"(Nearly) all routes were flashed (mostly)
on sight with no falls, of course."

Don Snyder and I went to the Meadows for a fine weekend of climbing
in perfect, cloudless, weather.  We began Saturday with Shipoopi (11b,
11c, 10d, 12a) on Mendlicott Dome.  This time I managed to lead the
1st pitch roof with no falls (two previous attempts this summer) and
Don styled the sustained steep knob pulling on the second pitch.  
The second pitch is really a Meadows face classic: about 100' with
a generous 11 bolts - there's a 10+ section at about the third
bolt, a few bolts of mellower moves, then thin again for the last
3 bolts.  I lunged past the slab move off the belay on the third to
gain 70' of 5.9 on really big ones.  Don had a few goes at the
final roof - hand traversing the lip with dangling feet looking
for holds, but didn't quite get it.  Steve Schneider was hanging
out on the "sundeck" below the Bachar Yerian, and so armed with a
minimal amount of beta, Don went for Slider-Banger (11d).  He
clipped the 2 1/4" bolts with ancient backoff slings (R of
Shipoopi) and climbed directly to and over the roof (11b).
As he reached the belay, Schneider informed him that this
was supposedly an FA as Alan Nelson had drilled the bolts but
not finished this direct start (5.10 but a little loose) prior
to Schneider's ascent.  I fell once following the roof when a
knob pulled over the lip - spooky.  The second pitch clips
3 bolts to a slightly overhanging headwall with small slopers.
Don took a few 15 footers trying to work it out but we ended
up retreating.  A consultation with the "Scheid-man" on the
sundeck revealed that Don was very close to the "cutter," an
incut 4 finger knob that marks the end of the crux climbing.
Schneider also related the tale of how he took a monster whipper
onto the belay when a knob pulled while he was
trying to drill what is now the 3rd bolt and ended up a good
distance below the roof!  We finished the day by 
climbing a couple of new routes that begin on the sundeck, essentially
parallelling the first pitch of the BY.  An 11a (one fall for JA, DS
flash) and an 11b/c (DS flash).
Misc. info. -
Schneider got Dan Michael's project -
Raging Waters, 13c, "hardest route in TM."  Bachar's 4 year project
is named "Die Hard." The first pitch of it is now an 8 bolt 10a.  And
the corner between the BY and RW is called Pretty in Pink Point, 12c.

Sunday we went up to Phobos/Deimos for a Blues Riff session (11c).  I
was breathing hard leading the slot to ow to squeeze first pitch 
(old-style 10a) - the good news is that I took so long that Don had
shade for the second pitch.  Don cruised the thin crux and powered
up the mega-classic 120' overhanging flake above.  To my surprise, I was 
able to get the crux and not run our of gas on the long flake.  It was
all smiles at the belay after this one.  Trouble is, how do you top
the Blues Riff? - back at the van, Don pulled out his lawn chair and
an Anchor Steam - I sooned joined him after unsuccessfully trying
to find the Laserblade and Love Supreme with Schneider's crude
topos.


Joel