Conditions:Yosemite Falls (Middle Earth)-20230918032934
Latest: |
16 Sep 2023 (1 yr, 8 mos ago) |
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| Reported by: | KelMo (12 reports), Kirbside (96 reports) | |
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| Quality: | Great |
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| Waterflow: | Moderate |
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| Wetsuit: | Thin wetsuit |
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| Water temperature: | ||
| Difficulty: | Special challenges |
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| Time: |  8 hours
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Team: 3 people with experience level Intermediate to Advanced
Trip report URL:
Comments: We thought we were the first group through of the season, but after finding 2 rappels rigged with non-locking carabiners, and then discovering 200m of clean, new-looking 10+mm rope abandoned on R5, we think another group must have been through. And maybe had kind of a bad time? We hope they're okay... (And yes, you read that right, 200 meters. I mean, how else do you double-strand the final rap in one go??!)
Water levels were moderate, despite flow levels in the upper falls much more resembling the "moderate high" to "very high" reference photos. Merced at Happy Isles gauge read ~100 and Poncho ~180, which are closer to the "moderate" level on the waterflow analysis. Water in the canyon presented no challenges (other than those mentioned in special challenges below); exit at lower falls pour over was totally safe and easy (we surprised a group of Sunnyside bench climbers in their undies frolicking in the frigid pools).
Wetsuits ranged from 3mm farmer john (I was pretty cold when we stopped) to 5mm (they were just right). Air temp was around 80 degrees.
Special challenges: - We hemmed and hawed for a while about whether we should go, considering the falls looked closest to the very high photos, pushing our start time to after noon. - Pulling, packing, and hauling out 200m of thickboi rope is time consuming and heavy (30 pounds when dry according to the internet), and probably added at least an hour to our time - Though water levels were moderate, the falls were flowing, and spray from lower Yosemite made the big ledge VERY slippery; it was difficult and dangerous for the first person to cross over and up to the rappel station (he was able to help direct/pull subsequent people to the station). If the falls are flowing, consider the higher rebeley station (or use the rap rings and a carabiner there to set a slight redirect for the first person, LAPAR can remove). - We hit the final rappel right around sunset (thanks, thickboi), so did about half the final rappel (including all the rope management) in the dark (actual dark, as storing the big rope meant we moved gear around and realized that headlamps were in the wrong bag a bit too late). So we probably took a bit longer than usual on the final rappel, as well.
Other thoughts: While this is still a special canyon (where else in Yosemite Valley can you get totally away from the crowds??), I was a bit surprised/disappointed to find that none of the rappels are rigged in the flow. (I've previously only run when it was a class-B trickle). I know bolting restrictions/ethics make things complicated in Yosemite, but boy would it be nice if there were some alternatives...
Also, if you are one of the people that left behind your thickboi rope, you probably owe us some beers. But good news is none of us want your rope, so you can totally have it back! Also, happy to take you through a canyon or two to show you some techniques ;)
All condition reports
| Date | Quality | Waterflow | Wetsuit | Difficulty | Time | Team | Reported by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great | Low 
| None 
| Normal |  4 hours
| 5 people Intermediate to Advanced | Greatshaitan (45 reports) | |
Comment: Great trip for a first time run for all of us. Very low flow, but still lots of water. Brought x2 200ft ropes and a 300ft rope to facilitate transitioning from rappel to rappel. All anchors are in great condition. No Jumping needed for those that don't like to jump.
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| Great | Very Low
| Thin wetsuit
| Easy | 7 hours
| 5 people Intermediate to Advanced | Ameister (43 reports),Hillbelfi (31 reports),Feroz (34 reports),Boof (31 reports),Dirk (8 reports) | |
Comment: Despite the very low water, we had a lovely day in Middle Earth. Between a group being in front of us and the nice scenery to enjoy, we went very slowly through the canyon which could have been done significantly faster if we were in a hurry. All anchors were good, and there were no water challenges. The jumps were very jumpable and great though! On the last rap, the group in front of us did a different sequence than the two options listed in the beta, possibly to avoid having to get wet in the pool at the bottom, an option that I would guess is only viable in low flow since it sticks closer to the water route. They used the R8a from the 3-stage and went straight from there to the bottom, approximately reversing the two rope lengths typically used for the 2-stage sequence (160' then ~230'). After realizing what they were doing and knowing we already allocated our longest rope to the first rap, we continued past this anchor (~230' total) to the larger ledge for the normal 2-stage anchor and rapped the ~170' from there to the bottom.
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| Amazing | Low
| Thin wetsuit
| Special challenges | 6 hours
| 8 people Intermediate to Expert | Brdn.gonzales (44 reports),Sanazestan (11 reports),Jessleila (1 reports),Bwylie (1 reports),Ida noe (2 reports) | |
| Great | Moderate Low
| Thin wetsuit
| Special challenges | 5 hours
| 4 people Beginner to Expert | Sqshemet (75 reports),Kirbside (96 reports),Epeairs (70 reports) | |
Comment: All anchors were in good shape. The fixed lines to the final rap have been removed, but you can still set up a releasable traverse on the bolts.
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| Great | Low
| Thin wetsuit
| Special challenges | 7 hours
| 6 people | Sqshemet (75 reports),Rbowru (54 reports),Epeairs (70 reports) | |
Comment: At 80 CFS on the Pohono gauge, the flow was pleasant but didn't pose any challenges. A 220' rope was just barely long enough for the first stage of the final rap.
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| Great | Moderate
| Thin wetsuit
| Special challenges | 8 hours
| 3 people Intermediate to Advanced | KelMo (12 reports),Kirbside (96 reports) | |
Comment: We thought we were the first group through of the season, but after finding 2 rappels rigged with non-locking carabiners, and then discovering 200m of clean, new-looking 10+mm rope abandoned on R5, we think another group must have been through. And maybe had kind of a bad time? We hope they're okay... (And yes, you read that right, 200 meters. I mean, how else do you double-strand the final rap in one go??!)
Water levels were moderate, despite flow levels in the upper falls much more resembling the "moderate high" to "very high" reference photos. Merced at Happy Isles gauge read ~100 and Poncho ~180, which are closer to the "moderate" level on the waterflow analysis. Water in the canyon presented no challenges (other than those mentioned in special challenges below); exit at lower falls pour over was totally safe and easy (we surprised a group of Sunnyside bench climbers in their undies frolicking in the frigid pools). Wetsuits ranged from 3mm farmer john (I was pretty cold when we stopped) to 5mm (they were just right). Air temp was around 80 degrees. Special challenges: - We hemmed and hawed for a while about whether we should go, considering the falls looked closest to the very high photos, pushing our start time to after noon. - Pulling, packing, and hauling out 200m of thickboi rope is time consuming and heavy (30 pounds when dry according to the internet), and probably added at least an hour to our time - Though water levels were moderate, the falls were flowing, and spray from lower Yosemite made the big ledge VERY slippery; it was difficult and dangerous for the first person to cross over and up to the rappel station (he was able to help direct/pull subsequent people to the station). If the falls are flowing, consider the higher rebeley station (or use the rap rings and a carabiner there to set a slight redirect for the first person, LAPAR can remove). - We hit the final rappel right around sunset (thanks, thickboi), so did about half the final rappel (including all the rope management) in the dark (actual dark, as storing the big rope meant we moved gear around and realized that headlamps were in the wrong bag a bit too late). So we probably took a bit longer than usual on the final rappel, as well. Other thoughts: While this is still a special canyon (where else in Yosemite Valley can you get totally away from the crowds??), I was a bit surprised/disappointed to find that none of the rappels are rigged in the flow. (I've previously only run when it was a class-B trickle). I know bolting restrictions/ethics make things complicated in Yosemite, but boy would it be nice if there were some alternatives... Also, if you are one of the people that left behind your thickboi rope, you probably owe us some beers. But good news is none of us want your rope, so you can totally have it back! Also, happy to take you through a canyon or two to show you some techniques ;)
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| Amazing | Low
| Thin wetsuit
| Normal | 5 hours
| 2 people Beginner to Advanced | Mcc (20 reports) | |
Comment: Fun day. First time in this canyon for both of us. Our ropes were <200' so we broke up the final drop into 3 stages. For the last falls, just wanted to make a note here to not get suckered into using the climbing anchor (with all the old webbing) as the 2nd stage anchor (as I did). Keep going and look for the rap rings on rappeler's right.
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| Great | Low
| Thin wetsuit
| Normal | 6 hours
| 2 people | Willie92708 (997 reports) | |
Comment: We biked to the horse corral in Yosemite Village and used the Sunny Side Bench approach, but hiked all the way up under the upper falls. We split Lower Yosemite Falls in 2 rappels with a 250 foot rope to reach the big sloping ledge. The water temp was definitely chilly! Flow was low to "very low" (see pic).
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| Great | Low
| Thin wetsuit
| Normal | 6 hours
| 3 people | Willie92708 (997 reports) | |
| Great | Low
| Thin wetsuit
| Normal | 7 hours
| 7 people | Willie92708 (997 reports) | |
Comment: Water flow was "low" and water temp under 60F in the bigger pools. We hiked up Sunny Side Bench and left the 400 foot rope on the LYF traverse lines. There were other parties of 6 and 2 ahead of us, once we dropped into the canyon at R3. Some other group (not the ones this day) left a orange rope around a webbing anchors at the first jump; it was rigged so there was way too much friction to pull it; thus they left it. Picture looking down R5 to the big pool
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| Amazing | Moderate Low
| Thin wetsuit
| Normal | 7 hours
| 5 people | Willie92708 (997 reports) | |
Comment: We parked at the main day-use lot at Yosemite Village and approached via Sunny Side Bench. The hike up that way is shorter and allowed us to stash the 450 foot rope on the fixed lines to the LYF bolts, and enjoy cool water at the top of the falls, before the rest of the climb up. We were not in a rush on the hike up as it was already quite hot in the Sun, spending 3 hours from the cars to the point we were suited up. The canyon was an easy run with moderate low flow, and all the anchors are good. We spent ~3 hours in the technical canyon, including rappelling Lower Yosemite Falls as one shot with a LONG rope. Even with the wildfire nearby, the skies were totally clear and the views amazing (see pic)
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| Good | Low
| Full wetsuit
| Special challenges | 7 hours
| 2 people Beginner to Advanced | Brdn.gonzales (44 reports) | |
Comment: Ended up starting at 3:00PM (late start, wouldn't recommend.) Hike took us about 1hr 15 minutes to get to the base of Upper Yosemite falls. Didn't realize how far down the first set of anchors were on R1, but after that we were good. Brought a 300' and a 200' and merged R4 and R5 into one 180'(ish) rappel. Careful for the problematic flake, definitely plan for the pull otherwise it's very easy to get your rope stuck. Unfortunately, we realized we forgot our headlamps when the sun went down, so we finished the last 3 rappels with our phone flash lights... wouldn't recommend. Fortunately, it was a full moon with no cloud cover. Fixed lines to the final multistage were in good condition and we broke up the final rappel into two pitches. All-in-all still a fun run, but definitely wish we went earlier. For insulation, we wore 5mm suits which would be fine during the day, got a little chilly because we were doing it at night and it was windy.
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| Great | Low
| Thin wetsuit
| Special challenges | 6 hours
| 3 people Advanced to Expert | Willie92708 (997 reports),Rodtel314 (36 reports),Reeves (37 reports) | |
Comment: Did the Upper Yosemite Falls approach (time calculated for just the normal approach though). As a result, we were in the canyon around 2pm and it was all shaded. At the first jump we caught up to a group of climber-canyoneers who had planned to complete the canyon in the sun and so had not brought any cold protection. We played through their next rappel and then rigged the short and Lower Falls drops for them. I loaned my puffy. They were SO SLOW on rappel -- it took well over an hour to get their group of four and our group of three down the lower falls. But I guess that's what you get with an autoblock and ATC? They mentioned coming up Sunnyside, taking an hour to find the first anchor, and they also had climbing rope that at least they hadn't yet sunk.
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| Great | Moderate Low
| None
| Special challenges | 7 hours
| 4 people Intermediate to Expert | Bricepollock (39 reports) | |
Comment: It was 100 degrees in Yosemite which was enough to warm up after swims. The natural anchor on R2 was replaced with a single piton. Current was not a problem on last rappel to top of Lower Yosemite Falls. Could get off belay in alcoves for after rappel for all mandatory swims at this current level. Happy Isles gauge read 12.8 cfps and Pohono Bridge 30.5 cfps.
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| Good | Moderate Low
| Thin wetsuit
| Normal | 6 hours
| 2 people Advanced | Blueshade (55 reports) | |
Comment: Water was a little low for ideal conditions but still interesting. Some of the bolts are pretty old and/or not ideally placed, but otherwise seemed pretty solid. A mid morning start would probably make for better pictures (light), although definitely a warmer approach.
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