Via Aqua

Via Aqua is a fun, moderate, and mildly obscure route that climbs to the left of Upper Yosemite Falls up a series of corners and chimneys. It is a bit dirty and has some loose sections. The climbing is enjoyable and tops out at the railing of the lookout over the falls. You gain a ton of exposure on the approach ledges and have excellent views the entire time.

The route breaks up nicely into 4 pitches with a 60m rope. We did it in 3 pitches with some simulclimbing and rope drag. The first two pitches felt like mostly 5.7/5.8 with a steep section of flakes before gaining a large ledge. A few pins and a cool antique bolt can be found in the first few hundred feet. Traverse right across the ledge to climb the final chimney/corner up to a large tree and 4th class. This section can be broken into two pitches or easily simulclimbed with the follower walking across the ledge. Once you're past the large tree, easy terrain leads to the falls lookout on the right.

Getting to the start of the climb is a bit of an adventure in itself. Hike about 2/3 of the way up the Upper Yosemite Falls trail until you see a prominent ledge system to the right. As of October 2019 you step over a dead log at a switchback and there are cairns marking the initial approach. From here you traverse across an exposed ledge system (class 3/4) to reach the base of the obvious left-facing corner system.

Single rack from BD 0.3- 4 (doubles in finger/hand sizes could be nice, we only placed the 4 once), nuts