Some photos related to the Valley Giant cams
Stéphane Pennequin's Nutstory Museum Christmas Card Photo, 2010
Magnesium #12 Old-School Style Valley Giant, C. 2005
Chouinard Crag Hammer, c. 1972-1976
The Poison Pill bivi, P6 of Scorched Earth, El Capitan. At the left skyline is El Cap Tower, with Texas and Boot Flakes just above. The dark spots at low center are climbers on the Sea of Dreams.
The fearsome Leavittator crack, 1500 feet up Scorched Earth on El Capitan. The photo doesn't do the overhang of the wall justice. The crack begins as an A4 knifeblade seam, and gets wider and wider, reaching a maximum of 24 inches. Randy Leavitt freed the Leavittator at 5.11d when he and Rob Slater did the first ascent of Scorched Earth. The other side of the "Golden Finger of Fate" flake has another wide crack. Walt Shipley and Troy Johnson rated that side A1 when they did the first ascent of Native Son, which was done concurrent with Scorched Earth, in 1987.
Ascending a fixed rope past the Lazer Beam crack, P18 on Bermuda Dunes, El Capitan. Notice our camp on the off-route ledge and El Cap Spire, far below. Bermuda Dunes follows the corner system that starts in the Alcove (base of the Spire) and passes through the center of the photo.
This is the "Pine Island" bivi on Bermuda Dunes, top of pitch 20. It's about 100 feet right and level with the Salathe Roof. The huge roofs above this spot provided enough shade so the little "Charlie Brown Christmas" tree could survive on what little water seeped out of the cracks.
