Whodunit 

My memory is that the crux is the first pitch... 5.9 slab climbing in and around some overlaps. But I could have been a tad off route.

Andy, I believe you are right about the crux. The move over to the 2 bolt belay and then the frist move onto the second seen to be the hardest bit for me. The Chimney exit could be a head crux, because there is some air under you. But the hand jam is bomber and feet I thought to be good.

Dave

IMHO The best long moderate route in SoCal. Whenever I need to get back to the reason why I began climbing, I jump in my car with a mate and go climb Whodunit.

The red dotted line in the beta photo is a little to the right of the actual route.

Bring some wide (4") gear for one of the pitches. Its a little offwidthy in a section or two...

Theres a good ledge every 100-150 feet.

My first and only climb on Taquitz. I thought it was outstanding. Such a great varity of crack climbing. We had a cool clear day and no one else around.

Just climbed this route again after 15 years, and this climb simply rocks! You get everything on this baby - slab, fat crack, chimney, hand crack, finger crack... phew, the list goes on and on. Bring some small wires and/or steel nuts for the first pitch - you'll be wanting them. I also appreciated the #4 camalot on the wide pitch above the chimney. Bring lots of long slings as well. It tops out right on the summit of Tahquitz - for an added bonus. I disagree with the description saying this route could easily be done in 5 pitches. We combined the last two (per the Vogel/Gaines topo and just made it with a 60m) and did the entire route in 7 pitches.. BUT attempting to do it in five pitches will guarantee some pretty serious rope drag and less than pleasant belays.

This is a favorite route at Tahquitz. There are several variations higher up, including a sweet finger crack out right, then left to a slightly overhanging dihedral. Simply outstanding.

Definitely gets my vote for best climb at Tahquitz. Whodunnit is a STELLAR 5.9! I try to run up it at least once every season.

I agree with Darshan but must paraphrase: there's a good belay ledge every 150 - 200 feet. Andy, it can be easily climbed in 5 pitches, that's the only way I've ever done it on a 60m. But I have to admit, P4 is a true rope-stretcher; last time up I literally lassoed that tree (that grows out of the crack at the start of the 4th class/5.2 final pitch) with a 4' runner to start my anchor. ;-) The key is to 4th class the start to the right of the climb to an obvious belay ledge, then head up and left over the slabs, bypassing the bolted anchor and setting up a belay closer to the chimney.

I'd say the first pitch is the crux, but there are only two 5.9 friction slab moves (albeit a little dicey :0) Dave's right - the move out of the chimney is a head crux; great jam, probably 5.8, EASY to protect. But that's another thing that's great about Whodunnit - it eats gear all the way up.

If you want to mix it up a bit next time you climb this route, try this - my friend Adam and I did Whodunnit passive - full set of nuts, medium to large hexes, three tri-cams. I'm not usually one to leave the cams in the car but this was really fun for a change and this climb is well suited for it.

does anyone have any information on how this route got its name? Heard that Royal Robbins found a mysterious pin when they were doing the "FA" but nothing more.

Thanks...

I had the opportunity to ask Royal about the route name and spelling. He said that they named the route "Hoodenett" (pronounced who'-dnit with the emphasis on "who"). This spelling can be seen in older guidebooks including the Wilts guide. Later guidebooks bastardized the name as "Whodunit." Anyway, yes, it appears the name came from a mysterious pin found along the route.


Pasted from the interwebs:
14 Feb, 1998
"....I thought you might be interested in the background of the name. At the time, this route was the only obvious line on the north face that had not been climbed, so Royal and I set out on it. We knew it hadn't been climbed because of the pristine nature of the first pitch which in those days would have been aided by anyone (glad to hear it now goes free). Indeed, for three or four pitches there were no piton scars or any sign of previous passage. And then, somewhere around the middle of the route, we came across a piton. How did it get there? Who did it? From there to the top there was no other sign of previous climbing, so we felt quite comfortable in claiming the first ascent. But in a fit of youthful humor and a naive attempt at worldly sophistication, we decided to give the obvious question, "Who done it?" a French twist (although one wouldn't find "hoo" in French). Anyway, it was originally our phonetic equivalent of "hoo-da-nae" (hence, the otherwise inexplicable double t's at the end). Originally, we might have spelled it "...don..." or "...dun...", but Wilts got it "...den..." and that's fine with me. Vogel was onto something, of course, but while clarifying one bit of history he defaces another. So it goes. .....Taquitz was my climbing cradle, as it was for many of the top climbers in that and succeeding generations. For sheer pleasure in climbing I don't think any other area matches it. All the best,
Joe Fitschen"

THE CLASSIC of Tahquitz!! Couldn't get any better!

Thanks Jon. Much appreciate it.

And hey, SP Dave Daly. Nice to see you making the rounds here. Yeah, it is indeed a great and classic route.

Climbed it again on 6/11/08. In the sun from 11am in June. Hot. Climbed it in 6 pitches this time. First pitch to the bolts. Second pitch to the ledge. Third pitch out the chimney to the good stance. Fourth pitch up the crack, skip the first good ledge, and continue up to the next good ledge (above some jammed chockstones - which are rope eaters!). Fifth pitch starts left up the thin cracks, and then moves right. Go all the way up to a sloping stance about 40' below the roof.. Sixth pitch was over the roof and all the way to the top (60m+?). Five pitches is possible, but it would require linking the first two pitches.

I hate to add to the ever growing debate about the true minimum number of pitches for this route. That being said, the bolts aren't the first belay. The bolts are the belay for Edgehogs. The first belay was always a rope stretcher to tree/first small ledge. With a partner comfortable with easy simul-climbing, the big ledge was a better bet.

I am wondering what people would grade this climb, grade III or Grade II