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Vertical Beta
 Angel Wings
Just a Rock in the Park
V-VI 5.10 A3+
F.A. trip report
by E.C. Joe
Angel
Wings overlooks one of the most beautiful settings in the Sierra Nevada
Mountains. I discovered this line in 1985 while visiting the "Wings"
with Richard Leversee. Unable to agree on a line on Angel Wings, we did
however, climb a new route on the beautiful dome to the East of the
Wings. We named the dome "Cherubim Dome." The route is a backcountry
classic, "The Archangel Route," VI 5.10 A0. It wasn't until much later,
even after climbing Leversee's choice on the Wings, "Hell on Wings"
(1989) that I was able to realize this great route.
In
June of 1996, Richard Leversee, Ron Felton and I completed this new
route on the immense South Face of Angel Wings in Sequoia National
Park. We had decided to "go light" and forego the hammocks or
portaledges traditionally brought these days on big walls. However,
near the base we found remnants of a haulbag and gear, apparently
dropped and lost by Fred Beckey many years ago. We decided to bring
along an old Forrest hammock, just in case.
The
route is situated in the center of the main south face in a crack
system left of the original Steck Route and starts on the left of two
ramps that intersect and form an "X" a few hundred feet from the base.
Two free pitches brought us to a ledge atop the right side of a huge
heart-shaped feature. Here we found evidence of a previous attempt by
an unknown party. A pendulum to the right off of an ancient piton (an
apparent high-point of an earlier attempt) led to two pitches of mostly
difficult aid; one of which Richard reflected that was the best of his
climbing experience. These pitches ended on a stance below a sloping
bivy.
After
fixing 80 feet of aid up and to the left of the stance, I returned to
the bivy and set up the hammock, while Richard and Ron struggled to be
comfortable on the sloping ledge. Around midnight, I awoke to the faint
sound of nylon tearing and discovered that my head was considerably
lower than my feet and that my foam pad was the only thing keeping me
from dropping out of the bottom of the hammock! Squeezing a spot out on
the sloping ledge, I used the foot section (only good portion left) of
the hammock to keep me from sliding off and spent the remainder of the
night rope-a-doping with the gear hanging off of the anchor.
 In
the morning, Ron finished the pitch that I had started with a tension
traverse off my last copperhead to a thinly protected corner that ended
at a small stance beneath an overhanging headwall. Continued difficult
climbing led up and right, avoiding an ugly chimney to our second bivy
at some small, sloping ledges.
Above, two pitches of clean, difficult wide cracks gave way to a ramp that led left to an exit point at the top of the
wall. Classic!
Just a Rock in the Park Topo .pdf TopoZone - USGS Map of the Angel Wings aka "Valhalla" Area - link
What's your vertical "20"?
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Copyright 2003 E.C. Joe of All Original Material. All rights reserved.  |
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