Sadhaka Yogi, aka The Seeker

Sadhaka Yogi climbs on bullet-proof rock with hard sequences and is well protected. SY overhangs 12 feet in its 80 feet of climbing. It gets great morning sun. Iyengar refers to the Sadhaka as the seeker, and the name appeals to me. SY has at least four cruxes and each one took a bit of sussing to figure out.

Start by climbing the YC face on the right for a few feet and traverse left on the ledge above as shown in the photo. There is bolt at chest height, and getting established on the ledge is crux #1. However, it was very nice to stick clip the second bolt while working out this sequence. Stand on the ledge, make an easy move, clip high, and move right along the large and solid flake to a horrizontal seam. Crux #2 is getting established on the ledge and corner system above. Pull into the corner and tackle the flaring crack. Crux #3 comes in thowing for the "jug" above (left then right hands). Clip, power up on poor feet to a smooth edge. A small flake was removed from this hold leaving an ultra-sharp edge which was burnished smooth. If that is a problem, don't climb SY. Crux #4 comes in moving up for the gaping slot a mile away. Stand up and move into the dihedral for a good rest, power up for a high clip, and move right around the top of the dihedral. Climbing into the final dihedral guarding the anchors was a lot more grunt and much less elegance than I had imagined from the ground.

Overall, climbing on SY was perplexing and powerful. Often a move off good hands was made on truly terrible vertical smears. So, a soft slipper is a good choice. I'm not sure how hard SY really is. I thought it was hard to figure out and the steepness made it just that more difficult. Nothing was out of my reach, so SY is difficult more for the sequences than than the reach.

This is the left of four routes in the alcove.

A dozen draws, something for the double bolt anchor at the top, and a 60m rope will work.