Holthouse to Hell  5.11-

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Type:  Trad, 2 pitches, 220 feet Consensus:  5.11a/b [details] FA:  FA: Bruce Holthouse (ground-up rope solo aid), FFA: Dave Jones Submitted By:  George Perkins on Aug 16, 2009 You & This Route  |  Other Opinions (3) Your todo list: Your stars: Your rating: -none- [change] Your ticklist: [add new tick]

High stepping into a mantle on Holthouse to Hell.

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Some rocks in this area are on private property. Property owner requests signed waiver. MORE INFO >>> The remainder are on US Forest Service land. A map detailing the public areas can be obtained from the ranger station en route to the rocks from the village of Tres Piedras. According to Jan Studebaker: "The property line runs from approximately the current east corner by the access gate in a straight line over the top of South Rock to the top middle of the Chicken Heads/Mosaic Wall mount, and from there west down the mount slope to the meadow just south of the Alley climbs. Some of the most popular routes are completely on private property. There are survey markers on the top of South rock (the mysterious aluminum stake stuck in the rock) and on top of the Mosaic rock (most of the time buried in water in a pot hole.)" A new online Tres Piedras Route Guide from LA Mountaineers has been updated with the latest access information, and should be read by all Tres Piedras climbers. Group climb leaders, and Climbing Directors (future or past) should take particular note. From the guide: Access Notes: Tres Piedras climbers should sign the waiver found on this page because the popular South Rock is mostly on private land, as is some of the access to the area. The landowner, requests a waiver, NO fires, no chalk and "please close any gates". In order to nurture greater landowner acceptance of climbers, participants of group climbs are requested to organize quick clean up activities before leaving the area; this should include the climbing area as well as the access roads (trip leaders could supply plastic grocery bags). Small parties should practice "leave no trace" principles. On August 19, 2009 the landowner stated: "Yes I still own the property, and yes I'd still like to have waivers on hand - even or perhaps especially from your organization. Only once in awhile do I have problems with climbers, mostly not picking up after themselves. My biggest gripe is that despite repeated requests, the climbers don't remove protection (edit: colored webbing, shiny hardware) from the climbing routes, which is both lazy and unattractive. Your organization could do me a big favor by doing a group climb and removing the crap that others have left on the various routes so that it is both a pristine part of the landscape, and so that each climber must figure out his own route without relying on the handiwork of others." 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 

Holthouse to Hell is probably the easiest route up the intimidating wall right of Serpentine Crack with the Holthouse climbs, and is the best climb I've done so far at Tres Piedras at this grade or easier, at least, as far as I can recall.

The Direct Start is recommended, and isn't any harder than the upper section of the route in my opinion. Begin just right of Serpentine Crack, face climb past 2 bolts, and reach an easy runout. Or use the original start to reach this same section by traversing over from Serpentine Crack past a black bolt.

If you look carefully, you'll see 3 bolted lines that you could follow from either of these starts. Take the middle of the 3 lines, following new bolts (the left is "???": 5.11-?; the right links into Bolts to Nowhere:5.12). Pull through a roof, a crazy mantle onto a chickenhead, and through another roof to more classic TP slabbing. Up high, there are a few options; route find the easiest way to a ledge with small oak trees and belay. An short and easy, but poorly protected, pitch finishes the climb (you can't get all the way to the top in a single pitch with a 60m rope).

The bolts are in great places to protect the hardest moves, and [have been recently upgraded to modern hardware.]

This section of cliff is confusing in the guidebooks. Taos Rock shows this line as "Learn to Forget", and lists H2H as the line to its left. RC:NM shows this line correctly, but shows "Learn to Forget" as angling farther right and incorrectly lists it as 5.11- (and it also doesn't show the left bolted line). The comment Mike passed on from Mr. Holthouse below should set things straight, as far as H2H at least.

Location 

For the recommended Direct Start, begin just right of Serpentine Crack below 2 bolts.
For the original start, begin as for Serpentine Crack and traverse right, passing a bolt.
Above, the climb follows the 2nd bolted line right of Serpentine Crack.

Protection 

6 to 8 bolts. Supplement these with nuts and cams to 2", especially #0.3 camalot size, mainly placed in the diagonal seams.