Suprise-Suprise  5.8

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Type:  Trad, 1 pitch, 175 feet Consensus:  5.8 [details] FA:  ?, pre-1981 Submitted By:  Chris Wenker on Aug 24, 2009 You & This Route  |  Other Opinions (1) Your todo list: Your stars: Your rating: -none- [change] Your ticklist: [add new tick]

BETA PHOTO: Suprise-Suprise (5.8), Mosaic Rock, Tres Piedras, ...

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Some rocks in this area are on private property. Property owner requests signed waiver. MORE INFO >>> The remainder are on US Forest Service land. A map detailing the public areas can be obtained from the ranger station en route to the rocks from the village of Tres Piedras. According to Jan Studebaker: "The property line runs from approximately the current east corner by the access gate in a straight line over the top of South Rock to the top middle of the Chicken Heads/Mosaic Wall mount, and from there west down the mount slope to the meadow just south of the Alley climbs. Some of the most popular routes are completely on private property. There are survey markers on the top of South rock (the mysterious aluminum stake stuck in the rock) and on top of the Mosaic rock (most of the time buried in water in a pot hole.)" A new online Tres Piedras Route Guide from LA Mountaineers has been updated with the latest access information, and should be read by all Tres Piedras climbers. Group climb leaders, and Climbing Directors (future or past) should take particular note. From the guide: Access Notes: Tres Piedras climbers should sign the waiver found on this page because the popular South Rock is mostly on private land, as is some of the access to the area. The landowner, requests a waiver, NO fires, no chalk and "please close any gates". In order to nurture greater landowner acceptance of climbers, participants of group climbs are requested to organize quick clean up activities before leaving the area; this should include the climbing area as well as the access roads (trip leaders could supply plastic grocery bags). Small parties should practice "leave no trace" principles. On August 19, 2009 the landowner stated: "Yes I still own the property, and yes I'd still like to have waivers on hand - even or perhaps especially from your organization. Only once in awhile do I have problems with climbers, mostly not picking up after themselves. My biggest gripe is that despite repeated requests, the climbers don't remove protection (edit: colored webbing, shiny hardware) from the climbing routes, which is both lazy and unattractive. Your organization could do me a big favor by doing a group climb and removing the crap that others have left on the various routes so that it is both a pristine part of the landscape, and so that each climber must figure out his own route without relying on the handiwork of others." 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 

Yes, I know it's spelled wrong, but that's the route name as listed in the 1981 guide. As far as I can reconstruct from the old description, this seems to be the route.
Ascend the black licheny face, wending through a series of horizontal seams and overlaps. After passing by a mild surprise near the top, find a way to obtain the summit of Mosaic Rock. May be on the soft side of 5.8, but I left it as rated in the old guide.

Location 

This shady line lies on the north face of Mosaic Rock, about 50 yards west of Summer Dreams. The route starts in a little swale between Mosaic Rock and a granite fin that abuts the dome (called "Eagle Rock" in the old guide). There's a big broken chimney just to the left, and a hard-looking thin face just to the right. Descend the standard walk-off.

Protection 

Single set of cams to #3 Camalot. This would have been an interesting lead on just nuts and hexes....
Gear anchor on top.