Vince looks thankfully back down after an early as...
Description
Below and slightly east of the The Thumb is a small, slightly triangular wall leaning just shy of vertical. Splitting this wall is a thin fingertips-to-thin-hands crack which begged ascent pre-1968 when Mayor Ted aided it and named it Plumb Line. Today, it's a classic, steep finger crack which despite it's lengthy approach is a must do (and one which I do at least once a year for grins). Follow the approach description under The Thumb. Gather your less-than-1.5" pro, and prep for an entertaining climb. Begin right at the base of the crack, and attain a stance right below the steepest part of the crack. Place a piece as high as you can, and then work slightly left of the crack for two moves, and then back directly into the crack (If you choose the Acute Angle Variation, 5.9, this is where you'll joing the crack). Continue up the ever-widening crack to the relatively recent two-bolt belay. When I first did this (see the "action photos") the tree at the top was the belay anchor and there was still a bush growing at the top of the crux. The last 15' warrant tape if you're as wimpy as I am.
A great climb just kind of short. I didn't use anything larger than a .75 camalot or maybe a #1. Fun finger locks until it widens to a more rattling finger size.
There are enough chicken heads down low to avoid shredding your fingertips, but the crux demanded an interesting layback/double-gaston/slap-for-the-jug combination. Microcams are the order of the day. A little longer, and this would be a 3-star route. Worth the hike.
Some other fun routes in the area are Hangman 9+, and Boomerang 10a. Bring multiple yellow TCU's for Boomerang. Great pitch, that sees little traffic so it can be gritty, REALLY a great climb though. Crux feels like if you popped you'd snap all your fingers! YIKES! Probably not, but a way fun route! Give it a try, and recomend it to others, so it will stay clean.
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