[Hide Comment] Took this all the way up to the top of Dry Decembers anchors - up the ridge. can clip the last bolt 'over the lip' then keep on going - sling a post one one of the big pockets and keep on going. Makes the route a little over half way on a 70m rope that way - so closer to 115ft.I found the climbing easier than dry december personally. All the holds (and feet) apart from one small section seemed super positive. Mar 15, 2013

[Hide Comment] Half a 70m rope is like 115ft so if it's over half, then it's about 120/130ft. Still though, I would have thought it to be much longer than that. I know I've done it with a 60m and had plenty of rope left.

Well maybe that sounds about right. I've done Dry December and the Pillar in one pitch and both are about 150ft. Blue Zenith is shorter than both of those.

That ridge is pretty fun going up. I used to climb up through that big cave (the anchor for Blue Zenith) and free solo up to the top of the formation for the evening bird show. Seems like a bad idea these days. Mar 16, 2013

[Hide Comment] Take 3x 4ft slings up this route. The 2nd and 4th (or maybe 5th) bolt are off to the right and extending the draws here minimizes rope drag. The 3rd is for slinging the post in the cave right before the anchors on the top. May 12, 2013

[Hide Comment] If you don't want to sling sandstone for TR, the end of the route is a run-out 5.2 scramble with one bolt, and rather chossy; anchors are at the top above the 5-9 next to it. You have to belay from the top, I don't think even 70 would reach the bottom from there. Last bolt needs a full length runner otherwise the rope drag will be a PITA.
Rappel from the back.
With all due respect to the setters (I'm a beginner), it seems like the top scramble a little way past the 2nd-to-last bolt (after the "first top-out") adds nothing to the route, it would be nice to have bolted anchors after the 2nd-to-last bolt. Nov 9, 2014

[Hide Comment] Sergey - a 70m will get to the double bolted anchors at the top - see the discussion higher in the post between myself and salamizer. Don't try it with a 60m rope. Thats where the picture that I posted is taken from. Jan 17, 2015

[Hide Comment] There is a long run-out after the 5th bolt, which is long enough to make this sketchy. I'm guessing the rock that the bolt was in flaked off. The cave at the top (bit of a scrambly hike from the backside) looked like it would create a nice spot to belay from, although with a fair bit of rope drag over the edge of the cave. Jan 16, 2018

[Hide Comment] Fun route! Slight run-out near the top but not too bad. Slings would have been helpful as the bolts are staggered and do cause drag as people have said. Was able to do it with a 60m rope, belay up partner to clean gear, then rap off the back side (which is really short). Definitely be cautious of what you grab onto, especially near the top as it can seem flaky. Sep 23, 2019

[Hide Comment] Given the grade, I found the section between bolts 1 and 2 to be the most intimidating of the climb, with ground fall/pendulum potential if you fall in the wrong place. The climbing eases off significantly (and gets fun!) after this, and the runout further up isn't very hard.

Top rope anchor is very doable, with the big hole in the arete and possibly the glue-in bolt nearby. Jan 14, 2021

[Hide Comment] Fun climb but the second bolt is a bit high so a failed clip would probably be a ground fall, the rope drag can get pretty bad especially if you belay from the Dry December anchor, and the bolts are far apart at the top Oct 24, 2023

[Hide Comment] A bit validating to hear that i wasn't the only one who felt like a missed 2nd bolt would be pretty consequential! Oct 29, 2023

[Hide Comment] If it’s dangerous between the first and second bolt, then add a bolt. The F.A. Won’t care… guaranteed! Oct 31, 2023