5.8 C1,
Aid, 400 ft (121 m), 4 pitches, Grade III,
Avg: 3.1 from 41
votes
FA: Ron Olevsky & Mike Strassman - Aug. 1983
Utah
> Southwest Utah
> Zion NP
> Organ
Organasm is an excellent intro into Zion aid climbing. At just 4 pitches, it's half the commitment of nearby neighbors
Touchstone Wall and
Spaceshot. Furthermore, pitches 1 and 4 may be free climbed at a modest 5.8 and 5.7, respectively.
P1 (5.8) Free climb 5.8 crack up pillar, past a single bolt, and continue through awkward wide section to gain a decent stance at a sling belay.
P2 (C1) Aid through a stellar roof through a splitter crack with bomber C1 placements. The crux of the route is probably cleaning this pitch, so be sure to read up on cleaning roofs BEFORE attempting (better yet, get some practice at your local area)! Continue past roof to a bolted anchor.
P3 (C2) A fairly long (150'?) pitch. Aid through second (smaller) roof and out onto arête. Straightforward nutting and good cam placements up this vertical crack, which ends on a nice ledge with bolted anchors.
P4 (5.7) Short section up easy 5.7 crack to top.
For a topo of the route, check
this out.
Descend to climbers' right via bushwack through gully to the north. Although fairly straightforward by daylight, just finding the descent gully would be difficult in the dark. Come prepared: bring a headlamp (and don't forget to check your batteries).
If pressed for time, retreat is possible from the top of pitch 2 via one double-rope rap.
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pitch 1 and 2 can be linked with a 60m rope(or less) but can cause quite the rope drag.
also, you can rap off the top of the roof pitch(the 2nd pitch) with one 60m rope(just barely). Feb 1, 2003
Flagstaff, AZ
Springdale / Zion UT / Moab
Nederland, CO
I brought some of the typical aid toys (offset micro stoppers, tricams, lowe balls, etc) and didn't use any of them. There were a few marginal placements, but they were all on normal gear (black alien was helpful). P3 ate up medium to large stoppers.
It is possible to rap from the top of P3. There is a fixed anchor on the ledge. I don't remember the specifics, but 2 bolts come to mind. It could use some new webbing. You could probably also rap from the top, but it could be ugly. You'd be rapping off a tree with the potential for snagged ropes or loose rock as you pull your rope.
P3 is long, so if you are rapping, you'll likely need two ropes.
As for avoiding problems at the lip, it is easy to keep your rope out of the main crack. There is a second smaller crack (visible in some of the images here) for much of the roof. At the lip, we clipped dirctly into a cam (0.5 Camalot?) in this crack which kept the rope out of the larger crack. Mar 28, 2009
St.George Orem Denver Vegas
Second pitch is clean and fun, you have a really good rest before the roof that will take as many 2's and 3's as you'd like to put in it. The crux is pulling out of the roof but with a perfect .75 placement in an adjacent crack to lookers right that keeps the rope out of the main crack. Followed by tight hands to the chains, it goes free and is super fun route. May 5, 2009
Las Vegas, Nevada
I was very concerned about the stability of a large hanging flake just at the start of the large roof on P2. When I brushed it to place a cam while climbing on aid, it seemed to move. I was afraid to touch it again to see how loose it really might be. There were chalk marks around its edges, so climbers obviously have been using it as a hold, but it may not be as secure as it used to be. Beware. If it falls, it could be deadly. Jun 25, 2011
Wheat Ridge
all over, mostly Utah
Wheat Ridge
Utah
Fun solo route as well
C1 if aiding, Sep 26, 2019
Iron County
Years later Peter Croft asked me about possible projects and I pointed out the route. He found it hard to believe that the roof was perfect hands or my claim that P3 was likely the free crux.
He told me he drove home very pleased. Nov 23, 2022