Karsten making it look hard. . . no it wasn't real...
Description
Pitch 1: Climb up easy white rock until you reach the obvious, rightward traverse at a slab. This is not to hard but very runout. Traverse much farther than you'd think until directly below the obvious(and good) bolts leading to the bolted anchor. 5.10R.
Pitch 2: continue up varnished rock passing the occasional bolt. You will get occasional gear to supplement the bolts, but you must be crafty and attentive.Following the bolts is your best bet for locating the proper route(this goes fro all pitch's!)...look closely. Belay at 2 bolts 5.10.
Pitch 3: More of the same...follow well spaced bolts and occasional gear to a 2 bolt anchor, 5.10-R-.
Pitch 4: Yep...same stuff only this one checks in @ 5.9R.
Pitch 5: repeat.
Pitch 6: AhHa! Change! Although ever so slight! Climb the obvious bulge up and left of the belay 5.10-.
At the 2-bolt anchor, signaling the end of this pitch, you can either rap or continue up for several more pitches in the 5.8/5.9 range. Most people rap. If you rap, consider rapping POD, it is the cleanest section of the wall and greatly reduces the chances of rope problems.
Overall a very good route, very heady....be SURE you can handle this one before trying it!
Protection
1 set nuts, 1 set RPs, 1 set cams from blue Alien to #2 Camalot.
Does anyone have beta on Rock Warrior? I have the Swain guide and it's OK, but I'd love to hear some comments on this thing from someone whose done it.
There is a variation to the first pitch. BUT!!! It is Harder AND more runout.
Instead of going way right continue up to the first obvious bolt on the wall...5.10R+ I believe this is the first bolt for sandstone samarai..instead of going left as for SS, continue straigt up following discontinous cracks. Pay Attention to Gear!! There is very little and what is there is not great. You will climb a crux in the first 60ft that checks in somewhere between 5.10d and 5.11B...and you will be WAY above gear. Follow the cracks until you reach a point where you can traverse right towards what is the first bolt on the 2nd pitch of RW. It's a long traverse and clocks in around 5.10bR. Clip the first bolt then climb to the second...and belay. There are 2 good stoppers down and left of this bolt that make the belay resonable...but they are not obvious. 5.11R/X This variation is very good climbing, however it's not really recommended. If you want something to tick off and you can handle it...by all means!! But be warned...it's far from safe.
Black Velvet Wall
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