Please respect this beautiful area. Stay on established trails and do not trample any vegetation
BETA PHOTO: Shadow of the Blade route location
Description
P1 - Ascend the compact face on good rock to a big ledge. (5.10b/c) P2 - The next pitch is overhanging for 90' to a ledge on the right...big holds. (5.10d) P3 - Climb a steep slab to a short overhanging hand crack. Protect this with cams. (5.9) P4 - Short easy, scrambling leads to a belay next to a prominent dead tree...loose rubble on ledges. Be careful. P5 - Bolt protected face leads 90' to a belay ledge. (5.8) P6 - Diagonal up & left to a steep section...great pockets. Belay higher on the large ledge/ramp near the top. (5.10c) P7 - walk 35' left to a short steep wall. Ascend this, and the arete above to the summit. (5.10d)
Have fun and as usual, watch for loose stuff. Most belays are protected.
Location
North face of Devil's Castle. Begin 100 right of Evil Eye, just left of a 30' pillar.
Protection
1 set TCU's, 1 each Camalots #.5 to .75; 2 each Camalots #1-3 many runners
My partner and I both really enjoyed this route. It seemed like this had more climbing and less scrambling than some of the other Devils Castle routes; on some sections you could almost say that the rock is pretty good. Pitch 2 is great, but there are good hard sections on several other pitches. Take some cams for sure for the pitch 3 crack; I think we placed #.75, 1, 2, and 3 camalots and an extra #1 or #2 would have been nice; it isn't that hard but it's overhanging and that rock is kind of spooky. There were a couple of other spots where we placed a cam on easier terain. Take lots of draws and full-length slings. There are good, safe bolted belays. You top out just to the west of Black Streak, so rap it for the descent.
By Boissal From: SLC, UT Aug 26, 2008 rating: 5.10d
Very good route, feels more sporty than others on the wall with really interesting sequences in the 5.10 sections. P1 hits you in the face right away with a tricky roof, I thought it was hard for 10b and maybe harder than the 10c pitches. P2 is really fun, steep and sustained with holds appearing out of nowhere right when you need them. The crack on P3 bites (read: sharp) but protects really well. I placed one of each BD #1, #2 and #3 and didn't feel the need for doubles. Run p4 and p5 together and enjoy the really cool moves on P6 and P7. I think we used a .75 on p7 and that's about it for the gear, the whole thing felt really safe. Watch for loose rock and breaking holds, keep your head down, it's Devil's Castle!
Devil's Castle
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