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The Beach, Right Side

California > Eastern Sierra > Lone Pine Area > Whitney Portal

Description

The routes on the right side of the Beach could be grouped under the Beach, but the wall has a completely different feel than the standard Beach routes so seperating them out seems to make some sense.

Unlike the left side of the Beach these routes are longer, steeper, and more continuous. The climbing on whole is quite good, with a nice mix of small knobs, edges, and pimples.

The base of the right side is a stellar hang, flat, trees for shade, nice views, hard to beat.

A single 70m works for all routes.

In spite of the trend in recent years to call anything with bolts "sport" climbing the routes here are called "trad" since they were all done ground up. The routes are all reasonably protected, some even well protected, but for the most part the bolts aren't every body length.

(Take the star ratings with a grain of salt, as the area author may have a biased opinion - but some of them are pretty good.)

Getting There

The standard Beach approach.

Routes from Left to Right

5.11c 6c+ 24 VIII- 24 E4 6a
 1
● Shark Bait
Trad
5.12b 7b 26 VIII+ 26 E5 6b
 5
● Riptide
Trad
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a
 6
● Schrodinger's Cat
Trad 3 pitches
5.11d 7a 24 VIII 25 E5 6a
 1
● Flotsam
Trad 2 pitches
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a
 1
● Keelhauled
Trad 2 pitches
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a
 1
● Message In a Bottle
Trad 2 pitches
5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c
 3
● Crystal Voyage
Trad 2 pitches
5.11d 7a 24 VIII 25 E5 6a
 2
● Assume the Position
Sport
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a
 1
● Lowest Common Denominator
Trad
Route Name Location Star Rating Difficulty Date
● Shark Bait
 1
5.11c 6c+ 24 VIII- 24 E4 6a Trad
● Riptide
 5
5.12b 7b 26 VIII+ 26 E5 6b Trad
● Schrodinger's Cat
 6
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a Trad 3 pitches
● Flotsam
 1
5.11d 7a 24 VIII 25 E5 6a Trad 2 pitches
● Keelhauled
 1
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a Trad 2 pitches
● Message In a Bottle
 1
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a Trad 2 pitches
● Crystal Voyage
 3
5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c Trad 2 pitches
● Assume the Position
 2
5.11d 7a 24 VIII 25 E5 6a Sport
● Lowest Common Denominator
 1
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a Trad

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Josh Janes

[Hide Comment] A couple questions:

What time does this wall go into the shade? Does "Tree Line" see shade as well?

Can Crystal Voyage be rappelled with a single 70m as indicated here (the book calls for two ropes)?

Cheers! Jul 7, 2015
Darrell Hensel
[Hide Comment] I was going up there during the summer and the routes would go into the shade at right around 4:00. Kind of late, but if it's staying light till 8 still enough time to get some things done.

I would assume Tree Line would also get some shade. I'm more familiar with the specifics of when shade starts on the right side so I can't say for sure when or how good.

For Crystal Voyage, I'm quite sure I remember being able to get off with a single rope by going to the Assume The Position anchor and then doing a second rapp. The guide reflects what we did on the FA, which was a single rapp. I did say a single 70m would work, and I think it was due to the two rapp option. It has been a while since I did it - so to be safe - eyeball the distances involved before starting. I do think it works with a single rope and two rapps though. Jul 7, 2015
Josh Janes

[Hide Comment] Thanks much Darrell - looking forward to a first visit to the beach! Jul 8, 2015