Mirror Mask  V10-11

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Type:  Boulder, Alpine, 15 feet Consensus:  V10+ [details] FA:  Jon Cardwell Submitted By:  Chip Phillips on Nov 9, 2009 You & This Route  |  Other Opinions (5) Your todo list: Your stars: Your rating: -none- [change] Your ticklist: [add new tick]

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The majority of these boulders are located within the Mt Evans Wilderness Area, which is regulated & patrolled by the US Forest Service. Climber MORE INFO >>> The majority of these boulders are located within the Mt Evans Wilderness Area, which is regulated & patrolled by the US Forest Service. Climbers should be on their best behavior, practice Leave No Trace, and please abide by these requirements: - Approach Areas A, B, & C via the Chicago Lakes trail (from Echo Lake). - Wilderness Permits are required for all visitors to any federal Wilderness Area. Permits are free and self-issued. A kiosk is located at the point where the Chicago Lakes Trail departs from the reservoir, at the entrance to the Wilderness Area. - Group size: travel in federal Wilderness Areas is limited to groups of 15 people or less. If you find yourself in an area, say around the Dali Boulder, where there are more than 15 people, please disperse. There are plenty of excellent boulders elsewhere. - Minimize creation of social trails. None of the trails surrounding the bouldering area are officially maintained by the USFS. Ample access trails currently exist, please stay on the existing trails, and do not create any more trails. - Do not destroy vegetation. This is a fragile alpine environment, with a short growing season. It can take vegetation decades to recover from damage. Place crash pads judiciously, and keep brushing to a minimum. Before adding new lines, considered the damage that may be caused by additional foot traffic, pad placement, etc. - Chalk is un-sightly to non-climbers. Please avoid chalking up boulder problems that are visible from the Chicago Lakes Trail, and in general, keep chalk use to a minimum. Brush all tick marks off after every sesssion. Use containers that prevent chalk spills. If you do spill your chalk, clean it up. - Stashing crash pads is expressly forbidden by the USFS. Any pads found by USFS personnel will be confiscated. - Noise: This is a wilderness area (did I mention that?) that is enjoyed by many, mostly non-climbers. The last thing passing hikers want to hear are your self-indulgent f-bombs, I-Pod speakers, grunting, etc. In fact, most other CLIMBERS don't want to hear any of these things either. The easiest way for us to loose access is to elicit complaints from other user groups. - Dogs must be leashed at all times. Consider others when deciding whether or not to bring your dog, specfically considering that dogs like to scare away wildlife, and most other users would prefer not to have the wildlife scared away. Obviously, clean up after your dog. Remember that we are guests in this area. Be respectful of other users and the USFS Rangers that manage this area. 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 

Mirror Mask begins from a stand start at the downvalley end of the cave. Smack slopers and heel/toe-hook your way out the underbelly of the cave's capstone to the upvalley end of the cave, where you exit above a boulder just below your butt. This problem sports lots of oppositional compression and sick footwork. Note that if you fall off the finishing moves, you probably tumble back down into the cave.

The rock is perfect on this problem, the line is obvious and the folks that have done it have been psyched on it. However, because this problem resides down in a talus cave, has DAB potential as you exit the cave and has an obvious sit start that EVERYONE coveted for years, I've given it only 3 stars.

Location 

Mirror Mask and the sit down version, Big Worm, are located in an interesting and unique cave about 150 yards uphill and slightly upvalley from the Dali Boulder. When you reach the Dali Boulder, continue diagonalling up and right, attempting to skirt around the talus field to the west. When you reach an open area, look for a pile of blocks that has a 15 foot long cave down inside them. Another block caps the cave and the problem climbs the underbelly of this boulder starting on one end of the cave and exiting the other. Scramble down into the cave and behold! Both Mirror Mask and Big Worm are obvious if you find the cave and have any business trying them.

Protection 

A couple Organics down in the cave and a small pad under your butt as you exit the cave above a talus boulder.