What's My Line? 

Great route!! --Okay Kerry's book says third-class approach and the description above says scary 4th class...Scary maybe.. .but undoubtedly 5th class. Novice parties be aware and don't be afraid to rope up if need be! --P1 w/ traverse is absolutely 5.10c and no easier...with the pendulum P1 goes at a solid 5.6+ (the R is a good call because to pendulum your second across you have to wait to sling a chicken head until you're way up (20' above bolts at least; maybe 30'-40') ...and obviously put it as close to directly above the pendulum bolts as possible)--P2 is very easy.... 5.4 at most diagonally up right--P3 a long traverse...5.6...Slinging that huge chicken head is tempting but don't do it...you'd have way too much drag...get a piece in the horizontal..clip the bolt...and get a large piece in the finishing crack on the FAR left. Put a 4' runner on this piece at least!

--sometimes the closures do end early and it is also probably possible that you haven't heard about it before...There isn't a climber handout that they pass out... You have to call the ranger station and get the update from them... This year they closed late (March 1) and remained closed through June 30... now they are open...

I was surprised at how long it took my girlfriend and me to get to the base of this climb. I'd say with scrambling it took a good 2 hours from the pay (east?) campground.

I agree that the approach is pretty scary. I also agree that with the A0 pendulum start on pitch 1 it can be pretty runout. Here is a tip if you are doing this climb A0:

The chickenheads that you pendulum to are massive. Don't sling any of them too low or your belayer will face a BIG scary pendulum start. Instead, as you climb up, you can drape your rope over the chickenheads to your left. This will provide a moderate amount of security without forcing your belayer to swan dive into the start. When you get up high enough, you can start slingin' those puppies. Beware that there is rope-cut potential with this method.

A good alternative is to use a double-rope system. Then you can start slinging chickenheads with one rope almost immediately, and leave your second rope unclipped until you are up high.

This is a great route, and is worth doing for the "3rd Class" approach alone; a quasi-rebirthing experience of sorts...

This was a great climb, as well as my first trad lead. The beginning pendulum was a little interesting. BEWARE of bad weather! I started the climb in shorts and a t-shirt and it was snowing by the third pitch!

This is a nice climb, but I would like to emphasize the approach is fairly long, and the 3rd-class slot is probably just as hard as the climb. If you plan this climb in cooler weather, and allow a full day, then the climb is very pleasurable. When you reach the slot (you will know) go ahead and rope up. Doing this will save time at the belay anchor, and although not hard, give security to step out to the anchor. It is much closer to hike up from the east side, but a little steeper. I used my cams (not needed on the first two pitches) to weight the slings (as well as hitching), then clipped another into that. This works very well, giving almost no chance for the slings to come off. At the top, DO NOT sling the tree in the corner before traversing the final slot to the top; way too much drag. If you do not have double ropes, use a DMM revolver for a little relief. As far as a rack, I only used .75 to #3 Camalots. Good route, just take your time and enjoy the view of Rockfellow Dome.

A little beta that may be good to know if ever you need to bail on this route... which we learned the hard way when a nasty storm took us by surprise. From the top of the first pitch it is nearly impossible to retreat back to the starting ledge due to the initial pendulum traverse. However, there are two massive rap anchors on the face ~30' below the start ledge (and more or less directly underneath the anchors at the top of the 1st pitch). This allows you to rappel the entire face directly to the ground using double-rope rappels (you need to be carrying 2 ropes anyway for the rap off the top). Look hard for those rap anchors... they are easily lost in the sea of chickenheads! From the lower anchors, you can rap all they way to the ground (be careful lowering through the pile of boulders at the base of the cliff).

The turn off from trail #279 is marked with a small cairn as of 12/23/06. From the west side, shortly after passing the 1 mile marker, look for a small trail descending down and to the left as the main trail switchbacks up and to the right. Follow the trail as it wanders up a drainage, going in and out periodically. On the right, you will see the Rockfellow formation, and on the left is Cochise Dome. Soon after passing a Forest Service sign about raptor closures, look for a trail off to the left (beware, there are a few). Follow this up a steep wash littered with large boulders. Leave gear at the bottom of the 3rd class approach gully to avoid repeating it.
The approach up the gully is non-trivial and certainly potentially dangerous, and while I wouldn't call it 5th class myself, roping up wouldn't be stupid if you have any doubts!

A little beta on the 10a start since it's not so obvious. The leader is on toprope the whole way, so there is no reason not to have a go at it. Climb up and clip the bolts, then climb back down to the saddle. Look down and to your right, and you'll see a lonely chickenhead way down there, that's your goal. Downclimb diagonal and to the right for quite a ways, then straight right from the chickenhead (crux). It's thin and crimpy.

I disagree with Kole; if free-climbed, the traverse start is NOT 10a, it is 10c as stated in the guidebook. It's basically 10a for first half of the moves, then it gets super thin and is 10c (esp. if you are not super tall and able to stem realllly far over to the giant chickenheads). However, I agree with him that the leader would take a short, but likely clean, pendulum fall that should be no big deal.

Also, Jordan K said you need to bring two ropes for your rappel; this is not true. Two SINGLE ROPE RAPS get you down.

Despite its 5.6 rating, I do not think this climb is good for newbies. The final portion of the approach is harder than the route itself and does indeed involve scary 4th classing plus three short sections of essentially free soloing moves. Moby Dick would be a far better choice to take the less initiated.

I did the West side approach and recommend; it is long but relatively easy and quite scenic on a good trail.

I agree, if you go straight across then I'm sure it is 10c. I started out this way and then came back to look for something easier. The 10a way downclimbs a ways, and traverses across something like 10 feet below the bolt. It still felt stiff for 10a, but thats how the guidebook I had rated it.

Like you said, this would be a very heads up climb for a beginning party. Don't be fooled by the rating. I do think new-ish climbers with a good head and good sence could pull this off safely, but I wouldn't reccomend it as a first multi-pitch climb.

On 11/18/2007 the anchor for the "lower out"/pendulum,
and the belay station at the top of P1 were upgraded
using Fixe Trad Anchors. The 1/4"er with SMC hanger at the "lower out" was pulled and a Fixe Trad Anchor was installed incorporating the existing 3/8" bolt. The old Leeper w/ 1/4" bolt at the station at the top of P1 was pulled and a Fixe Trad Anchor was installed also incorporating the existing 3/8" bolt. One bolt was left in situ to the right of the anchor for "historic purposes" and as a place to hang a pack or rope or what-have-you. The 1/4" bolt with the SMC hanger on the traverse on P3 was pulled and replaced with a 3/8" bolt and Metolius hanger.

A few details remain to be finished up: primarily patching and disguising a couple of the old holes.

Thanks to Dave Baker (first ascentionist) for his blessings on the project, to the ARI (Anchor Replacement Initiative/Climbing Magazine) and FIXE for supplying the anchors and hanger, and to Greg Barnes of the ASCA (American Safe Climbing Association) for supplying the "Tuning Forks" we used to pull the old bolts, Larry Scritchfield for supplying the drill and sharing in the labor.

...and a big thanks to Jerry Cagle for all his anchor upgrade work around southern AZ.

A topo for this climb is available at the following address:

www.geir.com/climbs.html

I checked out Jerry and Larry's work in replacing the old anchor bolts on this route, and it looks terrific! Thanks for a job well done!!

An incredible climb. It might be only 5.6 but it's one of the headiest things I've ever climbed. On pitch 1, the second tied in short and used the left over tail of the rope to lower himself off the anchor to avoid the scary pendulum. Worked like clockwork.

If anyone finds a shoe, please PM me. Unfortunately, my Biner wasn't locked and one shoe fell off my harness (probably on the last pitch chimney). Not a fun walk out.....

If you are not familiar with the area, plan on a 1.5 to 2 hour approach. It is around 5km one way. Most spots have cairns marking the way but sometimes you need to hunt or just follow footsteps. The last 15 minutes are insane. Basically scrambling over boulders then a quick chimney solo to the starting ledge. Plan for a long day with the approach as well as possible crowds. Really fun climb once you find it. You can rap off the side (climbers right) in two with one rope or a single rap with two ropes.

With a 70m rope it might be possible to build a gear anchor instead of chicken heads before the last pitch.

Guide says to bring way too many slings. My partner just ran it out as its easy climbing but even 3-4 slung heads would be OK and 5-6 excessive (in addition to an anchor). 12 dedicated slings is overkill.

GPS coordinates (WGS84 hddd.ddddd°)

Parking:
N31.92549 W109.96686

Start of 4th class approach to What's my line:
N31.92785 W109.98232

Rappel landing:
N31.92964 W109.98176