Minaret Minute

Anon. - Circa 1992

Darkness fell as we snaked our way along the river below Minaret lake. The stars were bright on an evening with no moon. The air was heavy with the smell of burning timber from the raging fires in Yosemite. The quiet of the forest was broken by our steady gait and the regular rush of the Minaret river. We had six miles of hiking ahead. My legs hurt more with every step. We knew the trail would lead us home if we could just persevere. Fatigue from the day's events was causing my mind to wander. I was thinking about Nancy.

Fifteen hours earlier we were at the base of Clyde Minaret looking for the beginning of a climb listed as one of the 50 classics. We knew of Clyde's loose reputation, so we had left our bivouac at the north end of Cecile Lake at 5:00 am to be the first on the rock. Surveying the massive south face, we could find no obvious start. Fifty Classic Climbs and Roper's guide were not sufficiently detailed to point the way. Far to the right was a large alcove not mentioned in either guidebook. The alcove could have been reached in one pitch. A second pitch traversing to the left would then provide access to the main body of the climb. But the alcove was such an obvious feature we couldn't believe it wouldn't be listed in the guides. We were uncertain how to proceed.

We dilly-dallied long enough for another party to overtake us at the base. They proceeded further up-hill and we followed. They roped-up and headed out on their first pitch followed by Stan a little further up the slope. We added to Clyde's collection of fixed pro when Stan thought better of his initial start and rapped down to wait for the party to clear their first pitch. I followed behind them, but we never saw the group again. As I was finishing the first pitch, I spotted a solitary figure with a day pack, walking stick and a limp picking his way through the boulder field below the south face. When he got within earshot he shouted: "If you're trying to do the classic Clyde, you're off-route."

Route finding was not as difficult as finding the start. There was a proliferation of cracks and dihedrals that led, with some planning, to the crux overhang and left facing dihedral. The overhang was avoided by aiming left and entering the dihedral at its base. All the pitches below the crux pitch were 5.6 to 5.8. The pitch just below the crux had difficult moves but the climbing was not sustained. The crux pitch was a steep, unbroken dihedral with lots of air. If the holds had not been so angular and sharp, this would have been a 5.9 pitch.

We were so exhilarated when we finished the crux we barely noticed the storm clouds building around us. It was close to 4:00 PM now and we had just two short pitches remaining. Having brought just one rope, we calculated our best bet was to make a quick dash for the top. The last two pitches came as fast as the rain. We reached the summit just as the thunderstorms struck from all sides. The hair on our arms and heads stood erect and the summit rocks sizzled from the sound of static discharge. We could see the lightning striking the surrounding summits with no noticeable delay before the tumultuous thunder came crashing through the canyons. We cowered in a small recess just below the summit to wait-out the storm. I clipped into a fixed pin, removed all my extra gear and placed it at some distance from my body. The worst of the storm was over in a few minutes but the rain and sleet lingered. Snow, sleet and rain made the descent more treacherous than usual. The wet rope hung on the first rappel point. After fixing one end, I ascended the rope with prussiks and slings. At the top, I discovered the combination of a wet sling and wet rope was creating too much friction. The problem was alleviated with the use of biner at this and the next two rappels. The remainder of the descent was uneventful with the only other rap coming at the choke stone visible from Cecile lake. We reached our bivy at 7:00 PM, packed and headed down the north side of Minaret Lake and further below, the Minaret river.

We didn't have a permit to hike the Minaret Trail but we were certain the rangers wouldn't be out on Sunday night. We had tried to get a permit early Saturday morning but found we were 43rd in line at 6:30 am. The PMS monster at the ranger station had told us we couldn't get access to Clyde because there were too many people on the trail and it was an impacted area. Having driven most of the night from LA and having slept on a picnic table somewhere near Bishop, this was not good news. A more sympathetic ranger understood our plight and advised us of another approach. On his advise, we hiked the Beck Lakes drainage and crossed over a short, steep saddle just above the lakes. At the top of the saddle, there was a small brass plaque bolted to the rock and almost buried by the brush. It read simply:

This Pass is named for Nancy

who was the first of her party

to reach this point in 1972.

Nancy 1966-1974