Hunting Party starts up another slot/roof to a lower angle dihedral. In the large corner above, head up a tricky overhanging face to a roof, followed by several moves along the arete just before the anchors. Cruxes arise at the initial slot/roof and below the upper roof and both are 5.11c/d. The middle 20 ft have been led both on bolts or with several mid range Friends, either works, although the Friend placements seemed to draw me away from the climbing. Slings would help these placements. Hunting Party is a fun route because it has a little of everything: roof, crack, dihedral, face, arete all packed into a bit less than 90 ft.
Protection
QD only. This 85 ft route needs 12 - 13 draws and something for the double bolt anchor at the top. A 60 m rope is probably needed. It is best to stick clip bolt # 2 to avoid unwanted rope drag.
WARNING: The big bucket underneath the first overhang on this route (two feet right of the first bolt) appears to be a time bomb waiting to explode. I've climbed this pitch a half dozen times since it was established, but I backed off today when the flake on which the bucket is located started creaking. It's always been a bit funky as the bottom portion of the cliff was dynamited to make room for the road many years ago, but today it seemed really bad -- if my memory serves me correctly, the crack on the right side of the flake looked bigger today.
If (when) the flake rips out, it won't be pretty -- it's two feet long, a foot thick, and probably weighs more than 200 pounds. One's legs are directly beneath the block when climbing this section, and I think it's big enough to break a leg in an instant (not to mention smother a belayer, after which it could roll onto the road and become a traffic hazard).
Perhaps Richard (Wright, the guy who put up the FA) could check it out and fix it up if he's in the area. I suppose anyone could pry the thing off, though Richard may have a good sense as to whether it's looser than when he first climbed it.
There's another hold right of the normal bucket that now has chalk on it (didn't used to) -- I'm guessing other people are finding the flake too wobbly for comfort as well, and have started using the hold on the right. It, too, looks to be the top of a potentially loose flake...
I'll take a look next time I am in the canyon. It may be possible to glue it in place, keeping it out of the road. However, if can cut loose, it's probably better to reef it off - with a guard posted down below. We have done that before and managed to have the road cleaned up before any cars showed up.
We checked in on 5/17. The whole thing was chucked. Getting into the slot at the start is harder than it use to be but this probably doesn't up the grade very much.
If this is the route that begins with some face moves to a slot and has the big right facing corner OH with a horz crack at the top then it's no way 11d. Although I really liked this climb, I thought it was more like 10. I recently did two climbs at Checkerboad Lumpy rated 9+ and 10a that were harder than this. Or put it another way your saying this climb is as hard as tiwn owl finger crack 11a but really 11c? No way. --Ross
Hunting Party is a super fun climb, if it's the climb I think it is. The only problem is, the climb I was on started about 20 ft left of the climb with the obvious glued rock. Fell once climbing through the first roof, and again just after the slab/dihedral but below the second roof ( then exiting out left to a right leaning fist crack/flake. I hope to redpoint on my third or fourth try. I don't see myself redpointing an 11d with the thick love handles I hide under my new Prana shirt. I would feel more honest if I boasted to my buddies about climbing an 11b. All the holds are there, and of decent size. SUPER FUN!!
Scout Rock
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