[Hide Comment] This climb isn't too hard to complete in a day, but it is EXTREMELY POPULAR and you are likely to get stuck behind slow parties learning aid climbing. We fixed no ropes and reached the top just behind a party who was on their 3rd day on the route! Probably the best reason to fix pitches is to "reserve" the route, by some unwritten rule.

This is one of the most obvious routes from the road, and the tour buses love to point out climbers on it. When climbing the route, it seems there is always a tour bus moving slowly or parked below you. Nov 8, 2002

[Hide Comment] If I could make a recommendation...

This route is perfect for speed. We simul-climbed the first 3 easy pitches, regrouped at the base of the main wall, then simul-aided the remaining 5 pitches to the summit, going 8 hours base-to-base. It was very smooth and solid the whole way. Not only do you not need overnight gear, cut your rack down a bit, and leave the pig in the car, but nobody has to get bored belaying or jugging a single line! We climbed about 50-60 feet apart. My partner Ryan Sayers carried a small backpack with about a gallon of water and our approach shoes. I still trailed a haul line, which Ryan passed through a biner on his harness. When I needed gear, he just sent it up the haul line and I kept going. The only stops we had were waiting at a couple of the belays to pass! I don't know that I could ever simul-aid on C3, but C1 was a joke! With almost entirely bomber placements (except for a few micronuts in the 15-foot section of C2), I felt very in control. We always had 10-12 great pieces between us, and often a belay.

I used to think all those speed techniques were more dangerous, and I think sometimes they are. But in this case, it was much faster, much less of a hassle, more enjoyable since we didn't have to rush at all, and JUST AS SAFE!! And having less gear even made the rappels a breeze.

Just a thought... Nov 12, 2002

[Hide Comment] Yeah, we topped out just after dark as well. We found the raps okay, but it was a little confusing at that one middle spot. It involved a little scary scrambling when it was too dark to see what we were walking into. Then again, we did it in a half-day so no bags. Having just a light rack and 2 ropes probably made it a bit easier. I certainly wouldn't be excited about doing it with a heavy pig in the dark! Feb 27, 2003

[Hide Comment] I can't believe no one commented on the first rap. It was (to paraphrase from a Simpson's episode) the WORST RAPPEL EVER. YMMV, but I first threw our ropes into a patch of cactus, then they got tangled all to shit later by all the bushes and tree branches. It was really fun running our hands down the ropes four more times and getting cactus everywhere.

Great route, but not stellar. Apr 5, 2003

[Hide Comment] Climbed this route over spring break. I thought it was a prettier line to look at than to climb, but none the less a good time overall. There's no need to simu-climb any of it since we were back to the car by 5 and started just after first light. Short fixing would be a good way to make the aid pitches go quicker. Comments on the free climbing: the upper pitches in guidebook listed as 5.10 seemed a bit on the sandbag side. The first one is .5 and .75 camalot size, usually not a desert 5.10 size. The second "5.10" pitch featured an overhanging #2 camalot crack that went through several small roofs and was very strenous, but good fun!One of the pins on the final bolt ladder sheared under bodyweight just after our ascent. Not sure how it is to get by now. Also, there was a party spending 3 days on this route over a spring break weekend. Have a little more respect out there, or at least let people pass. Pretty lame! Apr 14, 2003

[Hide Comment] How would this wall be for soloing? I haven't soloed a wall yet, but I have to go out to Vegas for a wedding and thought this might make a nice diversion. Is it easy to solo in a day or do you really have to be hauling ass? I actually suck at aiding, so I'm probably slower than most parties on this beast, but ya gotta take it up a notch at some point, I guess..

Also, I've only climbed in Zion in March and APril. Is mid May gonna be too hot? May 4, 2003

[Hide Comment] I climbed it in a day with a partner but I don't think I could make it in a day solo. It's certainly possible, especially if you can free the upper 5.10 pitches and are a fast solo aider. But I wouldn't try it unless you are really fast at both aiding and soloing. The first few pitches would be a pain to rope solo, although they could be done quickly free solo. No way would I free solo them, I almost fell off one of them on lead! Although technically easy, the rock is sandy and there's tons of loose rock around. Plus you would be carrying 2 ropes and a rack!

The heat is probably OK in mid-May, plus you get max daylight. Touchstone would be a more reasonable solo, especially if you fix the bottom 2 pitches or so. May 5, 2003

[Hide Comment] How do the 6th and 7th pitches compare with the standard 5.10 at Indian Creek? If a person is free climbing those pitches is there a certain number of cams per size that you should take?

Thanks for the info.

Oct 23, 2003

[Hide Comment] I remember placing many #1&2 camalots, the start of the first 5.10 pitch is likely sand bagged. Oct 24, 2003

[Hide Comment] Mike and AC,

Thanks. I should get up there sometime in the next few months to give this thing a whirl. I would like to free that pitch as I have heard that it is very good.

Take care,

Will Nov 7, 2003

[Hide Comment] Comment regarding Luke and Andrew's ascent: I don't remember it being necessary to sling the bush (as shown in your photo)and subject it to the forces of jugging. Sure, in moments of desperation we sometimes need to grab onto bushes or sling them for pro, but climbers please show a little respect to the fragile desert vegetation and don't use bushes and trees as fixed gear if it's not needed. Thanks. Nov 19, 2003

[Hide Comment] Especially seeing as it's inches away from a fatty crack. Nov 20, 2003

[Hide Comment] Cool picture, though. Anytime the road looks that far away it's good! Nov 20, 2003

[Hide Comment] Just climbed this route a couple of days ago. Excellent route, really fun, straightforward. The exposure is spectacular and really cool. Unless you want to "leap-frog" cams, bring 4-5 each size .75-3.0 Camalots. The descent is easy, although it may be hard to find the stations in the dark. Mar 22, 2004

[Hide Comment] So, we fixed to p2 and did the rest the next day, but had to wait for the other party behind us (they needed our ropes to rap) so we ended up bivying on the top in winter. It was frigid, but at about 4 am Magic Fingers ripped up his new guide book and started a fire with our last match. Not quite kosher without a fire permit--but, damn, Fingers was my hero.

Also, be really careful of verglas on the descent gullies to the rap stations in Winter. Ben slipped and fell with the pig on his back and almost slid off the edge. No fun. Be safe. Oct 28, 2004

[Hide Comment] Did this route last weekend and agree its better to look at than to climb. Fun positions but only OK climbing. i feel that there could be some upgrading of the harware on the route as well. Easy to do in a day as well. the crux is getting worse every year plaese clean resposibly on desert routes. Nov 7, 2007

[Hide Comment] Good forum discussion about strategies for soloing this route

solo attempt on space shot Feb 25, 2008

[Hide Comment] If aiding. I found that p6 took .75 camalot more than anything else. P7 took #2 camalot more than anything else. Don't give 'em up. Dec 7, 2009

[Hide Comment] This route has been freeclimbed @ 13a R (with a slight variation), ground up, in a day. FFA:Mike and Mark Anderson Apr 12, 2010

[Hide Comment] The free variations are on the 4th pitch and just above the earth orbit ledge.. To the right of bolt ladder is a 7ish bolted wandering 5.13- face, that trverses back in to the tips crack. It is HIGHLY recommend to use twin ropes or 48inch runners on the bolts Apr 12, 2010

[Hide Comment] We went to climb this via Fix & Fire.

We intended to fix all the way to the top of P4 - per the supertopo lengths. You can fix the first two pitches with a 60m (4th class and chimney pitch) - we had a 70m but there was plenty of rope. When you fix it, move right on the way down and clip it into the Alpine Start anchor too - makes for a nicer jug with no debris. P4 (bolt ladder to C2) off the ledge is listed as 90' in the topo. Well, it was more like 130' as I was WAY past half on my 60m. About the time I was finishing the pitch and wondering what shenanigans I was going to use to get us back to the top of P2, a soloist came up behind us intending to fix to the top of P3. So we ended up using 3 ropes to fix to the down (P4, P3, P2/P1 via Alpine Start anchor). So i DO NOT KNOW if you can fix all the way for P4-P2 with a 60m - anyone?

P1 - 5.6 move to 4th class rubble
P2 - Fun and clean 5.7 chimney with lots of holds
P3 - I moved right into a fun 5.6 groove thing.
P4 - STREEEEEETCH, bolt, hook, lots of bolts, bomber nuts..... and then pause. Seems like a definite C2 bit on this pitch now. I leapfrogged bodyweight black & red tricams for about 10-15' above a bomber #1 camalot. Some more C1, and then a few thin placements again. I know no idea why the belay is 10' above a nice ledge! Like I said, long pitch - maybe 130'?
P5 - I didn't lead this pitch, but seemed like bomber C1 to about 10-15' of C2.
P6 - #0.5 camalot to #1 camalot crack jugging. Heavy on the #0.5 camalots to green camalots.
P7 - #1 camalot to #4 camalot crack jugging. Heavy on the #2s and #3s.
P8 - Fun! Easy but exciting free climbing with a few bolts and optional gear gets you below the bolt ladder. Bring a single set of cams and some offset nuts on this piece. Big piece optional. There is a nice long stretch between a couple bolts/pins down low. I had to hunt, but two offset nuts got me up. Dodgy pins for a while - and I also placed an alien and camalot to make some moves between bolts. And then the top out wierdness. I placed a #3 camalot as directional, and tagged up a big cam to move into the easy free climbing to the anchor.

Descent was absolutely trivial in the daylight. A worn path leads between all the rappels. I think the first rap can be done with a single 60m, but all the rest are doubles. The supertopo is spot on.

Anyone see the CRAZY chockstone that is next to the second to last rap anchors. Is that NEW???? It won't last forever! Heck, it looks like your knot could pull it off!

Fun route and we enjoyed it. The two C1 crack pitches are kind of boring for an aid climber, but all the other pitches were fun. Next time I'll free climb the 5.10 crack to EO ledge.


Have fun!

Gear: here is what we had and it was plenty.

• 2x set of medium to big offset nuts
• 2x set of new DMM HB offsets (down to like a #3 or so, I don't remember)
• Black, Pink, Red tricam
• One set finger size offset aliens (black to red)
• One set regular aliens (black, blue, yellow, red)
• 3 x #.5 camalot
• 4 x #0.75 camalot
• 4 x #1 camalot
• 4 x #2 camalot
• 4 x #3 camalot
• 1 x #3.5 camalot (could just bring another #3)
• 2 x #4 camalot
• 1 x #5 camalot (totally optional, but makes the final move an aid move not a free move)
• Red and yellow link cam (also optional, but made the crack jugging easier)

You could get by with less camalots, you'll just have a long way between pieces on P6/P7. We still leapfrogged a fair bit.

As of April, 2010 - most the fixed hardware has been upgraded. There are plenty of bad pins on the last pitch, but every once in a while you get a fat bolt. Apr 18, 2010

[Hide Comment] I made an effort to solo Spaceshot starting at 10 pm on October 13th, and finally touching ground again at 2 am on the 15th. I had to bail from Earth Orbit Ledge due to what appeared to be a missing pin on the last bolt ladder. It was dark, and I was exhausted, but couldn't manage to see a way to hook past the spot with the missing pin.

Rapping the route was epic, but possible, and required doing the first rap three four times before I was finally able to pull the line. The first go was to place directionals and get to the lower anchor and secure the end of the rope as a pull line. The second rap was to get the haul bag down. The third rap was supposed to be the final rap of the ledge, but the knot got caught up on the ledge (I had to set a natural anchor above where the headwall crack tops out on the ledge). The final rap was successful by rapping on a single 70 meter rope, doubled over - it barely was long enough.

The rappel to the next anchor also required some rigging, but the remaining were manageable with minor penjies, with the haul bag clipped to my harness.

In speaking with two guys who went up after I did, they were able to top step through the spot with the pulled bolt. I guess I just wasn't feeling that brave at the time, and was pretty trashed at that point anyway.

In retrospect, I should have unloaded some of the weight of the rack, etc. and tried to make the moves through the bolt ladder. Had I known the rappel would be so epic, I would have scratched out hand holds with my finger nails!! Glad to hear the top can still be done even with the missing pin! Let me know if you've got any questions about gear.

I found a .5 tri-cam critical, probably could have used a #1 too, but didnt' have one on me. 3 or 4 #1 & #2 camalots would have been nice for the upper head wall pitches. Things get pretty run out without them. I never found a spot for my #4 camalot, but did place my #3.5 just to get it off my rack. I could have done without it. HB offsets are nice to have, the #1 C3 camalot proved indespensible. It would have been nice to have tcu's for the shallower placements, but was able to manage with Metolius FCU's - but a few of the placements were a little unnerving - being solo, I wasn't down on blowing a piece and taking a whipper.

Enjoy! Oct 17, 2010

[Hide Comment] good thread. good beta. it was my first aid climb. we did it the first week of December. We climbed the first 3 pitches about 3pm and left gear on the ledge atop P3. we returned the next morning in the dark at about 6am. batman/jugged to the ledge and then continued to climb the route in a day. topped out about 6pm in the pitch black. following the standard rappel descent we got back to the truck about 10pm. it's pretty much, a kick ass, intro climb. Oct 28, 2010

[Hide Comment] Awesome route. We brought a triple set of cams up to a 3 BD, but you could use more .75 and 2 BD sizes. You can use a big cam on this route but you don't really need it. There is enough gear beta already posted refer to previous comments. 1st 3 pitches suck too haul and sleeping on earth orbit ledge is uncomfortable. However, there is a good bivy after you top out. Have fun its a great route. Dec 13, 2011

[Hide Comment] Just thought I'd add some info while its fresh in my mind.

We fixed the first four pitches with three ropes on day one, as follows: One 60m rope to the top of the chimney (end of P2), clipped through the Alpine start anchor as previously suggested. This rap is about 185-190 feet of rope. Then we fixed from there to the top of P3, I think it was about 100-120 foot. Then another fixed line to the anchor above the "bowl" which is the end of pitch 4. As previously mentioned, this is around 125-130 feet. This method used three fixed lines. We had the idea of fixing to the halfway point of pitch 5, the intermediary anchor that you tension off of, which other people will probably also consider. I don't think you can make it though on a 60m rope, but a 70m would reach for sure and make for a quick day two.

Day two we jugged up those three lines which was pretty easy, and hauled, also easy now on the fixed line route. The hauling day one through the actual free climbing pitches is a nightmare in comparison.

Pitch 5 is the crux of the route because its lots of small offset nuts, the last part of the pitch took us awhile. Pitch 6 and 7 are really easy camalot pitches, but I'm happy I had five purple, green, red, and yellow camalots to make it easier for my follower. Otherwise there will either be lots of swinging, or lots of back cleaning for the follower. The last pitch my partner led, and he was able to top step his aider past the sheered off (missing) piton. It should be noted that it still took him awhile to get up high enough to make the clip, and he is over 6 feet tall. Looking at it while I came up, I'm pretty sure there is a pod that could either take a ballnut or a grey C3. Alternatively, I think there is a good hand hold on the left side flake that you could use to step on top of the lower pin itself. I'm 5'7 and happy I didn't have to figure this part out. Some people have mentioned bringing a big cam to aid the freeclimbing bit at the very end of P8, but its pretty trivial moves on a rail. You only have to free climb for about 5 feet to get to another placement, not sure its worth the weight to bring along a number five cam just for this. The chimney pitch (P2) could use one or two number four camalots but otherwise unnecessary on the route.

We did the descent in the dark, there is a worn climbers train with occasional cairns. There was one point where the trail goes onto a slab, you have to make some third class slab moves to get past that and back on trail (generally going lower on the slabs). The trails lead to the first rappel tree, which is a 150' tall ponderosa. The first rappel is almost exactly 100 feet. You could do it safely with a single 60m rope, the landing is pretty flat and bushy. Another trail at the plumb point of that rappel leads a few hundred feet over to the first double rope rappel station. The next station is also easy to find, its on a platform. The station after that is to the right of the left facing corner, on a peculiar airy chock stone. The next station you have to rappel (~180ft) down to the huge ledge and walk over to, there is a beaten path over to it, but it is harder to locate than any of the others. From their you rap to the ground and walk a few minutes out to the road.

Have fun and be careful. Feb 15, 2012

[Hide Comment] Outstanding route! Thought the crux was slightly harder than the crux on Prodigal Sun. Have fun and enjoy the swing! Dec 8, 2012

[Hide Comment] only one hook (any normal type of hook) necessary and pitch 4 is not 90 feet per the supertopo, it's exactly 40 meters.

Gets sun around 10:30 in late jan/early feb Feb 6, 2013

[Hide Comment] Regarding the swing on the last pitch: On March 19, 2014 my partner opted to take the swing following on pitch 8 after reading about it being "highly recommended" in the description here. This put a core shot in our rope and gave my partner hanging on the end of it a serious scare. It also made the double rope descent more interesting. On the 8th pitch the second must self belay across the ledge to where the bolt ladder begins or else they are risking disaster. Mar 28, 2014

[Hide Comment] Completed Spaceshot a few days ago. I've done several other walls in Zion in Yosemite and for all the other gumbies out there, here's some beta: Don't listen to all the "C1 is boring...yada...yada", "super crusier", "take the rope swing" spray. This route requires some fuckery and the anchor situation (usually 2 drilled angles connected by old tat) combined with how far the route leans to the right means it's easier/safer to top out than bail. Approach it with respect.

Some of the fixed gear is missing/broken (several pins have sheared off) and require creativity to get around. Bring hooks and be ready to top step and bust a move. To say all the gear is "bomber" is stretching the truth a bit (several tiny brass nuts in sandstone in a row?)

Semi-comfortable bivys can be had at the Rebozo Pillar and Earth Orbit Ledge or just before the top of the route after the "bolt ladder" on P8. Walking off in the dark would require luck. There certainly isn't a footpath.

Routes change over time and many of these comments are around ten years old. Maybe it's not getting as much traffic as it used to. Let the criticism begin but from reading above, one would imagine this is a clip up. We sure felt challenged. Oct 11, 2014

[Hide Comment] Listen to what Matt says above. The final pitch has missing pins, so it will require some funkery and/or hooks to get past the missing pin(s). You don't want to be stranded at the belay atop p7 thinking about how to retreat. Overall, the route is nice if you can make the hanging belays comfy. Fix to p4 and then do it in a day. Hauling pigs would suck. Oct 17, 2014

[Hide Comment] The C2 pitches on this climb (p4 and p5) eat X4 offsets and DMM offset nuts. It almost feels like cheating.

We were able to bypass the missing pin on p8 with some excellent offset nut placements. C1+ or C2 maybe. Nov 10, 2014

[Hide Comment] There are several comments regarding sheared pins on the final pitch bolt ladder. There's currently just one though a bomber grey C3 will easily get you past this spot. Nov 20, 2014

[Hide Comment] anyone know what the story is with the fixed faded green rope on pitch four? another over to the side near base- someone working on route to the left, assortment of gear too. We were up there mid Oct.2016. Oct 29, 2016

[Hide Comment] My solo aid climb - Beta info
youtube.com/watch?v=qI87Duo… Apr 29, 2017

[Hide Comment] Has this route been freed? Jun 16, 2017

[Hide Comment] Hank, it was freed by Mark and Mike Anderson in 2005 and goes at 5.13a.

Here's an article with some more info rockandice.com/climbing-new… Jun 19, 2017

[Hide Comment] Bolt on anchor for pitch 5 is pretty flexy. In my opinion it could stand some attention. Nov 23, 2017

[Hide Comment] Is there anyone out there who would be opposed to me beefing up the anchors on this rig? I find it very odd that nearly the whole bolt ladder has been retro bolted but every anchor, aside from the one on top of the bolt ladder pitch, is still just 2 drilled angles. I have the hardware and am willing to do the work. Just thinking 1 bolt per anchor is adequate. Jan 7, 2018

[Hide Comment] Pitch 5 has gotten harder since the last time I was up there about 5 years ago. Carrying 2 blue slider nuts, and a grey C3 would be prudent. If you blow it on that pitch you're looking at a 40 footer. Pitch 5 is much more difficult than pitch 4. Crux moves felt harder than the crux on the shield but ymmv. Apr 15, 2018

[Hide Comment] Greg is right the crux on P5. Definitely way harder and more time consuming than any other C2 I've done. Offset micro nuts, smallest cams, and offset cams make it go May 15, 2018

[Hide Comment] Rope soloed on May 15/16, sleeping at the bivy behind the pinnacle. It got pretty hot in the afternoon, but was bearable. Pitch 5 was pretty blown out, it would've been nice to have a set of offsets. Lots of tiny nuts, tricams, and a talon got me through most of the tough stuff. Tricky move on the last pitch just past the roof, I had to hook past it. The exposure was unreal... Descent was easy to find but a pain in the ass getting through all the bushes. Rap anchors were mostly two pitons with webbing.

The crux of the whole experience may very well have been getting the pig up the first three pitches. free solo pitch one, 1 60m will get from top of pitch 2 to the ground for hauling. May 17, 2018

[Hide Comment] AL - If you are going to beef up the anchors, and I think you should, you might also move the P4 anchor down 10 feet. It's really silly to have a hanging belay 10 feet above that large sloping ledge. May 29, 2018

[Hide Comment] I've heard a couple different opinions on this from mostly unreliable sources, but can I make the descent rappels with just one 70m line? It sounds like there's a ~180' rappel, but is there any sort of intermediate anchor to break that up or do we just need to haul a second rope up for the long rappel(s)? My buddy and I are looking to do this in a few weeks and don't want to find ourselves screwed on the descent slabs cause the raps are too long and we only brought 1 line. Thanks! Sep 10, 2018

[Hide Comment] I would not go up a route this exposed without two ropes. If an unnounced rain storm shows up, you may be a rescue. In fact, I would hesitate to climb many of Zion routes without a second line Sep 11, 2018

[Hide Comment] I would think the walk off/Standard Rappels are still the way to go Sep 11, 2018

[Hide Comment] @stevie They're not cragging routes, unless you're good. It's zion, they're alpine routes. Ya gotta commit at some point buddy Sep 21, 2018

[Hide Comment] alpine routes? say what? Sep 21, 2018

[Hide Comment] Just trying to minimize possible future rescues. Sep 21, 2018

[Hide Comment] If free climbing, the finger crack (just after the face climbing crux pitch) can be taken past the hanging anchor and crack switch to a ledge above the OW pod. This makes it a proper stance-to-stance 35m free climbing pitch. Lowering back down to the hanging belay to yo-yo the next pitch, resuming free climbing at the no hands stance, is advisable so you aren't doing the unprotected traverse immediately off a gear belay. Nov 20, 2018

[Hide Comment] Good luck on P5. Not C2 anymore... Jun 2, 2019

[Hide Comment] Was on this climb last week. ( Early June, 2019). Got up to pitch 5 and was unable to continue due to blown out placements. I did not have any offset cams or offset stoppers or ballnuts..just standard aid rack. I am sure better aid climbers than myself with some of the newer designed cams can get up this pitch.. I could not. On a popular route that has had many many ascents, the sandstone placements get blown out. Reading comments on this page of 30- 60 foot falls is a bit concerning ....probably not c2 anymore. Not my cup if tea. I don't know what the solution to the blown out placements, but the route seems to change year to year, no doubt. Bolts? Back to using pins? With the harder placements will come more and longer falls, further damaging the already damaged placements, especially with falls rip pieces out of damaged/ shallow placements. I was disappointed I could not finish a climb because of damaged rock. Jun 8, 2019

[Hide Comment] Some one mentioned doctoring up the anchors and rappels was curious if this happened? Oct 4, 2019

[Hide Comment] If you find yourself cruxing out on the C2 crux, it is impolite to take out your frustration of the situation on the friendly climbing party who is coming up behind you, lashing out at remarks such as "what a beautiful day it is out here, huh?" with "shut the fuck up, freak," is just poor form. Rethink your decisions and stick to the climbing gym if you feel such a powerful possession and some ownership to being there. Go home. It ruins others experiences who are playing nice with you despite the fact that you are totally hosing them.

Also- anchors have not been spruced up. Great route, as far as we made it. Bailed after pitch 5 due to said climbing team not being exactly the nicest. Nov 3, 2019

[Hide Comment] Climbed 12/13 in just under 8 hrs, 10 hrs car-to-car. Great route to practice short-fixing, as every belay except for the first 3 pitches/final pitch is hanging (Belay seat was still super nice to have). Crux is easily protected with some ball nuts and creative tricams. You're gonna want 3x #1s, #2s, and #3s for the upper pitches. You really should have a go at freeing p.6 and p.7, super clean falls, bomber pro, and beautiful crack. A word on tat anchors/rappels - why do climbers think it's ok to continuously add more and more tat to a tree already loaded with shit tat? Bring a knife and spend $5 on some tubular webbing, cut off the old crap, and install ONE new piece of tat. It's so cheap and easy. Rappels are easy to find, you're gonna want to hike like a quarter mile SE once you top out, and look for the tree with the brand new shiny red tat on it. Be prepared to wrestle a bunch of annoying bushes on the raps. Was still cold in December, but when that sun came up it was super comfortable. Dec 15, 2020

[Hide Comment] I climbed this yesterday leading the aid pitches and I think it's harder than C2 now. I was a beginner when I last climbed the route 9 years ago and I don't remember it being as tricky. I didn't have any ballnuts which might have helped, but it still involved quite a few untrustworthy placements in a row. Similar to Desert Shield. I think it's still safe as there's plenty of room for big clean falls, but maybe expect it to be C3. Feb 20, 2021

[Hide Comment] Trip report:
Just climbed the route in a day, about 7-8 hours to summit.
Gear used: triple rack of totems, BD #3, talon hook and large hook.
no nuts, no cam hooks, no ball nuts(would be perfect for pitch 5), no tricams, no offset cams or nuts, no micronuts.
First 3 pitches cruise.
P4: opted for the talon hook to gain the ledge to start the bolt ladder, bolt spacing is close. "Tricky nut section" took a totem.
P5: first half of pitch to intermediate "penji" anchor is C1. After moving right to new crack was another talon hook in a obviously prior used placement, then from there it was all totems to the top, most were loaded on only 2 lobes. While the crack is flared and blown out there is a nice very thing crack in its center that would accept many micro nuts, bd C3 000"s and ball nuts if you dont have totems. This is where standing high in your aiders gets you past many poor placements to a better one. I took a pic of my placements, from the hook I used, (in totems) Red, purple, orange, purple, blue, yellow, yellow, green. with an additional 2 or so being back cleaned so I dont remember what color those were. I wouldn't say this was any harder than C2.
P6 to Top more cruiser C1 or freeclimb with a final hook move in the last bolt ladder due to a broken piton.
Descent:
Walk across the gulley to obvious pine tree with bomber webbing. After the first single rope rappel you must continue the way you were going(climber right), not straight down. Took me 15 minutes to find the next rap anchor. Its kind of hidden in the far corner. Then easy double 60m rope raps to the ground. Most anchors on climb and raps are still old pitons, with some newer bolts here and there. Apr 4, 2021

[Hide Comment] bigwalltdawg.com/2020/04/04…

Trip report from a spring 2020 solo ascent May 23, 2022

[Hide Comment] My first attempt at a virgin Zion wall in '76

Feel free to doctor the C2 pitch. Nov 16, 2022

[Hide Comment] Well, I've only now gotten some queries and a little more time to respond;

(Love some of those photos BTW)

In April '76 I free soloed to the start of the aid with a rack, drill, and 90m bicolor 9mm. I placed the first bolt and fearful of down soloing I rapped from a single drilled angle only to be dismayed by seeing I was short, so I went up and cut the rope above an easy section, (cried a bit) down soloed, and refixed.
The rest of this particular attempt is described in the Alpinist Zion article by Ethan Newman.

In '80 I returned with Dave Jones. I let him lead the first 3 pitches that I had soloed. Then I lead P4 and Dave swung lead and after reaching my high point above the short ladder (which I believe is the section with the wear problems) he led another 8-10m. I did P6 and belayed from the crack when I saw it was widening. Then Dave did the pitch to Earth Orbit entirely on aid.

That "ledge" had me wondering whether it actually was one or just a wide ramp on which snow had accumulated. It was good to get there and find a bivy. I placed a bolt (DA) there. Next morning started out hairy with me bolting to a short way from topping out.

Then Dave followed and I got to see his eyes bug out! He wouldn't argue over the name of the route.

He placed the last 3 bolts and topped.

Curiously, after only adding P7 and about 16m more, he would later claim to have led 70% of the FA. That's a bit misleading.
He would go on to claim to be a pioneer of the late '70s after predating our ascent to '78. In an online flamefest decades ago he would acquiesce when I asked him to explain my '81 Mazda in the photos. lol

He would go on to publish other predated routes (and even post date mine!).In his Zion history, Deuce did a disfavor to Scott Fischer who was in truth the greatest pioneer of the late '70s.

It's too late for them to see a correction. They are both gone, Scott on Everest, and now Dave in his sleep.

I wonder what he was dreaming about,.. Dec 8, 2022

[Hide Comment] Weird route. The hard parts on P4 and P5 weren’t that fun, as everything is so sandy and blown out. Then you get to P6 and P7 and it’s super simple and straightforward, making the route well designed to disappoint everyone. Perhaps Ron’s blessing of doctoring up the worst of the placements to something more sustainable could be mulled over by the appropriate local climbers who’d be willing to pull that trigger. Placing decent nuts in enhanced pods seems more consistent than using enhanced-yet-crumbling hooks to bypass blown out placements. I dunno. It’s a soft opinion at the moment and I’d like to hear a lot of informed opinions on It. Zion ethics aren’t my forté. May 26, 2023

[Hide Comment] As of December 2023, the enhanced hook placements to gain the seam on pitch 5 (just after the intermediate anchor and bolts) aren't usable. One was already ground down, the other was pretty thin and blew while I was on it.
I expect that section will be pretty tricky until "re-enhanced." Dec 11, 2023