Last Sunday I climbed Arrowhead Arête after Climber Coffee with our climbing steward Paige. It was a sunny and humid day, the first sunny day after a series of rainstorms. The descent/rappel gully was wet and had some running water at the base, so ropes are hard to keep dry when pulling. We saw no other climbing teams, it was a great choice for the busy Memorial Day weekend. We sat on the route, which is in a superb location over Yosemite Valley and watched the endless traffic jam that lasted most of the day. It felt amazing to be up high on a quiet route with spectacular climbing, while avoiding the massive and unpleasant congestion of a holiday weekend. This climb requires a long approach and creative route finding. The descent is even longer with some hiking down a gully and rappelling back to the base of the climb, then retracing your steps down the approach trail to the valley. All in all, I thought the effort was worth the view!
