Pony Keg ascends the fist/hand crack to the left of the Whipsaw arete, and is the first crack system right of Air Guitar. Scramble to a rocky ledge about 15 feet above the trail and belay near a large boulder inscribed with a memorial to Goran Kropp.
Jam your way up Pony Keg also using incut holds in the crack and on the faces of the dihedral as you go. The route begins with small hands and gets bigger as you ascend, ending with a section of wide fists. You can frequently stem to place gear and rest, but I still had a fair pump by the time I reached the anchor (shared with Whipsaw).
Protection
A handful of larger stoppers plus cams in the 1-4" range will suffice. Leave the small stuff behind. I took 2 #3s and a #3.5 and was happy to have them at the top when the crack got wide. You might be comfortable with fewer big pieces, but running things out at Vantage is not the best idea and is particularly disconcerting on the routes near Air Guitar.
Stems and Seeds Area
RSS Feed
