The Steck-Salathé Route is a
big wall
Big or BIG may refer to:
* Big, of great size or degree
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* Big (film), ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks
* ''Big'', a 2023 Taiwanese children's film starring Van Fan and Chie Tanaka
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traditional climbing
Traditional climbing (or trad climbing) is a type of free climbing in rock climbing where the lead climber places removable protection while simultaneously ascending the route; when the lead climber has completed the route, the second climber ...
route up
Sentinel Rock
Sentinel Rock is a granitic peak in Yosemite National Park, California, United States. It towers over Yosemite Valley, opposite Yosemite Falls. Sentinel Rock lies northwest of Sentinel Dome.
Geology
Sentinel Rock formed when masses of rock ...
.
History
The route was first climbed, in extremely hot weather with minimal water, from June 30 - July 4, 1950, by
Allen Steck
Allen Parker Steck (May 17, 1926 – February 23, 2023) was an American mountaineer and rock climber.
Mountaineering
Allen Steck was born in Oakland, California on May 17, 1926. He started climbing with his brother George. In 1940 when Allen w ...
and
John Salathé
John Salathé (June 14, 1899 – 31 August 1992) was a Swiss-born American pioneering rock climber (and particularly in big wall climbing and in aid climbing), blacksmith, and the inventor of the modern steel piton. In his later years he promo ...
, up the north face of Sentinel Rock in
Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley ( ; ''Yosemite'', Miwok for "killer") is a U-shaped valley, glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountains of Central California, United States. The valley is about long a ...
. They climbed mostly free using occasional direct aid pitons on some pitches, and a blank wall halfway up required a 30-foot bolt ladder. It was the longest and most difficult route in Yosemite in 1950.
The route was repeated several times in the 50s using less and less aid. In 1959, Royal Robbins and Tom Frost did it all free except for the short bolt ladder, producing the most strenuous long free climb in America, with 6 pitches of 5.10a or 5.9, and many tiring 5.8 leads.
In 1970, Steve Wunsch and Jim Erickson discovered a long finger/hand-size crack to the left of the bolt ladder, adding yet another 5.9+ pitch, which allowed the wall to be climbed totally free.
In 1973, Henry Barber made the first free solo ascent, on sight, in record time, 2 hours 45 minutes.
The route is recognized in the historic climbing text ''
Fifty Classic Climbs of North America
''Fifty Classic Climbs of North America'' is a 1979 climbing guidebook
Climbing guidebooks are used by mountaineers, alpinists, ice climbers, and rock climbers to locate, grade, and navigate climbing routes on mountains, climbing crags, or ...
''. It is famous for its large cracks: out of 18 pitches, 15 feature either offwidth cracks or squeeze chimneys, including what is arguably the most famous squeeze chimney in the world, the Narrows.
died while
free soloing
Free solo climbing, or free soloing, is a form of rock climbing where the climber (or ''free soloist'') climbs solo (or alone) without ropes or other protective equipment, using only their climbing shoes and their climbing chalk. Free soloing ...
the route in 1993. His fall from several hundred feet was suspected to be due to a slippery rock, coated with moisture.
References
External links
supertopomountainproject.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steck-Salathe Route (Sentinel Rock)
Big wall climbing routes
Yosemite National Park