The Cathedrals, from the end of pitch 27

I took this photo as Aaron was finishing pitch 28, just above the Changing Corners. Those big puffy clouds on the other side of the valley, while beautiful to look at, got us a little worried. Furthermore, it was noticeably chillier than it had been the previous days. I hardly took my fleece off the whole day. It might have just been the altitude, but it worried us nonetheless, since the whole trip had been sunny and warm up to that point.

Aaron radioed down to his parents for an updated weather forecast. They had checked that morning, and replied that there was a slight chance of thunderstorms, but otherwise it was supposed to be clear and sunny. They mentioned that they had felt a few drops of rain in the meadows. Aaron also asked about the sky behind El Cap, where we couldn't see. We worried that a storm from that direction could come right over the cliff and surprise us. Fortunately, his parents didn't see any big clouds there.

In this photo, the largest rock in the center is Middle Cathedral, which Aaron and I climbed the previous summer via the East Buttress route. Above and to the left of it, Higher Cathedral can be seen, and below and to the right, Lower Cathedral. Further to the left are Higher Cathedral Spire and Lower Cathedral Spire. Also, to the right, one can see an excellent view of Leaning Tower.