Trailhead: Fresno Dome Trailhead
Elevation: 7337 ft
Route: South Pillar
Difficulty: 5.7+
We climbed Wamello dome on a smoky afternoon in the fall wearing N95 masks. In a way it felt fairly natural as we both wear one to work every day. My only complaint is that it makes it hard to hold climbing gear in your teeth when you only have one hand free. It was a fun climb on a fairly impressive and uncrowded dome in the Sierra National Forest. The approach is easy, the route finding obvious, and the protection is adequate. What more could one want, other than breathable air?
Starting up the third pitch. Photo credit GG
As you can see from the photos the air quality has been less than ideal in the Southern Sierra this week. This is mainly a consequence of the KNP complex fires in SEKI, a series of merged wildfires that originated from a lightning strike on September 10. These are the fires that caused the evacuation of mineral king and threatened the groves of ancient sequoias.
Wildfire smoke is something that is becoming an ever-present hazard in the Sierra it seems with smoke season now stretching from June-November some years.
Air quality is getting better in the US everywhere except for the West
The worst components of wildfire smoke seem to be the really small particles (< 2.5 microns in diameter) because they can make it deeper into the lungs and dissolve into the blood stream, unlike larger particles that become trapped in larger airways. In general, the levels of these 2.5 micron particles in our ambient air has been decreasing since 1988, corresponding to a general drop in anthropogenic emissions over this time period. This means that in general most of the country is experiencing better air quality than it did a decade ago. The one exception to this is the west, where the levels of these particles are actually increasing, most likely due to the increase in mega fires over the last decade or so.
N95 masks are so named for their ability to filter 95% of these 2.5 micron particles, making them useful in places with poor air quality from human emissions or wildfire smoke. They are somewhat uncomfortable to climb in though, because they are only effective when you can achieve a tight seal between the mask and your face, which while OK when standing still can give you a bit of a suffocating feeling when trying to exercise in them. Better than lung disease though!
This study showed an increase in ED visits on high smoke days for cardiovascular complaints
Wamello Dome was still a great climb despite the apocalyptic conditions. The trailhead is near the top of the dome and the trail is currently easy to follow. At the saddle before the top of the dome a climbers trail dips down to the left and wraps around to the base routes. You can see the approach we took on the gpx track at the bottom of the page.
The route we chose goes up a detached pillar that separates the south wall from the west wall of the dome. The climbing is featured face climbing with sporadic cracks and many chickenheads to sling. On the first pitch I had to re-teach myself how to tie a slip knot which I basically only ever use to shorten a runner to tie off a chickenhead.
The first pitch in the multifunctional N95 mask
The third pitch is the most exciting, with an exposed step-across from the detached pillar onto the face of the dome. I have short enough legs that the best way for me to do this was simply to fall forward...
Sitting on the belay at the top of the detached pillar (top of pitch 2)
The last pitch goes straight up some impressively steep chickenheads to drop you on the summit ridge of the dome, from where it is a short scramble back to the approach trail. Looks like there are other fun climbs on this dome and it's fairly close to Fresno so we'll be back soon when the air clears...
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