Gear
My recommended gear…
- #0.1-3 with double 0.3-3
- Nuts
- Crack gloves
- 60m rope (just enough to reach new rappels)
- 12 draws
- Leave extra gear at base? Sounds like the new rappel deposits you close to where you start.
People’s opinions…
- Elsie: Double #0.1-3, and a single #5 (no #4), 16 slings
- Jordan: Next time I’d leave the #5 at home
- David: I think you could leave the #5 at home (or bring a #6 if you’re worried about the flake move).
- David: 0.1’s and 0.2’s useful at the start of finger crack, nuts go a long way too.
- northshorealpinism: Double 0.3-2, nuts, ~10 alpine draws
- Brian: #5 was too small for the wide crack
Season
- Start times: Typically mid-June, sometimes mid-May, sometimes can be snow on ledges making route wet.
Route
Pitch 1
Shares P1 with Northwest Corner. Climb the runout face and then the crack/corner/chimney to the ledge with trees. Continue up 3rd class terrain to a huge sandy ledge at the base of a large corner, the base of the second pitch (or belay at the first trees and then walk the belay up).
Pitch 2 – 5.8+, 50′?
Climb the corner/finger crack on the left side (5.8+) 50 feet to a good belay ledge.
Many link with P3? Might need 70m rope though? Linking recommended though if you don’t have a #6 for the flake (to avoid factor 2 fall). Probably just try linking it with 60m.
DCIM\100GOPRO\GOPR6294. Start of P2 (left corner)
Pitch 3 – 5.9
Continue up the corner (5.7), step left and lie back up a 5″ flake (5.8) until you can stand and put in some pro (can place a #3 below the flake or a 0.2 slightly higher up, a #5 does fit but the flake is loose). Continue past a horn with lots of slings around it and undercling right, past a bolt, below the small roof (5.9). Build a gear belay, semi-hanging exposed belay.
Mid-route juts before the horn with slings The flake with a #5 Above the flake
Pitch 4 – 5.11-, 40′
The crux pitch (5.11-) begins at the end of the undercling, so get psyched. Climb the thin (!) crack up and a little left until it eases up and you can step left into the next crack system. Gear is quite good, takes #0.2-0.4 and can even place 0.1. You can build a gear anchor before the next easier thin 5.10c finger crack pitch.
Start of P4 End of P4
Pitch 5 – 5.10c
Continue up to another thin finger crack (5.10c) until it opens up to 2″ and eases off to 5.8. A few moves across the slab below a bolt bring you to an easier crack system.
With a 70m rope, you can just barely link this with P6 to the top (60m won’t reach the rap anchor at the top)
Start of P5 Top of P5
Pitch 6 – 5.8?
Finish up the cracks and then run across easy ground to the summit. Takes a lot of nuts for pro? Enjoy the views of North Early Winter Spire, Liberty Bell, and the Wine Spires!
Start of P6 Looking back from start of P6
Descent
West Face Rappel (Recommended more recently)
Single 60m rope works. There is a very nice rappel route adjacent to the top of the West Face route, deposits you close-ish to base of the climb?. The rappel station is about 15-20 feet climbers right of the final hand crack of the route. It is a little bit exposed getting to the anchor, but it’s not bad. From there, four very clean rappels down the face brings you to a gravelly ledge. There is a cairn skier’s left on this ledge with a little dirt path that leads around a corner. There is a final rappel station around this corner that avoids a very sketchy, sandy downclimb.