Spaceshot 

I just attempted this route in late March and had to back off at the aid crux on pitch 5 because the placements were very blown out. After the traverse right at the mid-pitch anchor, the gear got worse and worse leading up towards the next anchor. I ended up taking a decent fall when a marginal piece blew, sending me tumbling down and being caught by a better-then-expected TCU I had placed just above the last drilled piton. Has anyone climbed this in 07/08 and had a similar experience? Is there any special piece of gear that I might be lacking? Offset nuts, tricams, and TCUs were par for the course.

I'm usually fairly comfortable on C2 aid but this pitch literally threw me for a loop! If nothing else, I learned a lesson about aid ratings on sandstone routes. A sandstone C2 pitch in 1995 could be very different thirteen years later! Especially with cam hooks and the occasional nailing party.

I live in zion, and it has been solo aided MANY times by locals in the 07/08 season already...HB offset nuts are the best, just top step to a better placment

Soloed this route about April 3rd. I had no HB offsets and am not a pro topstepper, but I am getting better. I did place 1 small offset on the last pitch. I think easily done in a day soloing or with a partner if you free solo the first 3 pitches (which can be climbed no harder than about 5.6) and start early. I did the entire decent in the dark and was fine.

This climb isn't too hard to complete in a day, but it is EXTREMELY POPULAR and you are likely to get stuck behind slow parties learning aid climbing. We fixed no ropes and reached the top just behind a party who was on their 3rd day on the route! Probably the best reason to fix pitches is to "reserve" the route, by some unwritten rule.

This is one of the most obvious routes from the road, and the tour buses love to point out climbers on it. When climbing the route, it seems there is always a tour bus moving slowly or parked below you.

If I could make a recommendation...

This route is perfect for speed. We simul-climbed the first 3 easy pitches, regrouped at the base of the main wall, then simul-aided the remaining 5 pitches to the summit, going 8 hours base-to-base. It was very smooth and solid the whole way. Not only do you not need overnight gear, cut your rack down a bit, and leave the pig in the car, but nobody has to get bored belaying or jugging a single line! We climbed about 50-60 feet apart. My partner Ryan Sayers carried a small backpack with about a gallon of water and our approach shoes. I still trailed a haul line, which Ryan passed through a biner on his harness. When I needed gear, he just sent it up the haul line and I kept going. The only stops we had were waiting at a couple of the belays to pass! I don't know that I could ever simul-aid on C3, but C1 was a joke! With almost entirely bomber placements (except for a few micronuts in the 15-foot section of C2), I felt very in control. We always had 10-12 great pieces between us, and often a belay.

I used to think all those speed techniques were more dangerous, and I think sometimes they are. But in this case, it was much faster, much less of a hassle, more enjoyable since we didn't have to rush at all, and JUST AS SAFE!! And having less gear even made the rappels a breeze.

Just a thought...

Yeah, we topped out just after dark as well. We found the raps okay, but it was a little confusing at that one middle spot. It involved a little scary scrambling when it was too dark to see what we were walking into. Then again, we did it in a half-day so no bags. Having just a light rack and 2 ropes probably made it a bit easier. I certainly wouldn't be excited about doing it with a heavy pig in the dark!

I can't believe no one commented on the first rap. It was (to paraphrase from a Simpson's episode) the WORST RAPPEL EVER. YMMV, but I first threw our ropes into a patch of cactus, then they got tangled all to shit later by all the bushes and tree branches. It was really fun running our hands down the ropes four more times and getting cactus everywhere.

Great route, but not stellar.

Climbed this route over spring break. I thought it was a prettier line to look at than to climb, but none the less a good time overall. There's no need to simu-climb any of it since we were back to the car by 5 and started just after first light. Short fixing would be a good way to make the aid pitches go quicker. Comments on the free climbing: the upper pitches in guidebook listed as 5.10 seemed a bit on the sandbag side. The first one is .5 and .75 camalot size, usually not a desert 5.10 size. The second "5.10" pitch featured an overhanging #2 camalot crack that went through several small roofs and was very strenous, but good fun!One of the pins on the final bolt ladder sheared under bodyweight just after our ascent. Not sure how it is to get by now. Also, there was a party spending 3 days on this route over a spring break weekend. Have a little more respect out there, or at least let people pass. Pretty lame!

How would this wall be for soloing? I haven't soloed a wall yet, but I have to go out to Vegas for a wedding and thought this might make a nice diversion. Is it easy to solo in a day or do you really have to be hauling ass? I actually suck at aiding, so I'm probably slower than most parties on this beast, but ya gotta take it up a notch at some point, I guess..

Also, I've only climbed in Zion in March and APril. Is mid May gonna be too hot?

I climbed it in a day with a partner but I don't think I could make it in a day solo. It's certainly possible, especially if you can free the upper 5.10 pitches and are a fast solo aider. But I wouldn't try it unless you are really fast at both aiding and soloing. The first few pitches would be a pain to rope solo, although they could be done quickly free solo. No way would I free solo them, I almost fell off one of them on lead! Although technically easy, the rock is sandy and there's tons of loose rock around. Plus you would be carrying 2 ropes and a rack!

The heat is probably OK in mid-May, plus you get max daylight. Touchstone would be a more reasonable solo, especially if you fix the bottom 2 pitches or so.

How do the 6th and 7th pitches compare with the standard 5.10 at Indian Creek? If a person is free climbing those pitches is there a certain number of cams per size that you should take?

Thanks for the info.

I remember placing many #1&2 camalots, the start of the first 5.10 pitch is likely sand bagged.

Will - I freeclimbed the 7th pitch and felt it to be accurately rated 5.10. Certainly no harder than 10+. I did, however, take a 20-footer when a face hold broke off - be careful!

Mike and AC,

Thanks. I should get up there sometime in the next few months to give this thing a whirl. I would like to free that pitch as I have heard that it is very good.

Take care,

Will

Comment regarding Luke and Andrew's ascent: I don't remember it being necessary to sling the bush (as shown in your photo)and subject it to the forces of jugging. Sure, in moments of desperation we sometimes need to grab onto bushes or sling them for pro, but climbers please show a little respect to the fragile desert vegetation and don't use bushes and trees as fixed gear if it's not needed. Thanks.

Cool picture, though. Anytime the road looks that far away it's good!

Especially seeing as it's inches away from a fatty crack.

Just climbed this route a couple of days ago. Excellent route, really fun, straightforward. The exposure is spectacular and really cool. Unless you want to "leap-frog" cams, bring 4-5 each size .75-3.0 Camalots. The descent is easy, although it may be hard to find the stations in the dark.

So, we fixed to p2 and did the rest the next day, but had to wait for the other party behind us (they needed our ropes to rap) so we ended up bivying on the top in winter. It was frigid, but at about 4 am Magic Fingers ripped up his new guide book and started a fire with our last match. Not quite kosher without a fire permit--but, damn, Fingers was my hero.

Also, be really careful of verglas on the descent gullies to the rap stations in Winter. Ben slipped and fell with the pig on his back and almost slid off the edge. No fun. Be safe.

FWIW, Bigwall.com lists the FA in 1980 rather than 1978 as indicated in Joe's route description above. Not sure who's right.

Did this route last weekend and agree its better to look at than to climb. Fun positions but only OK climbing. i feel that there could be some upgrading of the harware on the route as well. Easy to do in a day as well. the crux is getting worse every year plaese clean resposibly on desert routes.

Good forum discussion about strategies for soloing this route

solo attempt on space shot