Peregrine Falcons are nesting again at Lover's Leap. Please avoid the areas displayed on the map posted below. A closure will be in place at the center of the wall starting in mid-April and ending in September. A detailed listing of closed routes and any changes in the information regarding the peregrine falcons will be posted on the Eldorado National Forest website http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/eldorado. If you require addition information contact Susan Yasuda, District Wildlife Biologist on the Placerville Ranger District 530-547-5317.
Here's a map:
2009 Closure Map Submitted By: Amy Ansari on Jun 15, 2009
You can either do the same start as Hospital Corner, or start up a grungy corner just to the right of that. first pitch, 5.8. you could also start up the first pitch of Anesthesia (that sparsely, but adequately bolted slab just right of HC, 5.8) You can either build a gear belay on some blocks at the base of the huge flake, or do what we did, which was to build it on the p1 Anesthesia bolted belay, 10 feet to the right. This saves your hand-sized cams you need for higher on the route.
Pitch two starts by pulling up and in on a finger crack, into a shallow corner, 10b crux. Then, you pull up into the steeper hand crack behind a huge flake that is right of HC. The crack here is actually overhanging, and you can even do some chimney moves behind the flake. Good stemming as well. Finishes at the HC bolted anchor.
This is a very fun route. It is a little grungy since it doesn't see the traffic that HC does, but it is quality. If you can do HC, you can do this route.
Rap off. 70m rope necessary to get to HC p1 bolts, 2 60m ropes will get you to the ground in 1 rap.
Note: most guidebooks list this as 5.8. The crux is NOT 5.8.
Location
Just right of Hospital Corner. Route goes up behind the big flake, 20' right of the stellar clean corner.
Protection
Standard rack. You will want a #3 Camalot or equivalent, and I think we had the #4 with us as well (memory foggy on this...)
By tallmark515 From: San Francisco Aug 5, 2009 rating: 5.10b
Definitely avoid the direct start to this route (grungy corner just to the right of Hospital Corner), it is dirty, mossy and uneventful.
Also, be careful with the second pitch of this route. I would recommend against belaying at the bolted anchors of Anesthesia or building a gear anchor at the ledge that supertopo recommends.
The bolted anchor is far out to the right and a 20ft traverse past a protruding arete is necessary to access the grungy .10b stemming section needed to access the money section above. Once above that sction, rope drag is bad and the belayer is out of view.
Building a gear anchor on the ledge (as supertopo suggests) would also be a mistake, most cracks are formed by small boulders sitting on the ledge and likely unsafe for gear.
I recommend that who ever does the first pitch, also climbs that .10b dihedral at the end of the end of p1 and belays from the smaller ledge above from a gear anchor.
...or do this in 3 pitches -p1- First pitch of Anesthasia. -p2- From bolted anchor belay, traverse out left, climb short .10b dihedral (the one with the bushes growing out of the crack). -p3)- Money pitch. Steep handcrack to the bolted anchor of Hospital Corner.
The final money pitch was actually quite fun but so dirty that it took away from the enjoyment. It looks like no one has been on this route in 20 years.
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