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Summary

Shirley resting in an opening in the thick growth we encountered on the descent. Great stuff (Sept. 20, 2003).

My notes from shortly after the climb (Saturday, September 20, 2003): In an attempt to escape a very questionable looking weather forecast for OR and WA, Jeff and Jay joined Shirley and me for a little quick jaunt [2011 edit: we could not find the shortcut from I5 and so ended up driving south through Redding, then back up north, then we spent more time working out the forest roads which apparently had nothing to do with the book’s description…all in all we finally settled in for a quick sleep at 4ish in the am] into the sunny hills of northern California. We’ve been wanting to try this one ever since we saw it in the guidebook. Originally thought about climbing Orion (III, 5.7) but due to a late arrival at trailhead (4am Saturday), we were too lazy [2011 edit: too chickenshit] to get a sufficiently early start for this 14-pitch route. Instead decided to do Sleepwalk (II, 5.5) with approx. 6 pitches of climbing. The route was largely 3rd and 4th class with a few low fifth class moves sprinkled in – but given the exposure we stayed roped all the way to the summit.  Ended up doing about 9 pitches including two or three simul-climb pitches. The summit was excellent [2011 edit:  pretty good for a somewhat lame route 😉 ] with a view of the very dry Mt. Shasta dominating the skyline. Decided to take a little shortcut on the way down [2011 edit:  fucked up] through what looked like a meadown from up above (alternative was scrambling a boulder field with boulders the size of pick up trucks)…..the “meadow” turned out to be the same boulder field except covered up in extremely thick “bushes” about 15 feet tall. The flora was INCREDIBLY dense and it was dark by that time….you’d take a step and find yourself plunging eight feet down since without realizing it, you’ve just stepped off the edge of a huge boulder. Pace was about 6 feet per minute [2011 edit:  fucked up]. After wondering through this “meadow” for an hour and not being able to “punch through” to the other side, we finally managed to double back. By far the wildest bushwhack I’ve had the pleasure of “whacking.”

Photos

Shirley, Jeff, and Jay getting ready at the trailhead after our very brief night of sleep (Sept. 2003).

Shirley, Jeff, and Jay hiking in to Ycatapom Peak (in background; Sept. 2003).

Ycatapom Peak from the approach trail in Poison Canyon. The north face of the mountain where all known technical routes reside is around the right skyline (Sept. 20, 2003).

Jay and Blondie on the approach to Sleepwalk on Ycatapom's north face (Sept. 20, 2003).

North face of Ycatapom Peak (Sept. 20, 2003).

Jay, Shirley, and Blondie hanging out at the base of the Sleepwalk route. Photo taken from lead of pitch one (Sept. 20, 2003).

Shirley somewhere high on Ycatapom's Sleepwalk route (Sept. 2003).

Jay leading pitch 3 of Sleepwalk (Sept. 20, 2003).

Chillin' atop pitch four of Sleepwalk (Sept. 20, 2003). Photo by either Jeff or Jay.

Shirley somewhere on The Sleepwalk route. Photo by Jay (Sept. 2003).

Shirley, Jeff, and Jay on the summit of Ycatapom Peak with Mt. Shasta in the background (Sept. 20, 2003).

Shirley & I on the summit of Ycatapom Peak with Mt. Shasta in background. Photo by our friend Jay C. (Sept. 2003).

Shirley resting in an opening in the thick growth we encountered on the descent. INCREDIBLE bushwhack!! Imagine a thick growth of about 15 feet in height covering up a boulder field (c. 12 foot boulders). The leaves and branches in your face; the entangled roots and boulder drop offs at your feet......and darkness. This was by far the most exciting part of the climb. Great stuff (Sept. 20, 2003).