Midas Touch  5.11+

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Type:  Trad, 1 pitch, 95 feet Consensus:  5.11+ [details] FA:  Submitted By:  blakeherrington on Nov 6, 2012 You & This Route  |  Other Opinions (1) Your todo list: Your stars: Your rating: -none- [change] Your ticklist: [add new tick]

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SEASONAL CLOSURE TAKES EFFECT 1/15/13!! No top access - private land MORE INFO >>> SEASONAL CLOSURE TAKES EFFECT 1/15/13!! The golden eagle nesting season is underway and the closure begins tomorrow, 1/15/2013. Last year, climbers demonstrated a 100% compliance rate with the voluntary test closure, and we need to make sure to repeat that showing. Unlike last year, this is a mandatory, not voluntary closure for all users including climbers and hikers. This means the BLM will be monitoring the territory and has the power to issue tickets for entering the closure area, which includes all of the crags and the approach trails. The soonest the closure could be partially lifted is May 15th, depending on the nesting scenarios at that time. Please spread the word, climb elsewhere until further notice! NO TOP ACCESS - PRIVATE LAND Taken verbatim from a post by Jeff Wenger on the topic: "The climbing and part of the approach at Trout Creek sit on a fuzzy boundary of BLM and private land. The land on the mesa above the columns is part of a huge piece of property owned by the original settlers of Gateway, the Vibbert family. It is used to graze cattle and for several months every year as a pay-to-play bird hunting “preserve”. The property also contains an old homestead, a large productive farm, ponds, creeks, 4x4 roads, and an amazing solitary gravesite on the canyon rim between the crag and the campground. What we have here is an old sprawling property with several spotty boundaries on its BLM borders. The family had some BIG reservations about people being up there, mostly because they assumed climbers would want to cross their property and of course they had concerns about liability. Why have things changed? By NOT attempting to access the crag over private property, we’ve built trust with the before-weary Vibberts. They feel much better about us being in the area (and that REALLY matters in this case) compared to their initial, understandable reservations. So long as we continue to respect their land by NOT using it to access the cliff, more climbers shouldn’t be a big deal…and more climbers is what posting will bring. I had the recent opportunity to meet with the guy who manages the hunting preserve for the Vibberts. He mentioned that he checks-in on the crag (what the family calls ‘dry island’) and has been very impressed with the fact that people have been respectful of the land. The Vibbert family loves the area and appreciates the fact others do too (even if the climbing is abrasive and physical!!). They’re thankful we take the time to walk in from the campground and that we encourage others to only access the climbing from below (I.E. lead rather than walk around to TR/rap ). Since neither the county nor the Vibberts are 100% clear on the boundary lines with the BLM and since they once owned all of what is now Gateway, the positive relations we have established are key for long-term access." 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 

Midas Touch is one of the best routes at Trout. If you think every route here is an endurance test, this will quickly dissuade you. It features cruxy face climbing, pockets, stemming, and even some crucial incuts. Similar to Purple Pinky Eater, the cruxy climbing occurs after 50' of 5.10 crack climbing, so even though big fall potential exists, these falls should be safe. This alone makes it a nice change from the headier starts on Monster, Space Mission, and other routes of similar grade.

When the two thin-hand cracks end, use a mix of features via sustained 5.11 climbing. Pass 2 possible small gear placements and hit the horizontal atop the crux sequence. Going ground-up should be safe, but the crux placements are fairly specific.

Location 

This is the direct line to the anchors atop Alchemy, or two routes to the right of Gold Rush

Protection 

A double rack from #2 camalot to blue Metolius, with extra finger-sized pieces, and a few small wires.