Separate Reality

Separate Reality is the photogenic, quintessential Yosemite roof climb. It's short, aesthetic, athletic, and buckets o' fun.

Take Hwy 120 out of the Valley and after going through two short tunnels, park at a paved pullout immediately before the third, long tunnel. Hike up the road to the mouth of this tunnel, jump over the stone wall, and follow a steep track down the cliff for 3 minutes. This deposits you at the top of the Separate Reality visor. At the top of the slab use the bolted anchor to fix a line and do a short (80') rap down to a staging area at the base of the climb.

It's pretty obvious: Climb the steep lieback flake to a stance, then bust out the 20' roof to a wild series of moves at the lip.

If you want to lead this on gear, I recommend a #3 Camalot for the belayer, a #1 and a #4 Camalot for the initial lieback section, and then a #3, a pair of #2s, a #1, and a 0.75 for the crack itself. However, a much easier option is to bring four or five hexes and long slings: One can easily pre-load the crack by dropping the hexes down in from above. One person should rap in first to direct this procedure.