Excellent route that takes an inspiring line up the entire steep North wall of las Estrellas Canyon. The route traverses from left (West) to right (East) as it goes up the wall.
p1 5.11b Very technical low, then eases up a bit. p2 5.7 Take the slab/gully leading right p3 5.10d The 'french fry' pitch - goes right. p4 5.11d EXCELLENT pitch, very fun, right and then straight up into the crux. p5 5.10b Traverses up and right to a ledge. p6 5.12a Traverses right and then embark on the crux straight up! p7 5.11b Very steep climbing up big tufas p8 5.9 Lame pitch, sharp. p9 5.7 Worse than the last pitch, not recommended - sharp. The summit is very cool though, and you do have the entire wall below you, so pick your poison.
Descent: Rappel the route. Be very careful not to knock off rocks as the upper half of this route is above the Club Mex wall, which can be very busy. It is possible to jump onto a different rappel line that goes straight down the wall, however this is right above the Club Mex wall. Many of these pitches are traversing, so getting down can be kindof a bitch, but it's more than worth the excellent climbing.
Location
Start is about a 10 min. walk up the trail on the North Wall of Las Estrellas canyon. The route starts on a black face next to an obvious gnarly old tree stump.
By Bryan Howell From: San Francisco, CA Apr 16, 2008
Hey Ben -- when you describe the last two pitches as "bad," do you mean bad as in bad climbing, or as in "large chunks of bad rock may fall badly on your head, killing you real bad"?
Bryan - We removed all the grande choss we could on the multiple trips up the route so...the upper 3 or 4 pitches were worked over less than the lower ones. Nonetheless, I feel you will encounter more loose rock on Space Boyz than you will here.
We worked it hard with the objective of making a route that was reasonably safe for the Potrero and less than 5.12. Both Hank and I felt we succeeded but subsequent ascents thought the rating a bit stiff for 11.d but then again we thought pitch one was 10.d. 'Course that was after an evening of drinking at Homero's.
Ben - feel free to chime in here if you wish and both Hank and I appreciate you getting our names right! Glad you liked the route enough to write it up.
The rock is solid throughout the entire route, especially for potrero.
The only reason I don't necessarily recommend the last 2 pitches is because the rock is sharp, you are cactus dodging, and the climbing is easy. There is some cool exposure and a good feeling of the entire estrellas wall below you, but these top two pitches are not too great in comparison to the spectacular pitches below.
With that in mind, the summit block is a very cool spot, again, do what you want - maybe I am just being a woos about sharp rock.
Props to Hank and Keith for putting a beautiful line up the best looking wall in Potrero! Very well done.
Las Estrellas (The Stars)
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