We did this route in 3 pitches, not 2. This worked well for us.
Another great route. The first pitch is best and is what justifies the classic rating, but the rest is also good.
Approach Stronghold dome via the standard trail. You will see a striking roof on the south end of the East face, perhaps 70 feet off of the gound. A fingercrack ascends to the roof from the ground.
P1: 5.9, 70'. Climb a fingercrack from the ground up to the roof above on the south end of the East face of the Stronghold Dome. This is the finestand hardest pitch of this route. Belay below the roof (optional).
P2: 5.8, 70'. Climb out and right from the previous pitch to traverse the roof and reach a flake system with some questionable rock. The gear here is as good as the rock you put it in, which is questionable in places. Keep on your toes and keep climbing out the flake. Eventually this will goes up over a mild bulge and cross the blunt corner to the right... whereupon it will become a solid crack leading to a good bolted belay out on the South face.
P3: 5.7 or 5.9+, 140'. This pitch is moderate, but more than moderately runout. We "missed" the easy part and ended up on a bolted variation to the top. For the 5.7 climb up and left toward the East Edge Edge of the South Face, past a bolt and then past a horizontal and up left to the summit. Otherwise you will encounter a bolted line (5.9+?) which we rode up and zig-zagged to the summit.
Protection
Standard rack of nuts and cams. Heavy on the finger-sized gear for the crux on P1.The crux is well protected, but thes second and third pitches are not.
excellent line just a blast.chains shouldn't be added in the middle of classic routes...... it just breaks up a classic line!--2 pitches only! follow crack (solid .9) all the way up and around right of roof to easy laybacking(.7ish) belay at 2 bolts 165' if you clip the chains you didn't do Beelinep2 is very runout .7....but funI loved it!!
The anchors in the middle of the first pitch have been removed.
By Bobby Hanson From: Salt Lake City, UT Dec 31, 2005 rating: 5.9
The first pitch has some loose blocks on it. The route has been climbed repeatedly over the decades without anyone pulling them off, but care should still be given.
The second pitch is runout, but mostly easy. There are a couple of 5.7 moves, right at the bolt; and one 5.6 move just above the horizontal crack (which protects with large cams). The rest is considerably easier.
By Mike Morley Administrator From: Oakland, CA Jan 30, 2006
Well, the consequence of a fall on the 2nd pitch or in spots of the 3rd pitch could be career-ending. 5.3X. So does that mean 5.9R? I guess so, so I changed it with that disclaimor.
I'd say it's more R than X. Plus I doubt anyone capable of doing the first pitch would get even moderately gripped on the runout. I'm a big chicken at heart but never was bothered even slightly by the runout on this. Not that I tried, but you never know what sort of sneaky pro might lurk in the chickenheads on the upper pitches anyway. The rating should be 5.9 (5.3 x) or something like that if you want to get picky.
I find this "discussion" rater silly (R versus X). There is a fairly clear definition on what makes a route deserve an R rating versus an X rating (assuming, of course, that the Mountaineering Club is a valid citation) see below;
Quote: ""Since the standard usage of the Yosemite Decimal System defines only the hardest move on a pitch, or the hardest pitch on a multipitch route, a seriousness factor was introduced to give an indication of the relative danger of the climb. This system was developed in 1980 by James Erickson.
· PG-13; Protection is adequate; if properly placed a fall would not be too serious.
· R: Protection is considered inadequate; there is a potential for a long fall, and a falling leader would take a hard wipper, possibly suffering injuries.
· X: Inadequate or no protection; a fall would be very serious and perhaps fatal. ""
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