Phantom Pinnacle  Photos:  Recent | Best | Popular Page Views:  180. Good page?    Administrators:  M.Morley, Sam Vanderhyden, Tom Erickson Submitted By:  Bryan G on May 30, 2012 Make this area a Favorite What's New   Print a Mini-Guide with routes Add Route  Add Photo  Add Comment  Add Event  Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun 64° | 50° 70° | 52° 75° | 55° 77° | 59° 79° | 59°

Fifi Buttress To Close! MORE INFO >>> The following areas are closed to all visitor use to protect peregrine falcon aeries from March 1 until August 1 of each year or until the young falcons of the current year have fledged: Fifi Buttress Immediately west of Leaning Tower. Closure includes all routes on Fifi Buttress. This information is a public crowdsourcing effort between the Access Fund, and Mountain Project. You should confirm closures, restrictions, and/or related dates. Keeping climbing areas open and conserving the climbing environment

BETA PHOTO: Phantom Pinnacle from the approach.

Description 

This is the long lost sister of the popular Cathedral Spires. Invisible from the road, it is tucked away in the large canyon to the east of the Spires. It's obscurity says nothing of it's quality however. It's both an impressive and shapely pinnacle and the climbing on it is excellent. There are two routes recorded in the Reid guide. The Left Side route (5.9) is a hidden gem that's on the radar of many Valley locals. The Outside Face (5.10d) takes an impressive and intimidating line up the east side of the pinnacle.

Getting There 

If you are not familiar with the approach to the routes on the Lower Cathedral Spire, you should maybe climb that first to learn the area.

Basically, both the Higher and Lower Spires, along with Church Tower, lie on a ridge of rock. Routes on Higher Spire are approached from the gully to the west (Spires Gully), and routes on Lower Spire (such as Northeast Face and South by Southwest) are approached from an unnamed gully to the east. To find Phantom Pinnacle you will first begin up this eastern gully as you would for routes on Lower Cathedral Spire.

At a point shortly after passing Church Tower (and a ways before Lower Spire) you will see a large buttress of rock off to the left. Leave the gully at this point and traverse left around this buttress through an open area of pine forest. As you round the left side of the buttress you will encounter worse bushwhacking. Your goal is to follow the base of this cliff uphill for a couple hundred yards, at which point the Phantom Pinnacle will become apparent.

The Classics