Witches Brew 5.3 PG13
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Description I have seen different descriptions of Witches Brew and Witches Brew Direct. In my opinion, "Direct" is the only version worth considering. Any escape to the left of right does not make the climbing any easier, and you miss the best part of the climb.
Due to the length of the climb, the first time I did this I did it in two pitches, setting up a belay on the loose ledges at the base of the chimney. Don't do this. There is tons of loose rock on these ledges, rope management here sends showers of rocks down on to your belayer. I strongly suggest leading this climb in one long 160-foot pitch. the climbing is very easy, use some longer slings.
Climb the crack system using larger gear to the base of the Witches Brew Chimney (5.3). Climb the chimney--the key piece of pro will be on the south wall of the chimney--horizontal crack takes a pink Tri-cam or small C4.
Do not climb to the top of the chimney. You will get trapped under a chockstone. Instead, climb about 2/3 way up, then exit the chimney by stepping around the north corner onto the sunny exposed face to the left of the chimney (5.4-5.5). Easy climbing to the top.
PS. Please do not tie two ropes together and use this climb as a top tope. This is a nice easy lead for aspiring trad climbers. It doesn't make sense to tope rope such an easy climb.
Location At the far left (north) side of the Main Wall there is a small buttress--20 feet left of that there is a large tree at the base of a major crack system. This large crack system is 30-40 left of the small Main Street crack. If you back up to the railroad tracks you'll see the crack ends in a ledge area with lots of loose, broken rock and then directly above that there is a nice chimney finish.
Protection There is a large tree on top to use as a belay. Walk off or use a two-rope rappel. A single 60M rappel will not make the ground.
Good view of Witches Brew
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good view of the chimney.
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BETA PHOTO: main wall at Chickies
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By Frank T
Jun 20, 2009
rating: 5.4 PG13
| Good description! this was my first lead at Chickies. Be careful of rope drag and you can get to the top in one long pitch. helmets are a must! |
By Larry S
Jun 30, 2010
| A good fun climb. Possible belay right where it starts to really slab in or right at the base of the chimney. Or run it straight to the top. Large hexes (7-10) fit PERFECT in this climb. A .75 and a #1 camalot help protect the chimney and moves around onto the face. I recommend the #1 in the chockstone with a long sling and then traverse left out to the face. The moves are easy, but without that a fall here would probably get you pretty well hurt. |
By Tyrel Fuller
From: Denver, CO
Jan 27, 2011
rating: 5.0 PG13
| there is an old piton near the top of the chimney , just above the horizontal. |
By Paul Chrastina
Mar 29, 2011
| Unless things have changed since the early 80s, stemming to the top of the chimney and pulling out and over the chockstone is hard, but not impossible. |
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