Lembert Dome

Published on 2003-6-16 by Michael Stanton

Northwest Books (5.6)

June 16, 2003

back to Sierras...

This climb was very short (two pitches) but enjoyable too. It's right across the street from the grill and market in Toulumne Meadows. We had arrived in the area late in the afternoon, and had time to spend an hour climbing before eating dinner and settling in to camp.

We hiked through light forest on the edge of the dome, and found the likely start of the route. Scrambling up slabs brought us to a ledge where I could belay Aidan as he climbed the first pitch. Slabs led to a distinct corner, and nice lieback moves led to another belay ledge (50 meters). Fun easy climbing on solid granite!

For the second pitch, I made an "attention-getting" rightward traverse on steep rock over to cracks and corners that led directly up. I thought the difficulties were over, but an awkward wide crack had to be climbed to another ledge. Twenty more feet of climbing led to the belay ledge, and a scenic view of the Meadows. We scrambled to the summit, tried to identify peaks in our new home, then headed down.

As the slabs steepened, I prefered staying left where the angle wasn't as dramatic. We split up, and then met up again 10 minutes later near the car. If you are just passing through, and have an hour to spare, climb the Northwest Books!

Aidan on the first pitch