Wine Hulk
August 2024
One week ago today, Ima and I ventured south from Truckee to huck a day lap on the Incredible Hulk. We left town at 4am and made it to the base of the wall before 9am despite completely losing the trail I’ve hiked in on a dozen times and opting to wade through waste deep water in our shoes… a nice prelude to the saturation levels that would define the remainder of the day. We arrived at the base of the rock and walked up to the base of Positive Vibrations wondering where they was not a single other person in the valley. We played rock, paper, scissors, to see who would lead the first pitch and right as I subsequently clipped the first cam to my harness while racking up, it began to rain…. That’s why.
We took shelter under a small overhang at the base of the wall but it was only enough to cover 1.5 people, so half my body quickly became drenched. After about 30 minutes, a lull in the storm allowed us to run down to a bivy cave where we sheltered as it rained then hailed then rained then hailed for an hour or so. That day, we brought no food or water, but each carried 1.5 liters of wine which came in quite handy at this point.
The sun eventually came out and we debated our options. The wall was completed soaked so climbing the Hulk was out, but the idea of hiking up the descent gully to the summit and repelling our route suddenly felt enticing due to the absurdity.
Perhaps because of the wine, we instead opted to simply go on a hike and a few miles later found ourselves in the northern end of Yosemite. The scenery was incredible with the storm clouds brewing and we returned to the bivy cave just in time to wait out another hour of thunder, lightning, and torrential downpour. This time, we had to dig a moat in the sand so that the pooling water didn’t reach our feet.
The rain let up once again allowing us to descend back down to the car and then back to Truckee. Zero pitches were climbed that day, but it was truly one of the most enjoyable times I’ve had in the alpine.
Quality conversation and unexpected adventure with a good friend. It doesn’t get much better than that.
The wine only thing was a new concept for me, and I definitely am not on board in the same way that Ima is, being that he’s done two wine only ascents of El Cap with our mutual friend Cedar, but I do think I’ll have to give it another go when conditions permit.
