The belay on Mystic and the Mulchers. The crux is...
Description
Low angled face climbing along a finger crack that eats small wired stoppers best describes this climb. It's better to approach from the east side as the more direct or western line encounters steeper, vegetated and generally disgusting terrain.
From the pleasant, flat staging area under New Wave and Broken Tree move right two cracks beyond the start of Everlasting to the Mulchers crack start. Meander up the low angle crack plugging in small wireds at will. The crack steepens near the top and the crux comes just above a mini-roof by a bolt. The 3 bolt belay is just above on a nice flat platform for the feet, 150 ft. 5.8-. Rap the route.
The northeast corner area of the tower is great for a day full of climbing. It offers a veritable cornucopia of terrific one pitch classics.
Protection
Lots of wired stoppers. Some cams up to 2.5 Friend size.
By John Gunnels From: Gillette, WY Aug 6, 2004 rating: 5.8
For the "intermediate" leader: If the North Face and New Wave look like I-90 during peak tourist season, the give this route a try. Very nice moves with great pro... just pay close attention to the vegetation down low. It tends to grow quite thick...
I do not agree that the pro on this route is great. The pro is decent. The climb is not quite runout, but the crack is discontinuous and you may have to go 15 to 20 feet above a piece before you get another good spot to set pro. There is some hollow sounding rock on the route, and I avoided some holds that looked good but did not pass the tap test. I would recommend this climb to people who are very comfortable on 5.8. Also, the crux at the end of the route is protected by a bolt. When you are at the bolt you are going to start wondering where the anchors are. You will see a two bolt anchor up and to the right, these are not your anchors. Your anchors cannot be seen because the are hidden by a bulge. Dont despair, the are 15 or 20 feet directly above the bolt and you will find them shortly.
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