Sam Spade  5.11

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Type:  Trad, 1 pitch, 80 feet Consensus:  5.11 [details] FA:  Bradley White and Bill Hardigan, 1986 New Route:  Yes Submitted By:  bradley white on Aug 2, 2009 You & This Route  |  Other Opinions (3) Your todo list: Your stars: Your rating: -none- [change] Your ticklist: [add new tick]

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Note: New route moratorium area MORE INFO >>> www.climbrumney.com/rumney-info/access/new-route-moratorium/ 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

Description 

Original start was dirty crack on the far right side to reach the horizontal traverse towards Smokestack. Before Smokestack climb the face right of a diagonal crack (long vintage soft angle pin) and stopper placements that splits the wall. Continue up ramp that terminates at cracks.
That ended our first day creating this route. It had too much rope drag! Came back and set up a rappel to bolt the bottom face. Now Sam's had a direct start to the horizontal crack and a pin was added near the top of the cliff. Bill and I returned and the crux went fine but I screwed up the sequence at the pin and fell before clipping it. Huge air drop. I had the bolt kit on me and placed a bolt below the last pin on the lead before I finished the climb. Retrospade has chalk on the same face holds as 'Sam Spade' does. They look like Siamese Twins. Maybe Sam Spade went into obscurity with it's gag, vintage pin relic. The pin was fine.
Today that's the only thing left on this route that's original are the bolts and pins because of Tom's declaration that 'Retrospade' is a separated from 'Sam Spade' climb from ours.

Location 

Right of Smokestack

Protection 

Vintage pin, bolts and mostly stoppers