Time & Date: Tuesday, July 1, 2014 @ 7:30 PM (Social hours and free beer for members at 6:30)
Directions: From Highway 101 at Santa Rosa go west on Highway 12 to Stony Point Road Exit. Go straight from the middle lane at the light onto Occidental Road. The Round Table Pizza is on the right just down the road.
Shuteye Ridge is an emerging climbing area in the western Sierra that offers some of the most unique granite in the range. Protected for years by its proximity to Yosemite Valley, this often over-looked area has been seeing a lot of attention by more and more climbers in the last decade. With now nearly 1,000 routes, Shuteye has blossomed into a destination area of its own, fulfilling Royal Robbin’s prophesy that he made back in 1974.
Tom Slater, who began climbing in 1988 at Castle Rock State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains, has documented many of the first ascents going on there. He has been climbing in the Southern Yosemite area since 1996 and has dedicated the last six years to Shuteye Ridge alone to focus on first ascents and photography. Some first ascent stand outs are the 1,000 foot line “Afternoon Nap 5.7” on Big Sleep, the 700’ long “Crossing the Milky Way 5.8” on the Milky Way Wall, “Playing with Matches 5.9” on the Sundial, and the classic “Supernova 5.10c” on Milky Way Wall.
A photographer and freelance writer, Tom has published dozens of photos and articles about Shuteye Ridge in Rock and Ice magazine, Climbing magazine, and Sierra Heritage. He has also written several guidebooks for various climbing areas in California including California Central Coast Climbs: San Luis Obispo, California Road Trip: Northern California Climbers Guide (co-author Chris Summit), and Tollhouse Rock (co-author Dwight Kroll) among others. Tom’s slide show presentation will showcase the climbing at Shuteye Ridge. He will share some of the history behind the ascents, climbers, and areas of Shuteye Ridge. He will also have many of his guidebooks available for sale at discount prices. His website is www.slatervision.com
