Home - Destinations - People - Partners - Forum - Photos - What's New
 ADVANCED
Walt's Wall
Show routes:
Select route...
Edward's Crack 
Foolishness 
Fourth Of July Crack(Hard Promises) 
Friction Slide 
Satterfield's Crack 
Walt's Wall Route 
Water Streak II 
Weak Become Heroes 

Satterfield's Crack 

5.8

   
1 person found this page useful

FA: Unknown
Type: Trad
Consensus: 5.8+ [details]
Views: 1,232 page views

Submitted By: William Prehm on Aug 2, 2001


Add Photo  Add Comment 

You and this route  |  Other Opinions (13)
Your todo list:
Your stars:
Your rating: -none- [change]
Your ticklist: [add new tick]
 Printer Friendly View

Satterfields crack going up the break between Walt...


Description 

This route follows the corner crack of the large dihedral between the Coke Bottle and Walt's Wall. The first section the corner crack is very wide until you reach the top of some large boulders. The guidebook recommends belaying here but I choose to continue climbing (60m rope). After the large boulder starts a lieback/jam section. I found the footing to be a little slick and polished through here. The last fifteen feet of this pitch is a chimney. Belay from the top of the chimney. There is a 5.9 variation to the last 15' section that goes out left around the large chocked boulder.


Protection 

This route is easy to protect with a rack up to a #4 Camalot. Bring two ropes for the rappel from the top of Water Streak II or walk off the back. At the top of Walt's Wall veer off to the right and follow the drainage down for the walk off.



Add Photo Photos of Satterfield's Crack
A good look at where the two walls join forming Satterfields Crack

A good look at where the two walls join forming Sa...

Getting started

Getting started

Looking down from the top

Looking down from the top

Climbing the first pitch on a beautiful August day.

Climbing the first pitch on a beautiful August day...

Chris Parks climbs Satterfield's Crack (5.8). Photo by Tony Bubb, 2004

Chris Parks climbs Satterfield's Crack (5.8). Phot...

Chris Parks follows the more strenuous and exposed finish to Satterfield's Crack (5.9?). Photo by Tony Bubb, 2004.

Chris Parks follows the more strenuous and exposed...


Add Comment Comments on Satterfield's Crack
Show which comments
By Ben Mottinger
Founding Father
Aug 3, 2001

This fun chimney/offwidth can be done as one pitch w/ a 50m. I would highly recommend the "Bolder Exit" variation since it keeps the route in a direct line and has some exposed moves to finish. Solid for 5.9 but it can be protected nicely with a 0.5 friend--so don't leave all the small stuff at home.

By Tony Bubb
From: Boulder, CO
Jul 7, 2002

I and my partner both would have both called this a 3-star climb if climbed in a single pitch and finishing with the 5.9 (+) boulder exit. The climb will be a little runout unless you have large protection for the large crack. We're talking bigger than a #4 camalot folks.

By Barrett Cooper
Aug 28, 2003

I got to watch my #4 Camalot walk out of the large crack above the first belay. Makes you feel good to hear it clinking down below you. If you place the gear deeper it is a lot easier to find placements for smaller gear, #2-#4 cams. Just bring a lot of 24" slings to make life easier. We did this in one pitch with a 200' rope without any real problems with rope drag. Going through the cave/offwidth section at the end really sucked. If possible I would say go with the boulder exit to the left of the cave exit. My partner turned himself around in the cave/offwidth section and he said he had an easier time of getting up the last 20 feet. Just an option to try.

By Anonymous Coward
Aug 29, 2003

Likely FA information: Chuck Satterfield, who guided in the Tetons in the 60s or so before ultimately settling in the eastern sierra.

This route was reported to have scared the pants off of Chuck's son (and then-Boulder resident) who led it about eight years ago, before embarking on his own guiding and first ascending career in the Sierras.

By Barrett Cooper
Aug 29, 2003

If you take the boulder exit to the left of the big protruding boulder at the top of the first picture, you come out on a ledge with the belay, rap anchors. Otherwise if you take the cave/offwidth route right of the boulder you will either need to set up a belay station and walk on a narow sloping ledge over to the rap anchors, or belay someone over since the exosure is a little high even though you can literally walk to the rap anchors form there. If you have two ropes you can get to the ground from these anchors, otherwise a 200' rope will get you to a set of chain anchors on Walts Route's 5.4 section about 80' below you and to the climbers left.

Also if you rap off the anchors a tthe top of Satterfields with two ropes, watch out for getting the ropes snagged on the boulders right os the first anchors on Walts route. We had three groups in a row get their ropes caught up there when rapping. When you look at it you will realize it might be easier just to do the two raps to get down.

By Tyson S Arp
Nov 7, 2006

#6 and #7 tricams work real nice in the second pitch corner before reaching the offwidth. By supplementing cams to 4.5 with the two tricams, the route protected very well!

Yes, the sqeeze chimney finish is a bitch. Some people are gonna love it and most will despise it. I'm in the former category. If you get scared, look behind you about half way up the thing and you will find a crack that accepts a small cam.

By climber73
From: Fort Collins, CO
May 12, 2007
rating: 5.9-

This route feels like old school 5.8. I haven't been ejected off a 5.8 in a while and the start of this one got me. I love routes like this!!! A red C3 protects the start very nicely and kept me from ground fall. It is possible to rap with one rope if you catch the rap station about 40' from the ground and 15' to rappeller's left on the way down from the rap station at the top of this route (look for the small sandy ledge). If you do a double rope rap, watch out for the top of the flake about 40' up from the ground along the fall line of the rope. This feature tends to catch ropes quite often. It caught 2 while we were there today!! This rope catching feature can be avioded with 2 single rope raps.