The V Buttress  Photos:  Recent | Best | Popular Page Views:  713. Good page?    Administrators:  Jay Knower, M Sprague, lee hansche, Tom Erickson Submitted By:  chris magness on Nov 25, 2012 Make this area a Favorite What's New   Print a Mini-Guide with routes Add Route  Add Photo  Add Comment  Add Event

BETA PHOTO: topo

Description 

The V Buttress is an area on the upper Central Wall between the Cathedral Direct Chimney and the White Eye Chimney. Climbs were developed mostly in 2009 and are reminiscent of steeper lines on the South Buttress or the Diagonal area of Cathedral. All have mixed bolts and gear.

Expect to feel a lot of air beneath your feet. Because of their high position, routes here are quick drying. All routes can be easily top roped. If leading, fix a line from the the rap tree (KNOT THE END!!!) and bring a separate lead line. Use 60M ropes.

There are 2-bolt rap anchors all the way to the ground, with the last rappel being a free hanging rappel over Cathedral Cave. It might be possible to rap in 4 rappels with one 70 M rope, but I've never tried. This is a good alternative to the Saigons rap if you've climbed Thin Air and have 2 ropes.

Anchors are situated as follows:
- 50 ft down from the rap tree for top roping Crabnebula, the FOF hand crack, and the second pitch of Triplet, and for leading Crabnebula in one pitch

- 100 ft down from the rap tree, second pitch anchor for for Triplet and FOF. Easy to TR the first pitch of Triplet from here.

- 190 ft down from the rap tree, starting ledge for the three climbs. 120' to Bonfire ledge.

- Bonfire ledge. 110' to the ground.

If you're rapping to the ground from the tree ledge, rap first to the 190' belay, then to Bonfire, then to the ground.

NOTE: Despite the 190' rap, you can not lead back up without stopping to belay (climbing length is longer than rappel length).

The V Buttress is clearly visible on the upper central wall as you drive down Cathedral Ledge Road-- it's the giant white V. And no, we didn't bleach the face, just scrubbed the shit out of it.

I'm adding these routes to MP because they are beginning to collect some dust-- the cleaning effort to establish them was massive, they are of excellent quality and deserve traffic.

Page 226 in the Handren guide.

Getting There 

Top down access.

Park as for Airation. Walk down the climbers' trail until it begins to steepen at a little rock slab. Turn right off of the trail and turn left across another little slab. Turn right across a widening ledge to a tree with a rap station.

This is a very short approach, despite the rappelling.

The Classics

Featured Route For The V Buttress

Triplet 5.11+  NH : Cathedral Ledge : The V Buttress

Excellent climbing. Expect some typical Cathedral spice... you can't pull through on gear. P1: Start as for FOF. Climb a 5.9 hand crack for 15’ until it turns into a water groove at a horizontal. Layback the water groove (5.11) past two bolts to a second, more prominent horizontal (gear), mantle up onto a slab past the horizontal and continue to follow the disappearing water groove past two bolts (crux at second bolt). Step up and right at second bolt to a flake system and a small cam plac...[more]   Browse More Classics in NH

Photos of The V Buttress Slideshow

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Zeb, on an early recon, snapped all of these photo...	VB, just beginning to scrub	The copious amounts of lichen that we removed.
Perigrin	bolting	perigrin
perigrin	partially scrubbed	Chris cleaning
Dave? So much fucking lichen!	Dave cleaning	Chris, Triplet's 5.10 pitch partially scrubbed.
the early stages	getting there..