Petered Out 

How hard would you guess the run out section on pitch 5 is? Would the bolts hold a fall(if so how big?), do they all have bad (Leeper) hangers? Do you just have to pretend your soloing on the bolted sections?

They are 1/4" Star drives with Leeper hangers....not the kind of bolts you want to be falling on. I hope to replace these this Fall when I replace the bolts on Sweet Catastrophe. Probably will not be before Halloween though.

I got on this route on Saturday, it was a pretty good time.
Here is how we broke the route down. My friend Adam lead the first pitch. For some reason we weren't 100% sure where the belay was so he kept going up throught the crux of the second pitch. We realized it after he climbed through but he didn't want to have to climb it again so he just set up the belay there as it opened up a little after the crux. Adam mostly laybacked the crux section of the (normal) second pitch until after it pinched then proceeded to OW to where he set the anchor. I really just wanted to OW this sucker but I was seconding and carrying the damn pack. I tried a lot in vain wasting tons of energy but the pack just wouldn't allow it. I really thruched the hell out of this section and eventually got too tired to get it clean (I was really sore in my forearms from work the day before which didn't help, and recovering from a sprained ankle 3-4 weeks ago, so I just decided to rest on the line). Pants and long sleeves recommended if OWing is your style.

I lead P2 (or the rest of it rather) until I had about 15-20 feet of rope left and set up an anchor in some loose ledge system with a large block wedged in it in the dihedral. Not really the best idea IMO, but I didn't really know where the belay was supposed to be and didn't want to risk getting off route on such a large rock and a single rope. Should have gone up the crack to my right to a way better spot up throught a notch with a large ledge on the other side big enough for 10 with a tree. I guess sometimes the nerves and the brain get the best of you.

Adam lead P3 which followed up the dihedral mostly until heading slightly right until near The Gum Drop and then back left through some decomposing BS with a squeese OW chimmney section to the ledge where your under the gum drop, we belayed on the side facing pitch 4. I remember following some ridge type slab for a brief section before this which sounds like what Jeremy describes but to be honest I'm a little confused about where the route goes. In general the upper part of pitch 2 and pitch 3 all together were not great at all and I found my self climbing on some questionable rock from time to time.

I lead pitch 4. Belaying through the bolt up the aid pitch on The Gum Drop made crossing the crack seem less scary (although I'm sure canyoneering helped me there also). Keep a close eye for the first bolt as I didn't even see it until I was nearly at it. This pitch is a lot of friction slab and micro edges and crystals which is not all that obvious to decide where you want to go. not recommended in the rain untill those bolts get replaced. It's a little spicy for now, just pretend your free soloing and throw pride out the window. If you need to grab a draw for a rest to spot the next bolt/stretch of rock or just to clip the rope as sometimes the stance didn't seem really secure then do it. Better safe then sorry IMO (especially if it's windy or wet). You most likely would deck if you blew off before making any of the clips. What diameter is the nail they pound into a Star Drive anyway 3/16" at most?!! Problaby only an inch long?!! Maybe bring 3 screamers/scream aids (I don't have any), in case you happen to encounter this and the pitch above in inclement weather. Considering all of that I found this pitch to be quite fun.

Pitch 5 Adam lead, we used the 2 bolt anchor as the first piece equalized by the sliding x with a good gear anchor in the crack below. That seemed the most sane way to approach a 50+ ft run out on crappy bolts. It's a little tricky getting off the belay ledge and above the first bolts, but eases before clipping the loner, and get's progressively easier as you go up and trending right more as you get closer to the roof/ledge. He didn't find anything promising for a belay in hollow decomposing rock at the ledge and roof so he just kept going traversing out the side and up around the corner onto pitch 6 where he finally placed a piece and continued to link p6 finding a belay niche maybe 30-40 feet below the summit. I lead the last stretch of horribly decomposed rock up the cleft to the top, I found some decent gear in all the decomposing rubble but struggled to not rain it (the decomposing rock that is) down on my partner or come flying off with it. Probly some of the worst rock I have climbed on in my life at the end there....

If nothing else, this route is a good test for the aspiring adventure climber. Still pleanty of loose flakes and crystals waiting to be broken and pulled off.

We brought a #6 and put it to use quite often (at least on the first 3 pitches). We brought a double set of cams from blue Aliens to #3.5-4 Camalot. Didn't use much smaller then a 0.75, a single set of cams below 0.75 would be sufficient I think.

Jason - what bolt did you see/use from the Gum Drop Spire? We didn't see any bolts on that huge thing.

Hey Jeremy,
I think I have a pic where you can make out its location. My partner left in a hurry because of weather and forgot my long draw, left in hanging there. You can see it hanging from the bolt in the picture.

Huh. We didn't see that at all. We just built an anchor on that big block below your red circle. Worked ok. I think the bolts on Gumdrop go up that white water mark (?).