Barbarians Near The Gate

Fun route on excellent, well-featured rock with a Tuolumne flair, generally linking crack features with bolted sections. See comments for a little controversy but don't let it keep you away. Just to be clear though, this is no longer a sport route! Pitch grades and lengths are approximations.

Pitch 1 (5.10a, 100'): Climb up and left past 2 bolts to an easy crack. Plug some gear, clip a bolt protecting the moves into the small right-facing corner, then continue up face climbing past 2 bolts and gear in horizontals to anchor.

Pitch 2 (5.10a, 100'): Climb up featured rock passing a low bolt, then wander a bit left or right to find good gear and the path of least resistance. Clip another bolt then head slightly left via a crack system to the anchor.

Pitch 3 (5.5, 70'): Traverse straight left to gain the large ledge. Pass the tree then move through a small depression. Belay on gear at the base of a finger crack just past the depression, not the rap anchors about 6' further. 

Pitch 4 (5.10b, 100'): Climb up the crack, eventually moving right and connecting with bolts that take you out the roof (crux) and to the anchor.

Pitch 5 (5.9, 100'): Traverse right, clipping a bolt then making a slightly spicy friction move to gain a crack. Head up the crack for a short bit but break out right before the roof onto a very featured, bolted face. Belay at large ledge.

Pitch 6 (5.9, 50'): Few moves off the ledge to easy jug hauling. 

Rap the route (70m needed), there are bolts/chains at each belay. You have to climb the traverse pitch (P3) in reverse to get to the second-to-last set of anchors.

Barbarians Near The Gate is on a greenish-tinged wall that is just to the left of an obvious white/streaked wall. Across the canyon and slightly lower than Tioga Cliffs. Look for two bolts on a rounded arete to start.

There are three possible approaches, two that come in from the bottom (rap the route at the end) and one that comes in from the top (rap the route at the start). The approach from the top seemed like it would be convoluted, unnecessary, and potentially pretty dangerous for other climbers if someone else is already on the route, but is what K. Cordner described.

(1) Park at the power plant. Follow the creek bed upstream via talus for about 30 minutes. Straightforward and relatively mellow, but possibly not an option when the creek is running high.

(2) Park per Tioga Cliffs. Head down the approach trail, pass the lowest wall (Power Cliff), then talus hop further downhill to the base. Probably the quickest and most obvious approach (you can see the wall for the entire way) but a decent bit of elevation loss (on the way in) and gain (on the way out).

(3) Park at Ellery Lake (this is the top approach). Cross the creek and follow the road down canyon until it ends and the pipe starts. Follow the pipe until you get to the big talus field on the left. Leave the pipe and descend the right side of the talus field. Follow the boundary of the slabs and talus and when you get below the big trees, watch for a huge boulder. The approach gully from the boulder is about 70m long and class 2/3. Look for a set of anchors with chains.

Doubles .3-1", single 2" cam, small set of wires. 12 quickdraws (mostly alpine, some sport). Single 70m rope.