THE SURPRISE (5.10A)
The rock climb The Surprise (5.10a) is a stellar first Yosemite Valley 10 rock climb. Why? Well, if you are looking to break into the 5.10 climbing in Yosemite Valley as one of your “To-Do’s” while you visit, this crack climb is perfect because you get a few warm up pitches to get your head screwed on. Then, you start up the final finger crack all the way to the top.
Topping out The Surprise is an exciting time in a climbing career because you open the door to a new milestone in a rock climbing. The finger crack was really fun and what a surprise, hence the route’s name The Surprise, it is when the crack just disappears for a hot second and you make a few moves across some slab to a jug.
Taylor on the 5.8 hand crack before the money pitch of The Surprise. Photograph by Dalton Johnson
WHERE IS THE ROCK CLIMB SURPRISE LOCATED?
The Surprise is located on the Five Open Books
Who were the climbers who established The Surprise?
In 1965, Pete Spoecker & Steve Herrero established the first ascent of The Surprise
RECOMMENDED CLIMBING RACK:
Double cams .4 to 3 and one set of nuts, bring extra slings
HOW MANY PITCHES IS THE SURPRISE?
The Surprise can be done in 3 long pitches, but 5 are recommended
Pitch One of The Surprise: Climb a 5.6 corner up to tree anchor.
Pitch Two of The Surprise: Traverse 5.5 right and down to a flake/stem below the splitter. You can link P1 and P2 but committing for the follower as they pull out gear.
Pitch Three of The Surprise: Climb 5.8 face/stem and hand crack to a single bolt. I suggest linking P2 and P3 since this is a better spot to belay and less committing for the follower on the traverse.
Pitch Four of The Surprise: Excellent 5.10a tight hands/fingers splitter to a bouldery face move to a ledge and tree anchor.
Pitch Five of The Surprise: Starting left of the tree, climb 5.7 stem to 4th class to the top.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO CLIMB THE SURPRISE (INCLUDING THE APPROACH AND DESCENT)?
The Surprise will take 4-7 hours to climb from car to car for a new climber
The Surprise will take 2.5-5 hours to climb from car to car for a seasoned climber
What is the descent Route for The Surprise rock climb?
The descent takes about 15 minutes back to the base (not fun in climbing shoes). Walk west and a little down for a few hundred yards on a climbers’ trail until you reach the open slabs area. Continue west across the slabs to a 3rd/4th class descent trail. Consider rappelling this section when wet with one 60m rope (or 50m rope by staying a bit to the left at the bottom). Below the slabs, follow the trail east and downward along the base, then slightly back uphill to the last carabiner post at the start of Munginella. Reverse the approach.
