back to home page
August 8, 2026
Cathedral Peak is one of the most recognizable mountains in Tuolumne, being very popular with photographers and climbers alike. There are two additional features which jut off the sides of Cathedral Peak, namely Eichorn Pinnacle and Panic Pillar. Andrew and I decided to climb all three in one day, climbing a unique route up each feature. We would begin with the West Pillar Direct on Eichorn Pinnacle, then descend east before climbing Cathedral Peak's Southeast Buttress, then finish up on Panic Pillar.
Routes climbed
| Name | Grade (YDS) | # Pitches | Quality (1-5) | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Pillar Direct | 5.10b | 5 | 4 | trad |
| Southeast Buttress | 5.6 | 5 | 5 | trad |
| Panic Pillar | 5.9 R | 1 | 4 | trad |
Peaks/formations climbed
| Peak | Elevation | Topographic Prominence | Summit Coordinates (lat/lon) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eichorn Pinnacle | 10,776 ft | 70 ft | 37.84770, -119.40706 |
| Cathedral Peak | 10,945 ft | 811 ft | 37.84781, -119.40543 |
| Panic Pillar | 10,850 ft | 30 ft | 37.84778, -119.40565 |
Gear
- 60m rope
- cams: double 0.3-1, single 2-4, optional 5
- 10 alpine draws
Total Stats
7.3 miles
3,000 ft gain/loss
Approach
We started at the second paved pullout on the north side of the road, west of Tuolumne visitor center, following the John Muir Trail about 3 miles southwest. The trail ascended gradually through the woods. About half a mile after crossing up and over a broad pass with the trail going downhill, we left the trail and ascended due east directly towards Eichorn Pinnacle which was distinctively visible. Our line was visibly obvious as the wide crack splitting the center of Eichorn.
We reached the base just before two other parties. There was a low angle wide crack just below the start which I scrambled up. It was also possible to walk around to the right.
West Pillar Direct pitch 1 (5.9, 130 ft)
I set off up the wide crack above, expecting a variety of arm bars and chicken wings and other offwidth funk. Instead I received a lot of stemming on good features and only short bursts of wide climbing with few offwidth techniques required, if any. It was still a very fun pitch but with none of the scary wide climbing that I read about. The #5 cam was definitely not needed but I dumped it into the crack anyway near the end of the pitch just to justify to myself that it was worth carrying out there. The pitch ended on a sloping ledge at the end of the wide crack.
Andrew following pitch 1
West Pillar Direct pitch 2 (5.8, 100 ft)
This was a very fun and straightforward pitch with great gear. Andrew led straight up on good hand jams and remained left into a corner on the left side of the main arete, belaying at a sloping ledge below a steeper section with some flakes and a piton.
West Pillar Direct pitch 3 (5.10b, 80 ft)
The crux came immediately off the sloping ledge. I plugged in a small piece and laybacked up the flakes, placing a couple more pieces as the terrain eased off. I continued up a few easy ledges and set up a belay at a pretty nondescript large ledge.
West Pillar Direct pitch 4 (class 4, 120 ft)
This was an easy scramble, mostly remaining just left of the true arete.
West Pillar Direct pitch 5 (5.8 or 5.9, 130 ft)
There are two options here. The first headed more left, traversing on ledges around some large flakes before intersecting the summit ridge higher up. A more interesting direct line headed straight up to the summit ridge via a steep V-slot. I stemmed and chimneyed up this cool feature. Afterwards the climbing eased off into a brief fun knife-edge before reaching the summit.
looking down the V-slot
I belayed Andrew up to the summit and we did one rappel northeast off bolts. We coiled the rope and walked east, passing below the north side of Cathedral Peak and intersecting a climber trail descending southeast to the base of Cathedral's Southeast Buttress.
There were storm clouds brewing to the east and frequent rumbles of thunder, so we decided to eat lunch and stay put for the time being. That was a good choice, as 40 minutes later we were pummeled by a sudden downpour and frequent lightning. It took another couple hours for the storms to fizzle out and the rock to dry out as we sat patiently waiting.
Cathedral Peak via Southeast Buttress
By 5pm things were looking good and other parties were starting up the Southeast Buttress. We roped up and simuled the route in one long pitch, with Andrew taking the lead. There were many ways to start this route, with us starting at the lowest point on the buttress. By now several other parties had began climbing, and we joined in with the throngs of people who were mostly also simuling but with one party pitching things out.
looking up from our start
There were no particular right or wrong ways to climb most of the route, but most variations reached a common choke point about two thirds of the way up at a distinct chimney. This chimney lasted about 30 ft and was a little greasy from all the traffic. Above this, we continued climbing up via the path of least resistance as the terrain grew increasingly blocky closer to the summit. The true summit was a cool small perch atop an exposed block of perfect granite.
below the chimney
summit of Cathedral
We didn't remain on the summit for long as there were other parties not far behind and we didn't want to crowd up the summit. We downclimbed a short low 5th class ledge system west, which was the last bit of the John Muir Route. A couple minutes later we reached a broad flat ledge just west of the summit, and walked over to the obvious spire of Panic Pillar.
Panic Pillar (5.9 R, 50 ft)
This was a single pitch of fun climbing on the west side of the pillar. The first half headed up a good hand crack to a ledge, then out right onto a ledge that led to an arete. I placed a couple finger sized pieces before the rightward transition. These were the last pieces I placed. Afterwards there was still about 15 ft of climbing on the arete where a fall would be bad.
The summit of Panic Pillar was cool and airy with great views towards the summit of Cathedral. What was not cool was the quarter inch drilled angle with a quicklink on it. It was better to downclimb the route than rely on the drilled angle for rappelling.
Descent
There was still over an hour until sunset and we decided to hang out for a bit to photograph the sunset. A few remaining rain showers to the east gave the scene some dramatic lighting. Just before sunset, a couple of people popped out on the summit of Eichorn Pinnacle. Apparently they had been caught in the earlier thunderstorm which hadn't been fun.
From Cathedral, we descended in the direction of Eichorn until we could angle back right (east), joining the same descent we had taken earlier after rapping off Eichorn. We crossed over to the east side of Cathedral where our packs were waiting, then took a well defined trail northeast back to the trailhead, mostly following the Budd Creek drainage.
No comments:
Post a Comment