This route is more of a mountaineering adventure than a clean rock climb. Although the rating reflects an easy scramble it was extremely easy (at least for me) to stray off easy ground and onto low fifth class difficulty.
Start at the lowest point of the rock on the South side of the East face, but to the right of large gully. The path seems blocked by a large overhang some 200 feet above but the route escapes this obstacle on the left. From there proceed up and left to the summit some 300 feet higher.
The summit is very small and has a chopped ancient bolt. At this point check out the East face route of the Royal Arch. Connecting these two routes makes not only for a cool scrambling outing but also gets you to the Royal Arch trail for a much easier return to your car...
To descend you can: - Down climb 100ft down the East face and escape North (right) to hiking terrain - For a more exposed alternative, down climb some 30 feet of the East face on the left arete and escape onto a ledge system that takes you to the West face. From there you can descend further to the East via a ramp on the North side. A large hole/crack will then provide escape under some boulders, putting you at the base of the Royal Arch East face
This route has more than its fair share of lichen and pine needle pods. The summit is worth a visit as it is very cool, but the climbing i found not so good. I climbed it a few years ago though and must have taken a better line. there are many lines to choose from.
I climbed this with my 9 year old son yesterday. It was his first multi-pitch climb. As mentioned above I managed to find a route harder than 4th class at the top of the route. Made for exciting leads with a 9 year old belaying me (can you say free-solo?) The route had a real mountaineering feel to it. It must not see much traffic as we had to brush pine needles of holds and many of the cracks were full of moss and dirt. Every belay along the route was a nice wide ledge with w tree to sling for and anchor. We got off the top easily by downclimbing the climbers right side (north) and scrambling up to the Royal Arch. A typical Flatiron rack was more than sufficent.
Hmmm. as a solo, I find that climbing this face to reach and continue on the Royal Arch is one of the nicest link-ups around. Fully enjoyable.
By Mike Mc From: Boulder, CO Jun 17, 2007 rating: 5.2
I did this one a while back, and I remember it being a bit more technical than I expected. I believe Rossiter calls it 3rd, while Roach calls it 4th. Either way, I ventured to the far left [southish] of the rock and found it to be quite exposed and probably a low 5th class climb. Great summit and easy access to the Royal Arch!
The Regency
RSS Feed
