4/13-14 Valley with Joel Ager, Paul Milde, and Bob Palais.
This was Joel's bachelor party, as he's due to get hitched on 4/20, and
of course a natural reunion of old college climbing pals.  It was a bit
chilly, so we opted for routes in the sun.
  Sat:  Sons of Yesterday 5.10a.  Joel and Paul started via Serenity Crack
5.10d (p1 wet; some gear placed from aid on crux), while Bob and I started
via the Ahwahnee Buttress 5.8 A0.  At Sunset Ledge, we ditched our extra
ropes and had lunch of water and old M+Ms.  Paul did a nice job leading
the crux pitch, after months without climbing.  My lead was a slow struggle;
the crack seemed to be a long series of bad sizes, with feet in some
non-solid jams under bulges!!  At one point I used my knees on a sloping
hold; Bob even grabbed some gear there...  After the perfect hand cracks
(made comfy with loose shoes and hand tape), Joel and Paul "walked" (i.e.
tightrope fashion), the final 5.10a slanting crack -- one of Joel's
signature techniques.  Bob and I used our hands in it, but at least it
felt much easier than when I led it with John Imbrie last summer.
  Sun:  Lower Cathedral Spire 5.9.  None of us had done it, and two of
us had separately done Church Tower by mistake in years past.  I was
designated to "find" it.  I left the Spires Gully a bit too early --
crossed over the big rotten log, when I should have waited until about
100' above it at the cairns.  But we didn't really lose any time, and
eventually we zeroed in on the spire and its Main Ledge.  After some
easy pitches (w/ many old fixed pins), Joel led the nice crux pitch,
which involves one hard move at the start, and then some easy steep knobs.
We located and dried out the summit register, saw some folks on top
of Higher Spire, and then rapped the South by Southwest anchors.
Wow, down before dark; kept it fun!