During my time in the US, Kesh and I visited Yosemite National Park 3 times, and every time was special in its own way.

Our first trip to Yosemite was straight away on my first weekend in the US. Yay! It was mid-April and still a bit chilly at times, but perfect weather for climbing and the sun was shining all day long! We spent 2 days climbing 2 different multi-pitches, starting with The Grack, a beautiful 5.6 following very obvious cracks up to the top. Next day, we went up Munginella, another 5.6 which in my opinion was much harder than The Grack though. I thought about leading a pitch, but still felt a bit unsure about the different climbing style that Yosemite requires and placing trad gear at the same time, so just followed. The views were once again amazing! Kesh also showed me around some famous viewpoints in the park and of course we had to check out El Cap and spy on some climbers on The Nose. So cool!

During our second trip to Yosemite, we had a special mission: Half Dome. On our first day though, we just took it easy as we had arrived late in the night and went on Sunnyside Bench, a 5.4 which was easy enough for me to lead. I was a bit scared on the first pitch, but managed my way up. The rest was easy. Very happy to have led my first trad route in Yosemite with hopefully many more to follow!

Day 2 was Half Dome day. We woke up super early and started hiking at 5.45am, as it is a very long approach to the start of the route Snake Dike 5.7 R. The day started with a long approach, but a beautiful one leading past gushing waterfalls!

During the climb, we unfortunately got stuck behind a group of 3 that probably cost us around 2h. So despite starting early, finding the start of the route quickly and not getting lost, we arrived late at the top. The climbing itself was easy apart from two slabby parts that were the cruxes of the route. I was very happy not having to lead any of the pitches, as it was by far the most runout climbing I have ever seen. There are almost no bolts, and no options to place trad gear. The route ends about 1/3 of the way up to the top from where on you have to walk up on never-ending slabs. A true calf- and achilleas-tendon-burner! We were very happy when we finally arrived on the summit – a flat area full of granite blocks with stunning views into the valleys below.

What followed, was a decent that took forever, and ever. It was a bit shorter than the approach, but somehow felt much longer as we were tired and the day was coming to an end rather quickly. We spent the last hours hiking robot-like (out of tiredness) in the dark, arriving back at the car at 11.15pm. A looong day, but one that I will remember forever!

Our last and final visit to Yosemite was mid-June when the road into the High Sierras was open. The idea was to climb one of the famous routes, like Tenaya or Cathedral Peak – but unfortunately Kesh got ill so I spent the first day going on a hike by myself. The hike I chose was Mount Hoffmann – a great choice with amazing views all the way up (and down). From up here, Half Dome suddenly looked like a dwarf.

Next day, we drove onward to Lee Vining and Mammoth with lots of photo stops. A beautiful region with quiet lakes and bizarre rock formations. We went on short walks here and there and also took a dip in one of the hot springs of the region. A nice and relaxing day! On our last day, we visited Owens River Gorge, a famous single-pitch sport climbing crag where I climbed 6 or 7 random easy routes as we didn’t have a topo on us. I enjoyed the climbing, even though it was a bit less my style than for example Red Rocks. Or maybe I just had a weaker day. A really cool location though and a good way to end our time in Yosemite! Here you can find some more photos.