East Buttress of Lower Cathedral Rock
Saturday of Memorial Day in Yosemite. A fifteen minute approach to a 12-pitch 5.10 route - we didn't see another climber all day... Lower Cathedral Rock doesn't get the attention that it's neighbors, Middle and Higher Cathedral Rocks, do. This is probably due to loose rock, harder climbing, past perigrine closures, and a lack of Supertopo coverage. This year, Lower Cathedral rock is not closed to allow Perigrine nesting ( according the NPS . The Access Fund's California Closures and Restrictions page incorrectly reports Lower Cathedral Rock as closed (as of this posting). Most climbers are probably not aware of this, hence an all day route with no crowds. We camped outside the Valley on a USFS road. Left the car at 7:30. Twenty mintues to the base. Ten minutes of racking up and we were ready to to. Micah and I had attempted this route before. We got started in the loose/dirty 5.8 chimney down and right from the East Buttress Route two years earlier. That mi