One of Joshua Tree's most improbable moderate rout...
Description
Approach Steve Canyon from either Hidden Valley Campground or the Quail Springs Road via climber's trail's leading to the mouth of the canyon.
Looking north into the back of Steve Canyon one will see a very prominent roof on the left near some pine trees-this is Super Roof. Continue up the canyon by means of a trail and scrambling to reach the base.
Super Roof is the obvious roof crack 15' left of a prominent offwidth roof crack (Comfortably Numb, 5.11b). Scramble onto a ledge to begin, and climb the imposing roof which is easier than it looks. Take care not to get your rope stuck, it happens more often than you'd think. Descend to climber's right.
Although short this climb is lots of fun, has great exposure and good rock. The approach is minimal too, but enough to keep the masses away. This is a nice spot to get away and do some quality lines.
Yes, I did what I guess many have done. After pulling the roof I irretrieveably fixed the rope in a cam below the lip. Repeated pleas for slack never seem to unstick a rope jammed into #3 Camalot teeth. Unwilling to reverse the roof and uncertain about the state of my repositioned cam, I untied and soloed to the top, walked off and tapped my buddy on the shoulder (reclining out of view from above, where he still had me on 'belay').
Fun route with nice sustained movement. The recent "fixing" of a 3.5 camalot int eh rotue has made the crux pro easy. It'll be there till it snaps or someone car-jacks it out.
I foudn ther key to reducing rope drag on this route is to extend my gear and keep the rope slacked out a bit more than as if I were on a 90 degree route. Leading this way is a bit bolder but puts more confidence in your ability to climb.
Fun, but a bit short for more than two stars. By using runners below and a 3-inch piece just above the roof, I had no problem with the rope getting stuck. The 3.5 camalot mentioned above is gone.
Steve Canyon
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