride. Great photos. It must have been very nice to be up there at sunrise and sunset.
BAd
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donnski
Mountain climber
Nanoose Bay, BC
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Oct 13, 2016 - 01:44pm PT
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"not a real climber," yeah right. Well done!
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j-tree
Big Wall climber
Typewriters and Ledges
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Dec 28, 2017 - 08:54am PT
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Why wouldn't you just DM the OP instead of.... Ooooooh you're spamming for your website.
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Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
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Author's Reply
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Dec 28, 2017 - 11:58am PT
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Terry, the photo outline of Evolution traverse you posted is NOT the evolution Crest Traverse.
Full Evolution crest and Evolution Traverse are two very different things.
Why wouldn't you just DM the OP instead of.... Ooooooh you're spamming for your website.
There are too many photos to move and I didn't have the time to do it. I don't get paid for anyone's clicks on my blog, nor do I care about the number of clicks it gets. It's there only so that I know my content is safe and not getting deleted if some admin doesn't like some offensive post I make on the forum.
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j-tree
Big Wall climber
Typewriters and Ledges
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Dec 28, 2017 - 02:35pm PT
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Wasn't referring to your TR Vitaliy, was referring to a spammer that has since has his account and posts deleted by the admins.
I mean, otherwise, I would have been telling you to Direct Message yourself the trip report as you were the Original Poster, and that'd be weird.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Dec 28, 2017 - 03:59pm PT
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As i said earlier....kudos to Vitalyi. A lot of real estate on that puppy.
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Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
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Author's Reply
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Dec 29, 2017 - 05:10pm PT
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LOL J-tree I was totally confused because I saw the same comment on Michelle's evo TR. But had not much to be confused because I had to go to work.
Hope all is well with everyone and a happy new year!
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JakeW
Big Wall climber
CA
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Makes the old evolution traverse look piddly! Must have been awesome sightseeing!
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