North Face of Higher Cathedral Rock. No one had ever really looked at this face with the thought of climbing it without using many bolts, but Robert Kamps and Charles Pratt returned from reconnoitering with some hopeful news. They had spotted a vague route straight up the middle of the wall. On June 30 I joined them and we started up the overhanging 1000-foot wall. The first day we did three pitches. The direct-aid climbing was very strenuous and needed a great deal of time because of poor cracks. The second day, the same type of climbing brought us to a huge roof 250 feet from the summit. To go over the ceiling would have taken 15 to 20 large wooden wedges and so we traversed left on very small holds to easier climbing. We reached the summit at 8:30 p.m. on the second day. No bolts were used.

Yvon Chouinard, Yosemite Climbing Club