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Climb: Crest Jewel
Rating: 5.10a
Climbing: continuous face climbing
Length: 10 pitches
Protection: Bolts, a little run out.
Setting: Excellent
Approach: Long, but comfortable, except for the thrashy bit.
Descent: Longish, but easy.
There are many climbs that I would consider local classics. Most of those are well known, even well publicized (see Ten Under 10, in Rock & Ice). A few are almost unheard of. Others, like Crest Jewel, fall in the middle. Lots of people in the club have done the route, so it is hardly unknown. Yet it isn't one that gets crowds on it.
Crest Jewel's most outstanding feature is its setting. The route ascends the south face of North Dome, directly across from South Dome, better known as Half Dome, and from Glacier Point. Seen from the Valley, it sits directly above Royal Arches and Washington Column. The views are stupendous, even better than those from Snake Dike.
There are two ways you can do Crest Jewel. You can start in the Valley, climb Royal Arches, hike up to the base of the climb, climb it, descend through the bushes on the left (west) side and on down the Death Slabs of North Dome Gully. I haven't done it that way, but that would make a very long day. I will describe the alternate approach, which I think is preferable, from Tuolumne Meadows.
I climbed the route in July of 1989 with Magnus Persmark. We started, early, from Porcupine Creek trailhead and walked the hiking trail which rolls and descends gently to North Dome. Interestingly, North Dome is not a free standing dome. Its back (north) side is buried in the hillside. So when you approach North Dome from the north on the hiking trail you quite literally stroll onto its top. To get to the climb, you have to descend to the west (right, when approached from the north) down a long brush-choked gully. It is a bit of a thrash, but not terrible. Here you come across the one tricky section. When you come out of the bush onto slabs you are most likely a bit too high and ideally should drop down to the next slab lower, before heading over (east) to the start. The good news is that if you happen to head over too high you can still rappel or 4th class down to the start, which is identified by a small tree (bush?) at the base of the giant left facing book that cuts the south face of North Dome. This is what happened to Magnus and me. And although we had only one rope we managed to get down to the base reasonably safely.
Once at the start, the route is fairly clear. Thank goodness. When Magnus and I got there, he asked me if I had brought the guide. Of course. I pulled it out and started thumbing through the pages looking for North Dome. Daff, Fairview, Medlicott. I couldn't find it. Then it hit me. Crest Jewel is not a Tuolumne Climb. It's a Yosemite Valley climb. I had the wrong guidebook.
Fortunately, we could see the bolts heading out right from the start. After heading right for a short section the route turns upward and essentially goes straight up for ten pitches. Basically, you are out in the middle of a sea of blank rock with only the bolts to give you direction. There is an occasional feature, such as a small roof, and if there is a 5.10 move, it is bypassing one of these. Since we didn't have a topo to tell us where it was, we were never sure we made a crux move. At one point, early in the climb, we wandered too far right and got onto another route. We decided we were off route because the bolts over where we had wandered were old and not of the same manufacture. So on the next pitch we just headed left and picked up the familiar sort of bolts. I have heard there are off route bolts to the left higher on the route, also. So when in doubt try looking/going straight up.
Once we settled down and got into the rhythm, the pitches flew by. It doesn't take long to spider up a face, clipping bolts as you go, to a bolted anchor. If the route has one shortcoming it is that you are making the same move over and over. Nonetheless, there are no junky pitches and it is pretty much 5th class right to the top. Magnus and I topped out in time for a late lunch.
One warning is about weather. Obviously, I would not like to be there in a thunderstorm. But more generally, I think you need to prepare for very different weather than might be happening in Tuolumne. Since the climb is at a lower altitude and on the south face -- very much in the sun -- it can get quite hot. On the other hand, the wind can come up make it rather uncomfortable. I recommend you layer well: shorts and tank top under climbing pants and long sleeve shirt (especially nice in the brush), and a wind shell in your daypack. Magnus didn't bring shorts and found the hike back so warm that he hiked in his boxer shorts. It might have been embarassing when passing families out hiking, but I gave him a safety pin to close the fly.
All in all, I recommend the climb. It is not for beginners or the chronically slow. But a reasonable party should enjoy a very nice day in a wonderful setting.
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