By lee hansche Administrator From: goffstown, nh Nov 20, 2009
Nice map of a nice link up... also if you are up to leading Pinetree you might enjoy starting on Turners Flake 5.8 or Toe Crack 5.7 then finishing on Thin Air to Pinetree... That gives the route a more sustained feel and those pitches are way more interesting than the first 2 pitches of Thin Air... just my thoughts...
P.S. the anchor spot here for the 3rd belay looks like its a bit high... but i guess that ledge is pretty obvious when you get there...
Thanks Lee. I've updated the description on the picture to explain about the third belay spot. This was my first trip to Cathedral and I will hopefully get to return soon to try some of the other classic lines. Toe Crack and Turner's Flake both sound awesome and if they are half as fun as Pine Tree was, I'll be happy!
By lee hansche Administrator From: goffstown, nh Nov 21, 2009
those routes are definatly right up there in quality though pine tree is a personal favorite... when you get on them post your thoughts id love to hear them, and pictures too :)
The top of the chimney is where we belayed the 3rd pitch. We belayed the 4th pitch up in the pines (slightly higher than the birch). That makes for a short scramble to the walk off / Pine tree eliminate pitch.
The Thin Air route with Pine Tree Eliminate at the top. I've used XX to mark belay spots but only the first and second pitch have fixed anchors (bongs and bolts respectively). Note that the third belay spot I've marked is actually higher up than the standard spot right above the chimney. I belayed on the ledge slightly below the overlap on the 4th pitch. I think this was nice and made communication and visibility there really easy. Obviously, the belay would work from either ledge just fine.