Drop Zone is located on the Wake Up Wall of Lost Angel. The route follows a fun arete on great rock with good pro. Begin about 15 feet to the right of the obvious dihedral of Jungle Blues.
Start with a tricky move on steep rock (crux), this will be safer for tall people who can clip the 1st bolt before commiting to the move. Cruise on up the arete moving to its left side and making some slab moves. Near the end of the route enter a shallow dihedral and make a move up and left to the anchor at 90'.
Great climb, the third bolt was spinning and the nut on it was loose! I tightend it by hand, but definitely check it when you get there. Also a the obvious sidepull flake up on the upper slab is about to break off, careful if you use it!
By Leo Paik Administrator From: Westminster, Colorado Apr 5, 2002
Thought the crux was a bit higher as you go past the last bulge. There are 2 ways to do it. L - less obvious, but good holds, R - thinner, scumming the corner a bit. I'm 5'10".
Counted 8 bolts on this one, even though the guidebooks say 6. The second roof felt committing, although the next one was trickier. I like this problem, it's very varied.
Interesting differences of opinions. Some of the disagreement may be due to how directly the route was climbed. For me the first bolt was trivial, but I stepped left around it. The second bolt was hard, the third bolt was hard, and impossible for my partner who was shorter. We climbed just left of the third bolt. Just right looked reasonable, but wasn't for us. The 5th bolt was easy, but I laybacked off the arete to reach over the top. If you instead reach left for the left edge of the flake, it could be harder. The stand up above the 5th bolt was scary for me. I stepped right into the chimney, clipped the 6th bolt, then went back down and re-climbed that section. The upper face seemed much easier with positive holds.
Finished straight up through slab at the top- nothing to hold or step on. Don't know if I should have moved right into the chimmney/dihedral or stay on the slab, but the slab was freakin tough. Barely got through it with no falls. No much experience, but some of the harder 10b moves I've ever done at the top. There are definitely more than 6 bolts (maybe 8 or 10 if I remember right).
I don't understand the comments about "arete" and "roofs". There is some steep rock, but only "bulges" at best. And there is no arete, although I did at the third hard section use the right edge of the face with my right hand. (See photos.)
The crux is pulling onto the slab at the third bolt. If you are really tall, this might be easy (I'm 6' 3" and don't qualify). Else the good holds may be sucker holds. I finally figured out a trick move that might be 10b, although I didn't find this easier way until my second time on the climb.
The upper "slab" is steep with many thin edges. Felt pretty hard, but mostly I was unsure of which edges to use. Maybe hard 9?
By Matt Juth From: Evergreen Mar 7, 2005 rating: 5.10d
After doing a bunch of 5.10 piches in Dream and BC, I think this one is in the 10+/11- range for me. Might be the good ol' height factor mentioned earlier. Either way, it is a great climb that shouldn't be missed if you are walking by.
I found a way to do the crux (pictured in the 3rd and 4th photos) that actually seemed pretty reasonable. As far as I can remember, I put both hands on a decent hold at the top of the bulge. Then, I walked up the crack on the right with BOTH feet. I was told that I was pretty much horizontal at this point. Then, I reached my left hand up to the good horizonal edge above, followed by the right hand (although I ended up crossing my right hand over my left to get that edge). I'm 5'5" and nothing seemed very reachy doing it this way. Try it that way!
This route was very interesting indeed! I was sketched out by the decking possibilities pulling over each lip on the different steps. The nut on the second bolt was loose when I got there. If any one has some nut glue and is heading that way, it could us a dab! If not, check it as you climb by...
Lost Angel
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