The Diving Board 

Just did this route yesterday evening. I do not recommend doing this route until late fall due to the swarm of swallows that are living in the crux, crack section, unless you don't mind [thrutching] through a pod while being swarmed by frantic birds. Cool, exposed climbing though. The 5.8 and 10c pitches are easily linked....

This climb is also ideal for a rain storm. Just make sure that you make it to the headwall before the rain hits. The lower slabs woulnd't be fun when wet. My partner and I were climbing the last pitch when it started raining. The entire canyon got pretty soaked for atleast 20 minutes, but I had no idea it was even raining (probably because I was being dive-bombed by birds while their friends flung poo in my face from within the crack). Enjoy.

A few swallows don't sound so bad. Last time I tried this route there was a decomposing pigeon oozing its innards all over the crucial chockstone in the pod. The chockstone was hidden behind a thick coat of feces and feathers and gristle. After a couple tentative tries at yarding on the more solid-looking pigeon femurs and tibias, the appeal of pulling on cams seemed irresistible. Helgi Christensen, the Icelandic hardman, followed and put me and my whining to shame by nonchalantly burying his fists into the depths of the stinking slime. Perhaps this is an everyday Icelandic experience. Truly memorable watching him dragging the ribcage out and throwing it over his shoulder so he could thrust his already gobied hands deeper into the gore. Just for a second, he almost looked perturbed. Top pitch is well protected. Bring some large cams for the pod section (at least one #4 Camalot will let you lace it up). The pitch below is pretty awkward 5.10, and not very well protected. Gaining this pitch involves some truly crappy climbing on loose 5.8 territory. Otherwise, it's wildly exposed and a true (sorta old fashioned) classic. The three stars are traditional, and have no bearing on reality.

I thought it was a classic, but 4 years ago I didn't find any dead birds. I guess I'd consider the dead birds a temporary issue that can detract from your enjoyment of an otherwise classic climb. What makes a classic? Length, position, exposure, good rock, views? In my opinion, the Diving Board had all of them, save one spot of poor rock.
BTW- that poor spot, pulling up into the dihedral after the traverse is not that well protected- the fixed aluminum bashie with the half-broken cable was looking pretty mank. The pitch is PG-13.

Climbed it on 9/16/02 and the feces factor was minimal.

The Diving Board is closed until August 1 2004.

What type of rack is essential for the last pitches? How much big stuff?

As far as big gear goes, 1 #3 and 1 #4 Camalot are plenty.

Classic and committing route. The exposure on the last two pitches is unbelievable. As of Oct 23 2007-the route is clean of dead birds and was surprisingly poop-free, except for the "cave belay" which was filled with a mixture of bones and some mysterious matrix; this is not a real problem b/c one can build the belay far enough out that the stench is barely noticeable.

How about some exposure? Note that there is no 2-bolt anchor at the base of pigeon flake as stated in the guidebook.

Yes, the last pitch is stellar and about as atmospheric as they come. However, there is just too much junk rock and bird crap on this route for it to be "classic". Combine pitches 1-3 to bypass the poor belay at Pigeon Flake. C4 #5 is the ideal size for the crux.