50 feet up the first pitch. Page Kyle took the pho...
Description
The route follows a right-arching chimney on the SW corner of Parriot Mesa, obvious from the top of Pace Hill on Castle Valley Road. We found no trail on the talus cone though there is apparently a trail to the 5th-class descent -- see below. To gain access to the start of the route, stay high continuing about 200' left on the ledge with a TV antenna.
P1: The first pitch starts with a 5.9 layback boulder problem and quickly leads to a fun squeeze to wide chimney. Protect using long slings on chockstones and a #2 cam near the top, 120' to belay pin.
P2: At this point we diverged from the original route -- moving directly to the back of the chimney (4th class) and 20' up a fun hand crack and onto a large chockstone, 100' 5.9. We think the original ascent continued up the chimney at the face for 60' to a chockstone/ledge. The FA party must have then moved 50' into the tunnel without protection while 60' above the choss pile. We followed a chossy tunnel that moves directly back into the cliff. traversed into the back of this chimney from 60' up. Our variation allows fun, protected climbing from the base of the chimney. The original route allows you to either 1) grow your sack three sizes, or 2) die trying.
P3-P4: From the chockstone the business begins. A 5.10 hand crack/ layback crack leads up about 30' until it possible to begin stemming. Stem or layback another 150' in a bizarre setting to drilled warthogs at the top of the arch. From the warthogs continue about 20' up slab, take a right and continue another 20' on a large ledge where a large flake leans against the wall (belay here). We broke this 150' section into 2 pitches. There is a crack that sucks up #1 Camalots at the back of the arch for the first 100'. The second, 50' pitch takes yellow to green to blue Aliens.
P5: Stand on the balanced block and aid through 3 bolts to 5.7 (exfoliating) face climbing and the top (50').
We couldn't find the 5th-class descent; we think the description in Bjornstad is inaccurate. Scope out the descent before climbing. From the summit there appears to be 200' cliffs for the entire 'circumference' of the butte. A better description of the location of the descent can be found in the comments below.
Locating this descent from above will take some time, as it entails two sections of cliffband. You'd be better off rapping, or scouting it out beforehand, I think. If you must onsight the 'walkoff', it's located on the SE side of the mesa. The cliffband is concave in shape, forming a sort of crescent. The descent is on the skier's left end of this crescent. A 20' cliffband must be negotiated, most easily by a chimney (cairned!), which leads to a broad ledge system. The second pitch descends a [skier's] R-facing corner with some kind of railroad spike at the top for an anchor. It wasn't easy to find from below. Good luck! Eventually a trail leads clockwise back around to the W.
This route was awesome! The beta was a little off as when you get to the warthogs go up a slab for about 20 feet then turn right on the ledge for another 20 to the bolt ladder. also the third pitch is #1 and smaller for about 100 feet...need a lot of cams in other words. The descent is almost directly on the other side of the plateau and is marked by 3 cairns. Down climb to the waterfall thing and there is a fixed rope to rap for about 30 feet, then follow the trail and you will find one bolt. Do NOT rap this haha...traverse across the ledge to the other gulley and there is a rap station here with a fixed traverse, and then easy trail/walkoff from here. killer views!
steven- thanks for the info. By directly on the other side of the plateau, do you mean about 200 yards away or about a km away at the pinnacle? Thanks for the info on the descent.
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