Nutcracker Suite

Nutcracker Suite
Sierra Nevada– Rock Climbing
Total Time: 4:30
Distance: 1.0 miles
Elevation Gain: 750′
Crux: 5.8
Pitches: 5
Protection: Double rack of cams 0.5-3, set of nuts
Companions: Holly
Trailhead: El Capital picnic area, full services in the Valley

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Aside from a short two pitch climb of Golden Needles, Holly and I had not done a Valley multi pitch since Sunnyside Bench early in her pregnancy in 2021. I had been itching to do Nutcracker for quite a while, and with threat of springtime flooding closing the Valley, the window of opportunity was quickly closing before hot summertime temperatures pushed an attempt off until Fall. So with two full days of babysitting lined up, we made it our top priority for our weekend in the Valley. Rated at 5.8, Nutcracker Suite is a historic route, the first in the Valley to be led on nuts for protection by Royal and Liz Robbins in 1967. And with 5 pitches of moderate climbing, its very popular, often with a line and potentially crowded belays. We hoped the impending closure would scare away some people, but found the parking lot of Manure Pile Buttress full of climbers when we arrived. Luckily, all seemed to be headed to After Six, although we still found 5 people ahead of us when we reached the base of the climb.

The twosome didn’t want to be stuck behind a group of three and pivoted to nearby C.S. Concerto, dropping the wait time. We started chatting with the group of three, who informed us they would only be climbing the first pitch.

“What’s your plan for getting down, there’s no bolts up there?” I asked. This was news to him, and after a brief discussion, the threesome pivoted to some nearby single pitch climbs with bolted anchors. Suddenly we had the route to ourselves!

Having racked up at the car, we tied in and started up the route, easy 5.6-5.7 crack climbing up to a tree, only placing a single cam partway up. The upper half of the pitch steepens and the crack thins, and going in, it was the pitch I was most worried about leading as placing pro mid lieback is strenuous and not at all my strength. But I found several reasonable stances on chips and little ledges within the crack, allowing me to place gear without getting overly pumped. The crack disappears for about two feet just before the lip, with some greasy holds just within reach to pull around the corner. I built an anchor in the shade of a short 5.4 step and brought up Holly to the belay, still with no parties behind us.

The second pitch is really the only uninteresting pitch of the climb- a quick 5.4 step followed by a low angled ramp you could basically walk to a relatively large ledge. There was a twosome above just leaving the third belay, so we took a short water break before I started up pitch 3.

Rated 5.7, the third pitch is noteable for a big step right off the belay to gain the crack system. Although the sudden exposure might be intimidating, the right foot is huge and you could place pro immediately, although I tried to place my first piece as high as possible to avoid a potential swing for Holly. The pitch was about as mellow and enjoyable a crack you could ask for, with plenty of stances for pro although fairly polished from the high traffic, particularly in several lieback sections. The long pitch ended at a cramped belay below a roof with a tiny bit of trickling water, and I did my best to utilize a small flat stance to at least give Holly a spot to belay me from for the fourth pitch.

As Holly started up, I could see several large insects buzzing around her helmet, a look of annoyance on her face as she tried to climb quickly to avoid them or swat them away if the stance allowed. Luckily they flew off by the time she reached the belay, but it was enough to spoil the otherwise fun pitch for Holly. The 4th pitch starts off by cutting to the right of the roof, a 5.7 move that was quite a bit easier than it had looked from below.

Shortly above the roof, the crack then disappears, and I needed to stop and check the topo. I needed to traverse out left on 5.8 friction slab to rejoin the crack system where I found an old piton, clipping it before reaching the first crux of the route- a 5.8 with a splitter crack going straight through. The crack was a perfect hand size, and I found a thin but decent foot out right to quickly pull myself up and over, following a bit more 5.6 crack to a narrow ledge and belay for the final pitch. Holly made short work moving around the roof and climbing through the 5.8 friction, but struggled through bulge, not quite tall enough to get her right foot on the small holds. Now above us was the crux pitch and the infamous mantle move.

From what I had read, this difficult move was fairly height dependent and at 6’2”, I knew I would be able to reach some juggy holds to pull myself up and over. Holly, at 5’1”, would be a different story. I start up the easy crack, finding poor protection options at the horizontal seam at the base of the mantle, although better than expected options in the vertical crack left of the mantle move, placing a nut and a small cam to protect the crux at just below waist level. I carefully stepped up on a polished knob, easily grabbing the large jug above. I yarded on the hold and started to pull myself up, then realized I needed to have at least one hand palm down for the mantle move. I lowered myself back to the knob, reset my hands and pulled/pushed past the crux. Holly had asked to hang a sling down in case she needed to cheat through, and I placed a small nut in a seam just above the mantle, hanging a double length sling down for her. The route cuts briefly to the right with some thin horizontal seams for pro before ascending 5.5-5.6 crack the rest of the way to the summit, a healthy manzanita making for an easy belay. Unfortunately, our walkies magically stopped working on this crux pitch, and I needed to extend my anchor to the edge to communicate with Holly as she worked through the crux.

The key holds were indeed out of reach for Holly, and we were both glad to have hung the sling, the move much harder than 5.8 without the jugs. Another twosome was finishing After Six as we sat on the summit, and we swapped photos before starting down the walk off, going up and over a small bump before some easy scrambling brought us to the cruiser use trail.

We had made good time, climbing the route in about 4 hours, although the unseasonably warm temperatures was making the ideal of more climbing seem rather unpleasant. So we grabbed a very early dinner at the Meadow Grill in Camp Curry and hung out near the Merced for the temperatures to cool off, before ticking Bishops Terrace before sunset.