Double-Edged Blade  5.6 A3

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Type:  Trad, Aid, 2 pitches, 300 feet, Grade III Consensus:  5.6 A3 [details] FA:  Trevor Bowman and Frank Sanders October 17-18, 2008 New Route:  Yes Submitted By:  Trevor Bowman on Oct 19, 2008 You & This Route  |  Other Opinions (1) Your todo list: Your stars: Your rating: -none- [change] Your ticklist: [add new tick]

Trevor passing the double-roof on the first ascent...

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Devils Tower National Monument Lifts Current Prairie Falcon Climbing Route Closure MORE INFO >>> 07/01/2012: Because no falcon nesting activity has been observed, the prairie falcon nesting closures currently in effect will be removed on Sunday, July 1, thus opening these areas to normal recreational climbing activities. The areas to be reopened include on the northeast face, routes between and including “Belle Fourche Buttress” and “Maid in the Shaid” (routes #68 to #93), as well as the “North Face” rappel route. Separate from the falcon closure, Devils Tower National Monument has a voluntary climbing closure in effect for the month of June, out of respect for American Indian cultural traditions. For further information on climbing closures, please contact the monument’s Chief of Resource Management, Angela Wetz, at (307) 467-5283 ext 212 or Angela_Wetz@nps.gov. For general climbing information please contact the Devils Tower Climbing Office at 307-467-5283, ext. 632. This information is a public crowdsourcing effort between the Access Fund, and Mountain Project. You should confirm closures, restrictions, and/or related dates. Keeping climbing areas open and conserving the climbing environment

Description 

An aesthetic nail-up on the steepest aspect of the Tower. The line follows the shallow corner between Kirk-Sanders West Face Classic and Blade Runner, surmounting a double-roof down low on the first pitch.
P1: Easy free-climbing for about 50' leads into aiding. The initial bit to the double-roof is rather tricky, with cams and assorted pins. The crux section is the roof and the following 20', which requires some tricky, marginal placements. After the crux, the crack opens into an excellent blade seam forever, with some arrow work near the top. The first pitch was strung into one 80m lead, with the belayer scrambling up to the highest possible stance and the leader maxing the 70m rope. Build a pin/cam belay when the rope runs out, about 15' shy of where the crack fades out. 260' 5.6 A3
P2: Clean aid on cams from the belay, tension traverse right into Blade City, nail it a bit, tension traverse right again into Blue Stem Skyway, and follow it on clean aid to a large belay ledge. 50' A2

Location 

On the southwest face, the crack between Kirk-Sanders West Face Classic and Blade Runner. Easily identifiable by its double-roof down low.

Protection 

Set of cams through #4, set of stoppers, lots and lots of blades, many arrows, angles #1-#4, 6 birdbeaks, tie-offs.

Photos of Double-Edged Blade Slideshow

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Frank (the guru) Sanders cleaning the first pitch.	Frank leading the circuitous 2nd pitch...up and ov...	Trevor Bowman, on the 1st Ascent, experiencing "ap...
Trevor "The Wizard" Bowman, skillfully navigating ...	"They're off and Running". Trevor "Energizer Bunny...