West Quarter Dome, Quarter Pounder. Urmas Franosch and I had originally intended to free climb the North Face route on West Quarter Dome, but when we arrived at the face we found that route obliterated by rockfall, so we opted for a series of flakes and cracks to the right of the scar. We were rewarded with a sustained 800-foot face climb that to my knowledge is the sole intact route on this graceful formation. An 11-mile approach from Tenaya Lake over Clouds Rest took us to a gully on the west side of the dome. We found an outstanding camp on a narrow fin of rock overlooking Tenaya Canyon and the northwest face of the dome. Water is available at a hidden spring one-half mile before the summit of Quarter Domes on the Clouds Rest Trail. On the route we placed one fixed pin and no bolts in four 60-meter pitches (5.11a, 5.10d, 5.11b, 5.10a). Route-finding and protection are challenging on this climb, which we named Quarter Pounder (III 5.11).

Al Swanson, unaffiliated