The Shmotem Pole 

This is one of the neatest climbs I have been on. That cave you crawl through to get back out on the face is the best! Thanks so much for having us out there. I can't wait to come back!

Once this climb cleans up it will be a great route.

I'm a fan of the Schmotem Hole too :-) Pretty trippy stuff.

My favorite parts of the Shmotem Pole:

P1 - entering the Shmotem Hole
P2 - exiting the Shmotem Hole
P3 - the step across, the roof and, of course, the amazing summit!

I rate this climb 5.awesome!

Still a lot of loose rock, two blocks came off and some large flakes, more are ready to go. Overall a fun route but fairly dirty. Exiting the cave and making the dirty (but well bolted)move above it was fun, as was the short 10a bulge on the last pitch. I used doubles to #3, nothing larger.

I agree, Scott - the rock on the Shmotem Pole is the least desirable in LDE. Marcy and I got most of the big loose stuff cleaned up & the route should be relatively safe. Still it's an adventure route for solid trad leaders. The summit's worth it, though.

Easily my favorite route out here. Interesting crux moves, lots of exposure, and a terrific summit.

A little bit dirty from the rains, but the difficult sections are all well-protected and on good rock - seems to be cleaning up nicely!

Yes, truly a fantastic route! Especially awesome to think of Geir leading it from the ground up and going the off-width left-hand crack route. Wow. Nice bolt placement in the chimney down low, makes the crux bomber. Shmotem Hole is a delight and, yes, dirty from the rains a couple weeks ago. I didn't see Roman's comment about the register and so didn't check on it.

Just did it yesterday. I think it will continue to clean up nicely, thanks for the route Geir/Marcy. Careful on the rappel, Lori threw off a large block on the way down. Bring the #4 and #5 for a safer adventure, I did not and wish I had. Never found the register.

The register can be found in a crack behind the cairn on top (keeps it out of direct sunlight).

Great adventure route. Awesome summit.
The cave belay and exit is outrageous as it gets.

I would skip the belay on the top of pitch 2 and just keep climbing to the bolts at the step across. Save yourself some time and hassle.

Fabulous to get back on this climb after being away from LDE since April or so. It remains one of my favorite climbs and is in great shape. Just stellar and so much fun to wander about on!

Finally got up this one with David Arthur-I lead the first pitch, and DA lead the last two. It's always good to get up a tower, and this one is really FUN-beautiful views!!! Oh, and yes bring a 4 & 5 for the 1st pitch (though I brought two 5's and was very happy with that decision).

Soon......very soon.

And soon has come. Got on this one yesterday and had a blast! Nice variety on this route - whew! Crack, face, 'n bulge-pullin' sweetness. And don't forget the hole!

Nice, nice climb.

Way to Go, Catherine and Sartor!!!!

exciting and fun route. Felt like a rhyolite version of a Sedona spire. Fairly clean, with only a few dirty bits but generally avoidable. The two cruxes are brief and protected well!

A few notes:

P1: save the #5 for the final 5.8 wide crack of the pitch.

P2: leave second rope and extra gear at rap-chains before the notch. Also, instead of moving the belay to the bolts at the step-across, another option is at a gear belay under the bolt in the notch. (couple of nuts / small cam in the horizontals).

P3: Don't need much gear for the last pitch. Maybe a couple of small cams, a 0.4, 0.75, #2, and #3.

Nice work Marcy and Geir for establishing this route!

Awesome route and spectacular summit. Pitch 1 was the best - interesting and thought-provoking moves at the crux.