BETA PHOTO: this line goes up the left face, left of the red r...
Description
The left line of bolts on the S.A.M. pillar, Now or Never traverses up and left with very cool moves from near the start of a Red Recollection. Crimpy moves take you up the steep face. It's a bit harder to stay on the face proper. Most stop at the first set of anchors over the bulge (same anchors for Red Recollection).
I've always had a hard time on this thing. I think a few holds have broken since first FA. Maybe harder now? Resist going for the left arete.
By Tom Petraitis From: Evanston, IL Sep 7, 2009 rating: 5.12a
Now or Never can be viewed as two separate routes that share the same bolt line: Line 1 (the intended line) is definitely harder and shares the same terrain up to the 3rd bolt as Line 2, and then charges directly up the face past two nasty (un-chalked) crimpers steadfastly avoiding the arete. Line 1 could arguably go 5.12a or even12b; Line 2 moves left from the third bolt branching to a jug on the arete and then a huge flake which makes for a secure fourth clip hold. After reaching the arete you are in worry-free sub-5.9 city.
The shared lower face, though it looks harder, is maybe 5.11b.
Both lines are super fun, but it appears that the easier Line 2 gets all the traffic - evidenced by the chalk trail leading to the arete versus a chalk-less face directly above that third bolt into the harder Line 1. The bump in difficulty at this juncture is enough to steer most climbers to comforts of the arete.
A short ways into the direct line (Line 1) was a chunky undercling. It broke off (9/6/09). The piece was soft, rotted, and apparently unused for a long time -- suggesting that the direct line gets little or no traffic. Despite the now-missing chunk the direct line still goes nicely -- into a nice V5 boulder section just before the chains. Highly recommended!