This route has access issues. Please read the note available on the Cathedral Spires Area page.
BETA PHOTO: Hurt Dance starts to the far right of this photo a...
Description
Hurt Dance is well centered on the Block Tower. The BT is located between Poe Buttress and Cynical Pinnacle. Approach from either CP or the Sunshine Wall trail. Look for a prominent left-leaning slot at the top of this wall. The climb starts directly below and heads for this slot. Start by gaining a ledge that has a left-facing low angle dihedral which leads to a crack system. There are a few ways to start this climb.
P0 - Dean Miller sandbag start (9?). This starts off a ledge slightly to the right of P1. Mantle onto a large flat area, walk back to the short right facing fatty (big cam). Ascend the fatty to gain a ledge and head up and left on a second and more pleasant right facing dihedral to belay. If you're smart, you'll scramble up to this ledge from the left to avoid this pitch. This short pitch is recommended if you want to get a close view of contorted facial expressions on climbers that are too distant to appreciate higher on the climb.
P1 - Ascend the low angle left-facing dihedral to a small ledge and continue on a really nice 5.9 finger crack. Hand jams appear higher. Continue to a 2 bolt belay or better yet, run P1 and P2 together as we did.
P2 - This pitch starts as mostly hands and soon leads to a nice wide section (9). Arm bar, stack, heel-toe and grunt your way up this beautiful specimen to a boulder wedged into the crack after the pitch gets easy. Stand on this chock boulder and set your belay using the 2 cracks on the left. There is a bolt on the face to the right that I didn't bother clipping. Topos in the book show 2 bolts - there's only the one.
P3 - Climb the finger crack on the left side of the chimney directly above the belay. Clip the poor excuse for a bolt to the left of where the crack ends. Move left (10-) to easy terrain and continue a very short distance to a small stance at the base of a crack. Send the tall skinny guy on this short pitch (AKA famous Boulderite Gary N - he sent it).
P4 - This pitch (called both 5.9 and 10-, who cares?) starts as a nice and easy hand crack and then turns mean and wide. Don't dump your fat pro in the first wide section as it is very easy. After this section, the crack leads into the left leaning slot that is visible from the ground. First chimney, then move into a hand crack inside the slot for a while, grunt your way out and up and you are squeezed by the narrowing slot, place a fatty or 2 (unless you were me), return to squeezing and arm barring, and finally get some better loving as you move over and around the end of the slot. Head to a sloping ledge at the base of an obvious crack and have a seat. By now, you'll have scraped all the hair from your palms.
P5 - It almost doesn't count as a pitch, but it is prudent to stop at the base of this pitch. It is probably 1-1/2 moves of 7 or 8. Hop up into the crack, place a wide piece grunt and its over. Continue maybe 20 more feet and set a belay somewhere. Its done.
This moderate climb has many enjoyable wide sections on it. It is possible to face climb and do some stemming to avoid squeezing into these plump portions. If you are leading these pitches, then you may want to stay in the crack. If you are seconding, then remember that life is cheap on toprope. High top climbing shoes are recommended for this climb.
Protection
Many sections of this route lend themselves to #6 Friend placements. Leave RPs and 0 TCUs in your pack. Though there are fixed anchors on this route, better ones can be had with gear in the same proximity. To descend, move to the right and find your way down. If its sketchy, then you're off route.
This route is better than it appears from the ground and is really quite an enjoyable climb. My climbing partner, Brian Milhaupt, was able to combine pitches 3 and 4 using good rope managment reducing this to just slightly over a 2 pitch route.
The FA on this route was by Chris Reveley and Dave Wright in 1974. I believe the bolts at the anchors were added later by another party. I was actually quite [disappointed] by the rock quality on this climb, and believe there are better routes on the Block Tower. If you hike all the way up here make sure you try Queer Bait or Dance of Chance. Both of these are the same grade (5.10) and have much better rock. BTW Queer Bait is only 5.11 if you go straight up past 2 bolts on the 3rd pitch, move 5 feet left and it is a fun 5.10 seam.
Also, for the descent during the winter season it is much better to head North and descend between Block Tower and Poe Buttress as the previously mentioned descent is usually icy. There is also a rappel (2 double ropes) at the top of Queer Bait. Look for a two stopper anchor and rappel to the large ledge. Then, head to the far south and look for some camo chain anchors behind a boulder. Rappel from here to the gully and scramble to the base. This is a much faster descent, but be warned that your ropes might get caught on the first rappel.
Block Tower
RSS Feed
