Pitch one is fairly well-travelled. Pitch two may not have seen an ascent in the last fifteen years. The first pitch corner has it all; well, almost! Thin, funky climbing off the ground leads to a lieback past two bolts to a crack and a stance under a roof. Crack, face climbing past wild jugs and finally stemming leads to a tricky crux finish. Spectacular climbing.
P2 climbs a slab with (possibly) fixed knifeblades. 5.10+ R; currently, almost certainly prohibitively dirty and most likely not equipped for free climbing.
Location
From the waterfall, this area is to the right and past a subsidiary wall and the entrance to the Cheeks, which is accessed from a long ledge (the Beach) via 4th and 5th class scrambling and climbing.
Protection
Nuts and small cams to a #4 Camalot, I believe. The bolts on the route are old but have continued to hold falls. Fixed anchor.
As of last spring (2008) p2 was maybe only bit dirtier than I remember it being in the 80s. It was never "cleaned" and never had fixed pins. I think I placed two pins while leading it in the 80's. The top bolt midway up p1 is a 20+ yo Star Drive that is probably not strong enough to withstand a long fall, so be advised if you decide to run it out to the bomber jams at the roof.
From the Beach it is easy to descend this route and set up a TR. Look for a single safety bolt used to protect reaching the real anchors atop p2. Birds occasionally nest near this route in the spring. If they are around it is best to stay away.
Like many other Index routes if it was located in Yosemite it would be a world famous classic. (Only a slight bit of hyperbole)
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