Class 4 traverse up and left from below D7 to new bolts on Ariana 1st pitch.
1)(11a) face to (10b) LF corner, diagonal left(avoids 40+' of hummocks and dirt in right side of the Mitten) to large LF corner/Pervertical belay 130'.
2)Up LF corner, step right around to RF corner and to top of Mitten 70'(9).
3)Over slot, stem up shaft/LF corner system, traverse left past old bolt/fixed Friend to belay out right 180'(9+).
4)Crux pitch...up finger crack, move left past shakey flakes, up sustained shallow RF corner/crack, inferior belay out right on sloping ledge 120'.
5)Step left, back into RF corner, pump it to the top of the pillar and huge ledge 140'(11b/c).
6)Straight up inset, pass fixed pin, end on Table Ledge 150'(9).
Walk right to raps, or top out via Kieners "An Excellent Outing"
Protection
2 sets wired nuts (extra med/sm), 1 set cams (i.e. .4 Alien-3.5 Friend), all belays are mostly fixed (some outdated), 1st pitch has 3 bolts (I replaced the original aid bolts on 7/28/01)
Pitches 1 + 2 to the top of the mitten go in one 60-meter pitch. Anyone who is a solid 5.11 crack climber should not be scared of the rating and get on this route. The crux pitch is sustained and pumpy, but none of the moves are 12a.
I was wondering if anyone knows how clean the thin crack section of Ariana was. I tried to look over while doing Pervertical & it looked kind of grassy, but it's hard to see more than a few feet over very well.
Tod, I remember Ariana being clean all the way up the Obelisk until near the top of 11c pitch, where there's a couple of reaches past chunks of grass in the final 15 feet. Nothing to worry about and you certainly shouldn't let it stop you from doing this classic route!
The first pitch does get really vegetated if you stick to the right side of the Mitten the whole way up, but this is easy to avoid by stepping left as Alex describes.
Cool, thanks for the info. It'll probably have to wait til next year as I'm headed to Peru soon. I'd like to get up there before the whole Obelisk pillar falls off, which it's slowly in the process of doing.
This is a steep, clean, and stunning line! Sustained and pumpy at the altitude but mega safe. If in doubt, get on this route! Protects so well and provides great position!
The Diamond
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