PRINT: Rock Climb Breakfast of Champions, Joshua Tree National Park

Breakfast of Champions

5.8+, Trad, 170 ft (52 m), 2 pitches,

Avg: 3.5 from 264 votes
FA: Ed Ehrenfeld, Eve Uiga and Herb Laeger, December 1977
California > Joshua Tree NP > Wonderland of R… > Wonderland South > Wonderland Valley > W Wonderland Va… > Astro Domes > S Astro Dome > S Astro Dome - Northe…

Access Issue: Climbing Regulations/Seasonal Raptor Closures Details

The Joshua Tree National Park Superintendent's Compendium states that:
1. Vegetation is not allowed to be used as an anchor.
2. Only neutral or rock colored bolt hangers are allowed.

For a complete list of climbing rules and closures visit:
nps.gov/jotr/planyourvisit/…

Description

This excellent route, one of the few at the Astro Domes that isn't all face climbing, is located on the far right side of the South Astro Dome just right of Such a Savage (5.11a R). Two vastly different and thoroughly enjoyable pitches will get you high above the desert floor, providing far reaching views of the Wonderland Of Rocks and beyond.

P1) Climb a short hand/fist crack to a small ledge and then jam the somewhat awkward hand crack above (5.8) until plentiful face holds appear and lead you up and right along a ramp system to a bolted anchor in a large hueco. P2) Stem your way out of the belay hueco and then continue up and right to the second bolt. Climb out left and up along a faint dike system and then wander up to the last bolt where a quick bit of friction gains the top and a two bolt anchor/rap. Descend the route in two single rope raps with a 60 meter rope.

Originally a single bolt protected the second pitch (the middle one) which made it very runout, but the FA party agreed to allow a few extra bolts to be added to make it enjoyable for all (3 bolts as of Dec. '10).

Protection

Gear to 3 inches for the first pitch and 3 bolts for the second pitch. The belays are bolted and all bolts are 3/8".

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Pitch 2 of Breakfast of Champions.

B of C

An excellent climb covered in bird doo doo.

this is not chalk, but it is on the route-

Climbers on the 1st pitch of Breakfast of Champions (5.8+), Joshua Tree NP

Albert Ramirez

Pitch 1 of Breakfast of Champions.

Following first pitch.

Dave finishing first pitch

Felt like walking off the sunny side instead of rapping.

Two bolts for the belay station. Nice stable spot for p2 belay. Tight for two people, but manageable.

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Joseph Lee

This is a great climb. Two completely different pitches that serve up JTree climbing at it's best. Starts with a sweet hand crack to face climbing with nice incuts. The upper pitch involves textbook runout slab climbing. And then enjoy panoramic views from the top of the south Astrodome. Oct 10, 2004

tony grice

5.9

Super route, great fun in shade most of the day. Mar 1, 2006

Paul Rezucha
Alameda

After just finishing Figures On A Landscape, this was a relief and so much fun. The second pitch is quite run out and exciting! Jun 8, 2006

Chris Owen
Big Bear Lake

5.8

Now that extra bolts have been added I might go back and repeat this one! Dec 30, 2009

Aaron Liebling

As a shorter (and relatively new) leader with smaller hands, I found the fist section just off the ground very challenging. Both the jams and the feet were extremely awkward leaving it difficult for me to get protection in. I ended up falling to the ground (happily "only" 6 feet or so) trying to get pro in to it. If I was a more confident leader or this section was further off the ground, I would have just climbed through it and placed gear in the easy hand crack above. If my hands were a bit larger, this probably wouldn't have been an issue, either.

Rest of the route was great fun. Loved the second pitch!

P.S. Definitely can be a bit cold on a windy day Apr 16, 2011

Gary Schmidt
Boulder, CO

very nice climb that gets u nice and high. Best best be solid at leading 5.9 or so for this one as some sections are a bit stout and the second pitch is a bit scary and quite run out. (can hardly imagine it when it only had one bolt)! i would vote for at for 5.8+ for first pitch, 5.9R for second pitch (which even though bolted the bolts are a bit hard to spot and involve some weaving around)/ Dec 19, 2011

Tradiban

5.8

Nice varied climbing with hand and finger crack to "improbable" slab climbing on the 2nd pitch.

Not really "R" on the second pitch as the moves are pretty solid with bolt at your waist during the crux (2nd bolt I think). Jan 20, 2012

Colin Schour
Big Bear Lake, CA

A must in J Tree for the grade. Jammin' crack, runout slab, great view, adventurous descent (Through the gully between the north and south domes)... everything you could ever want. Feb 21, 2012

Canon

Very good climb. Hardest moves were getting off the deck and placing gear to protect it. It is a little awkward. P2 is almost run-out, but not quite. The most dangerous part of this climb is between the P1 belay anchors and the first bolt on P2. If you peel, you're probably going to hit your belayer. Feb 29, 2012

plantmandan
Brighton, CO

5.8+

This route is terrific! It has a fun hand crack, adventurous slab climbing, and one of the best views in the park from the top.

It's best to be comfortable on J-Tree slab before trying to lead P2. It's a tad harder than 'walk on the wild side' and similar to the topout on 'the flake'. Nov 1, 2016

Matt Hagny

5.8

P1 is quite fun (3 or 4 stars out of 4). P2 is 5.5 features up to the second bolt, then just more boring J-tree friction slab (1 star). I'm not the only one of this opinion. The last partner I climbed this with said the same thing. We'd climb P1 again in a heartbeat, but just rap out after that. Apr 23, 2018

Coco Boyle
San Diego, CA

Did this after High Strung and on the way to Mental Physics. Starts with an optional yet enjoyable mini OW (for the small of frame) to a secure and steeper hand crack to a brief wide then easy chill layback territory. Gear everywhere, used doubles of a 4 for the wide (bit excessive but I am a safety queen). Partner and I rapped the first pitch. Loved every second. Feb 4, 2019

Ian Perry
Salt Lake City

Probably best to just pull through the starting "boulder problem" without trying to place gear as some seem to have struggled with. The runout slab second pitch is awesome and easy, just keep your head. I assume the slab is only boring if you've been climbing it for many years. Don't let any comments keep you from doing this route, it is awesome and you can definitely do it! Mar 10, 2020

jt newgard
San Diego, CA

Just gonna go on the the record that the 2nd pitch is the real gem here (and that's coming from a lover of crack climbing).

Feels so good pulling some positive moves right off the belay to hit that first bolt. Lots more fun to puzzle thru to the summit too.

Not sure who to thank for the handiwork, but this 2nd pitch has been bolted to perfection for the 5.9 climber. Go get it Goldilocks !! Mar 27, 2021

Bob Klaasic
Westminster, CA

After climbing this, it's hard not to put this at the top of your favorite climbs of Jtree. It's got everything! I firmly disagree with Matt's opinion of Pitch 2. It is a great pitch! By doing both you get to experience just about every style Joshua Tree has to offer. While on pitch two, think about how the FA party did this pitch with only the middle bolt for protection. Solid respect to the FA party (Ed, Eve, and Herb) for their vision. Breakfast of Champions is a fantastic route!

Note: I recorded both pitches of this route and threw up an edit on YouTube for those who are interested. (Link Below)

Link: youtube.com/watch?v=SOZ1wxh… Apr 6, 2021

Sean
Oak Park, CA

nice jamming up P1. engaging diagonal face moves up P2. 5.8 felt about right for both pitches. P2 airy and heady but not hard, easier than many 5.8 slab cruxes around park. about 2/3 of the way above the last bolt and just before the summit, there's a thin horizontal that could take a green or yellow Alien (equiv to blue or yellow Metolius) if one wants that bit of peace of mind Apr 18, 2023

Brandon Marshal
Victor, ID

5.8+ PG13

This route is rad in every way possible. Bypass the awkward fist crack boulder problem off the ground by walking up on climber's right (we only noticed this option while rappelling!) The entree' hand crack is sexy. Small nuts or your smallest micro cams can tame the last bit of the finishing slab on pitch two, but no matter how you slice it pitch two is classic runout Josh friction with potential for sweeping falls and factor twos. 5.9 Josh slab climbers should be able to piece it together just fine. The route is rappelled easily with two raps on a single 60 or 70M rope. This also allows you to ditch all your rack besides three quickdraws and the aforementioned comfort pieces at the belay presuming no parties are coming behind. Feb 3, 2024