tenaya peak NW butress

Question
QUESTION: We are going to visit Yosemite for the first time in late Sept to early Oct.  I read
several ascent notes on Tenaya Peak NW buttress route and most of them said
they have problems finding the descent route.  Any tips on finding the descent
route?

ANSWER: Pauline,
Below is a description of the descent. It seems pretty straight forward, hike off the back of Tenaya Peak, you should find Class 1-2 hiking to get off the peak.

My concern is the time of year you are going to do this climb.  It's a 30 minute approach and an all day climb. Full Day from Car to Car.  At that time of year, you can expect temps to be in the 50's to 60's in Tuolumne and it get dark and cold early.  Many climbers have gotten themselves in serious trouble doing long climbs at this time of year.  Including a death last Fall on the trail back from Cathedral Peak from hypothermia after they got lost in the dark on the walk back.

Unless you are VERY fast and simul-climb this route, I would find more accessible routes.

Try
Hermaphrodite Flake & South Crack - Stately Pleasure Dome
The Tree  & The Dike - Pywick Dome
Northwest Books & Crying Time Again - Lembert Dome
West Crack - Daff Dome

Hike down to Mildred Lake and follow the drainage back out around the south side of the SW Ridge. Stay right (north) of the drainage for the easiest (and shortest) way back. Many climbers make the mistake of trying to hike out to the Sunrise Trail to take that back to Tenaya Lake. The cross-country travel is easy and enjoyable here, and there is no need to hike that far west to get back. Simply follow the contours around to the north.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the great advice.  Any recommendations on climbs in the valley
which I think is warmer at the end of Sept..  We are Gunks climbers -- lead 5.9
trad and 5.10 sports but not too great on cracks.   We'll be in Yosemite for about
7 days.

Answer
Pauline,
Here is a link to Supertopo.com and some listed climbs with ratings and some beta.  I have no vested interest in this site but it is a great resource.

http://www.supertopo.com/routebeta/yosemite.html

The Valley is full of crack climbs, there are some face climbs in the Royal Arches area.  There are also some short routes on El Capitan, be careful though there will be a lot of climbers on the wall at that time of year and they are prone to dropping things from a high elevation.

The weather in the Valley is GREAT that time of year, but it does get dark early, be sure to be off the rock by 6.  Some places to check out are Knob Hill,  Manure Pile Buttress, Church Bowl, Sunnyside Bench, Royal Arches Area, Swan Slab.  All these areas are very short walks, some less than 2 minutes!

Check the weather too, Tuolumne is a hour drive form the Valley and worth it. There will be NO people up there at that time

Jeff