This route climbs crack systems to the right of Black Velvet.
P1: Start up a thin left facing corner. The crux is about 15' up where the crack thins out and you're forced onto the face to the left. Above another tricky section takes you to easier ground and a bolted belay. 90', 5.8+
P2: Climb the crack past a fixed pin to a ledge. The R&I topo showed a variation to the left at 5.8+ but we took the right hand crack, past another fixed pin, to a ramp at the right side of the Black Velvet roof. Follow this easily right to a rap anchor.
We had a single 60m rope and rapped diagonally right over to a tree with a nest of old slings and then again to the ground. With two ropes you wouldn't need to stop at the tree.
By Aaron Hobson Administrator From: Las Cruces, NM Nov 6, 2006
Instead of rappelling diagonally to the right to the tree, you can tend slightly left and you can just barely reach a belay ledge with bolt-anchors (belay ledge for the route, Wild Turkey and "Zombie").
The 5.8+ is the original rating for the first pitch and probably a bit of a sandbag. The crux moves are at the top of the first pitch where the crack stops. If one goes a little left (easy 5.9) and if one goes straight up (easy 5.10).
Southern Comfort Wall
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