Moonshadow  5.9

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Type:  Trad, Alpine, 7 pitches, 600 feet, Grade III Consensus:  5.9 [details] FA:  Al Long, Lindi McIlwaine, Al Rubin (May 1976) Submitted By:  Sprax Lines on May 24, 2012 You & This Route  |  Other Opinions (1) Your todo list: Your stars: Your rating: -none- [change] Your ticklist: [add new tick]

BETA PHOTO: Start of the crux pitch at the end of the grassy l...

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Description 

150' of sustained liebacking make this a memorable adventure.

Pitch 1, 5.7, 150' (or, in the words of a guide, "Only 5.6 but be sure to send up your strongest leader.") Climb either corner to the top of a pillar (about 70'), then traverse 25' left under the large overhang, and pull the layback flake and exit right and build a belay level with a pointy flake. Look down and realize you are standing on top of the same massive flake you were underclinging on the traverse.

Pitch 2, 5.7, 110'. Step left and down past flake into left-facing dihedral. Climb this corner, exit right, then go up an easy face to a ledge.

Pitch 3, 5.easy, short. Go up and left to the ledge at the base of the huge slab.

Pitch 4, 5.9, 150'. Belay as far left on the ledge as you can. The leader must step out left and down into the corner at the base of the left-facing dihedral. From here you have a clear view of the Half Moon Crack, above you to the left. A finger crack protects the first cruxy moves up into the dihedral. Lieback the long, leftward-arching dihedral. The second crux is near the top, and also protects well.

Pitch 5, 5.8, 150'. Climb up right, then back left over a corner, and pull through a bulge split by a hand crack. Belay on the vegetated ledge. We improved a rap station up and left of the belay and directly above the Half Moon Crack. We used this to descend to the bolts atop Half Moon crack.

Pitches 6 & 7. These should be easy. Jon Sykes says to head up and right to the summit (and the usual walk-off).

Location 

You can find the crux layback pitch by surveying the dihedrals right of Vertigo's Half Moon Crack. Moonshadow is the rightmost one before the slab, and it's curved the opposite way from Half Moon. The start of the climb, however, is far to the right.

Start in the twin 20' left-facing corners (often partly wet) that are about 150' right of Union Jack/Vertigo, and 100' right of White Iceberg (a bolted face climb). These corners are not in the first large left-facing dihedral right of the bolts -- that dihedral is the start of North-South-West.) To be sure you are in the right place, look for the large overhang that goes left from the top of a pillar, about 70' up. A different route (Down East) continues up a curved crack above this pillar.

Protection 

Big cams may be useful for the layback crack, but they are not necessary. As with the Half Moon Crack, you will find that part of this flared crack in the dihedral is too wide to take standard cams, but is OK for BigBros. At least Moonshadow's cruxes are far above any ledges.

Photos of Moonshadow Slideshow

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BETA PHOTO: After the first crux, at least for me: pulling on ...	BETA PHOTO: Somewhere near the layback crux [photo: Paul Dale]	BETA PHOTO: Looking down from the belay. Rick Buirkle nears t...