Jean Aschenbrenner traversing under the roof at th...
Description
The classic 5.6 route in the Nears. Short approach and very popular.
Start about 30' left of Broken Sling, at a large corner capped by a roof. There is a big tree near the start of the climb.
P1: Climb up the face, angling right, past several old fixed pins. Make an awkward move around the nose to a cramped belay. 5.6, 45'.
P2: Move left and climb a steep corner to a roof, passing more old fixed pins. Traverse right under the roof, and continue to the top. 5.5, 110'.
Pitches 1 and 2 may be combined, avoiding the cramped belay, but it's almost impossible to avoid severe rope drag if you do this. Long runners, double ropes, and two-way radios are recommended if you want to do the climb in one pitch.
Protection
Lots of old fixed pins, plus a light rack of nuts and cams to 2".
By Leo Paik Administrator From: Westminster, Colorado Mar 1, 2006
Long runners are key. I recall doing this a while back in 1 pitch with a beginner rack with only 2 slings and having enormous drag issues at the top of this climb. Despite this, nice climb.
Double ropes, although still calling for extending placements, make this an excellent one-pitch climb. If you have occasion to try the whole route in one pitch, it's a great place to hone your double rope technique.
By saxfiend Administrator From: Atlanta, GA Jan 28, 2008 rating: 5.6
Very nice lead, and doubles are definitely a plus. I was a little concerned about finding a placement to protect the belay anchor starting off the second pitch, but found a great slot for a gold Ballnut.
I think this is also the route where I found a copperhead staring out at me from the horizontal where I was planning to place a green Camalot on P2. I ran it out instead.
In the spring of 1978 I took a friend up Disneyland for his first climb. He managed the first pitch okay, but ran out of gas on the second. Another friend who was with us came up the easy path from the north and joined me at the belay atop the route. He had a six-pack which we began while our pal thrashed on the face below. (He claimed his jeans were too tight to make a high foothold.) After a few minutes it was clear he couldn't finish the pitch, so we tried dragging him up. He was pretty heavy and we were laughing too hard too make much progress--we'd lift him a few feet then crack up, lose our grip, and drop him. He wasn't very happy. Defeated, I tied him off and we relaxed with our beers, enjoying the view while he swore at us. We encouraged him to rest and recover his strength; he swore louder. Then we heard rustling in the woods behind. A very large guy and his girlfriend appeared. I offered him a beer if he pulled on the rope. "I was in the Marines!" he declared, and swiftly drew our friend up to large holds. The Marine happily went on his way with a cold one and our pal, scowling and scraped, struggled up to us. He declined an opportunity to top rope Dirty Gertie.
It makes no sense to belay in the notch following the awkward mantle. Instead, move up into the open book/corner above and belay from there on a bomber piton backed up with nuts. You can then extend down to a better stance which allows you to watch your second on the face below. Really great climbing if you have your logistics sorted out.
All of the belay stances are sucky - avoid them! There's also communication issues. If you're on top it's really hard to hear someone at the belay above the mantle. Much easier if they are on the ground and can walk out to where they can see you.
One of the best routes in the Gunks but it definitely gets more than it's share of gumbys. I was standing at the bottom once waiting for the belayer to leave the stance. Nothing was happening other than shouts that neither one could figure out. Walked up to the top and there was a guy sitting there at a complete loss - he had dropped his belay device and didn't know how to set a belay without it. They would have probably been up there all night if I hadn't come by!