BETA PHOTO: Is this 'Puppy Love'? or is it just to the right...
Description
Starts right of Steel Your Face in the trees. This climb felt harder than Steel Your Face (10a), and was certainly more difficult to protect. Basically bad gear placements up a thin sandy seam and, of course, sandy slab climbing. Make sure to follow the easiest climbing about 2/3 of the way up (I got tunnel vision and tried to go straight to the next pin). Also, be careful of the crumbly flake near the top. Gosh my review makes this climb sound fun, doesn't it?
Protection
Bring some cams to #2 camalot - small Splitter Cam would have been nice on this one - to supplement several drilled pitons.
i tried this climb and felt like if i fell before i clipped the first bolt, either my cam placement would snake out of the shallow crack when my foot blew of the sandy foothold or i would fly into the nearest tree. The climbing isn't that good in my opinion and should be approached with caution.
By Scott Gilliam From: Raleigh, NC Oct 27, 2003 rating: 5.9
I thought this was a great route and definitely easier that Steel Your Face. The gear placement near the start was okay in my opinion, and though it might be a bit runout, it seemed fine. Here in NC we rarely get slab gear closer together than 30 feet. ;)
By Rob Davies UK From: Cheshire, UK Oct 27, 2009 rating: 5.9+ R
Well worthwhile. Cams can be used to plug the occasional gaps between the drilled pegs. Obvious advice: look for the footholds, even if they are a bit sandy! In UK terms this would be worth E1 5b. Fortunately, the trickiest moves are next to the pegs.
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