MLK 5.12a
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| Type: | Trad, Sport, 1 pitch, 105 feet |
| Consensus: | 5.12a [details] |
| FA: | Bob D'Antonio and Kelly Baldwin |
| New Route: | Yes |
| Submitted By: | Ron Olsen on Sep 3, 2003 |
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BETA PHOTO: Left side of Sleeping Beauty.
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Description Approach from the Beer Can Trail and go left along the base of Sleeping Beauty Slab. The trail climbs up to ledge near some small pine trees. Go right across the ledge to a obvious, wide, black crack. The route starts here. Climb the thin hand (with gear) crack (just left of the black crack) up a near vertical slab. Reach the first bolt and then place gear under a good flake. Climb up short, left-facing corner to a good ledge. Follow the line of bolts up a cool black face making several hard moves to a overhang. Climb on small holds past the overhang and up the clean face to the anchor. Excellent slab climbing on solid rock. Be careful lowering as a 60 meter rope just makes it to the ground!
Protection Medium gear for the lower section and 11 quickdraws for the bolts. A two bolt anchor will get you to the ground.
By david goldstein Sep 14, 2006
| Rapping w/ a 60m rope got me to the 2nd bolt. The lower part of this climb seemed like a moss fest so you're probably better off starting w/ Wings of Desire. The upper part is probably great if you're a true slabmaster (pure smearing w/ minute sloper "hands") -- I found it much harder than Mind Bender & aided it. Also, there is a somewhat scary move getting to the crux, mantling above a vertical flake which you could fall onto if you blow the move; the clip after this move was also pretty dicey @ 5'7". |
By slim Sep 13, 2010
| Basically what Goldstein said, other than recommending the Wings of Desire start (which blows). The route wanders too much to be great, hard to avoid rope drag, as the rope wants to run behind some flakes. Several dicey clips up high. Some nice rock on it, but also some crappy rock and lichen. |
By Mark Rolofson Oct 16, 2012 rating: 5.12a
| My intent on Labor Day was to first climb "Wings Of Desire". After climbing the start of that line to its 5th bolt on a sloping shelf, I clipped a 6th bolt only a few feet away up right. Then I continued straight up the face. I got to hard moves at the 11th bolt and fell off a couple times before dogging to the anchor. I thought this is desperate for 5.11b. My partner had a similar go. We then realized that we were on "MLK". It is possible and recommended to start with "Wings Of Desire" to climb "MLK" with just quickdraws for bolts. In fact, looking up from the base of "Wings" the obvious direct line up the face is the upper part of "MLK". "Wings Of Desire" goes left at 5th bolt up easy run-out terrain. "MLK" climbs straight up a left-facing corner to a good ledge. Then up the face along a precarious, detached flake its top. From here, climb a steep slab face passing a tiny roof. Some exciting climbing! 14 bolts / ring anchor (with "Wings" start). This is an excellent climb with bolts in the right place. Good job, Bob, on the route but not so good on the info in your guidebook. If you do the crack start of "MLK", it seems like the obvious line is to join "Wings" at its 4th bolt on a sloping shelf & continue up to its 5th bolt, then continuing straight up "MLK". |
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