Some crags in this area are closed 1 February to 31 July: MORE INFO >>>
The following crags are closed 1 February to 31 July: First Pinnacle (Gregory Canyon) Second Pinnacle (Gregory Canyon) Third Pinnacle (Gregory Canyon) Third Flatiron Queen Anne's Head WC Fields Pinnacle The Ghetto East Ironing Board West Ironing Board The Fin Green Thumb Jaws
BETA PHOTO: Side view showing the angle and the pro.
Description
The name is perfect. Imagine a burly, tough SOB standing over the trail at the mouth of the canyon, guarding the entrance to the whole Skunk canyon area. As you come out of the creekbed trail, the base of Ridge One is the first rock you encounter. Its lowest downhill face is a 40ft, severely overhung face covered with honeycombed pockets and pierced by bolts up the line of least resistance.
Negotiate some low angle, suspect, slab to the base of the overhang, clip an upward driven piton, (possibly backup with a second, more trustworthy pin farther in, long sling required) and start pulling yourself up past three bolts to stand up over the lip. The holds are pretty darn awesome, although long moves or pulling on intermediates are required. The crux is just having enough endurance to hang the holds, but no real buckets till you clip the third (last) bolt and prepare to go for the top.
Location
Lowest cliff face of Ridge One on the right side of Skunk Canyon. It is the first cliff face encountered on your way into the area.
The closure sign is on a tree which is beyond this route. Also, the OSMP site specifically mentions Ridges 2, 3, 4 but NOT Ridge 1, which is where the Guardian is located.
Checking with a ranger would be prudent, but I believe this climb to not be affected by the closure.
Bob, These latest photo additions with captions are friggin' sweet! Now this is what MP.com is all about. It's great to see these shots. Keep them coming. The historical FA info is really fun to read. Thanks.
RSS Feed
Slideshow
