Slap Arete?  5.9 PG13

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Type:  Trad, TR, 1 pitch, 25 feet Consensus:  5.9 [details] FA:  ?? Season:  Every season given good conditions Submitted By:  Burt Lindquist on Jul 12, 2010 You & This Route  |  Other Opinions (2) Your todo list: Your stars: Your rating: -none- [change] Your ticklist: [add new tick]

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Description 

The obvious arete right of Divergent Crack. It's labeled route #4 in the new Swartling/Mayer guide.
The description in this guide is accurate but I think the difficulty is a bit under-rated and especially if one attempts to stay strictly on the left side of the arete and doesn't reach over right around the corner (maybe mid 5.11?). If one climbs the arete straight on utilizing holds left and right it's possibly 5.9. If one traverses around the corner after making the initial moves up and off the block then utilizing the projecting horn then its 5.6 to 5.7. Finish this variation by stepping back left after avoiding and getting above the hard strict arete moves. I ended up on-sighting the easier variation on lead but worked the arete itself on TR. This thing is short and really just a protectable boulder problem but to boulder it only would be nasty in the landing (big pointy rotten tree stump). It's a fun and worth the effort route I think.

Location 

North Slope- West Bluff #4 in latest guide but is un-named.. Thought I would give it one..

Protection 

Small to medium cams, small to medium wires. Next to smallest C3 to protect the last moves up the Slap Arete (shallow vertical fissure before blank rock on arete's left side).