Moonlight Drive

With the rap anchors at the top of the first pitch, this makes for an excellent moderate lead at about 5.8+ (Rossiter). The pro is fine with the exception of the top traverse, which is easy, the position airy, the flakes very funky. Just be aware that you'll need to traverse left before you reach the top of the roof in order to get to the anchors, and you'll have to place some funky pro to protect your second. (I used a pink tri cam and a small camalot). Jul 24, 2002

To me this did not seem like a good moderate lead up to the bolt anchor. There are some very suspect flakes above the wheat thin flake that are waiting to be pulled off onto someone's rope. This may be a moderate lead for someone more accustomed to ice climbing but anyone at their limit on 5.8 has a good chance of pulling something big off. I strung both pitches together without drag problems and thought the upper part was pretty good but found the bottom half to be rather dangerous and definitely not worth a trip in it's own right Aug 22, 2002

I would concur with Bryson. The 1st pitch is rather spicy and I definitely wouldn't recommend it to a 5.8 leader. I do think the route is well worth the long approach when you're comfortable at this degree-of-difficulty. Aug 23, 2002

I agree with Steve and Bryson. I remember leading the first pitch and being pretty nervous about taking a big fall in the final 10' . After Pete's comment I figured I was just being a wimp, or was missing some placements. Aug 23, 2002

Re my first comments. I led this pitch after following it the year earlier, so I think my comments are affected by that. I would hate to describe a pitch as easier than it is; I'd rather be on the conservative side. I defer to those climbers with more experience who commented above, and appreciate all the feedback this site offers. Sep 19, 2002

This is a great climb! The first pitch flake is cool - unique and fun. The runout traverse to the anchors isn't too bad (S-). Keep in mind that it's likewise S- for the follower. Pitch 2 is superb - airy and exposed on quality rock. It's peculiar (to me anyway) that the first ascentionists placed 3 bolts to protect the first 20' of this pitch, then ran it 30' to the 4th bolt! The difficulty eases to about 5.7 for this stretch, but a 60' fall past your belayer would be, well...exciting to say the least. I found a marginal smaller nut placement (#5 BD?) about half way between the 3rd and 4th bolts in a tiny pocket, but was sure glad to clip that last bolt. Used a .5 Camalot and yellow TCU to protect from there to the top.

Airy and exposed! Sep 21, 2003

Great Route! P1 is moderately long 60-70 feet. Some suspect rock, that could be pryed loose with poor cam placements. IMHO not a great first lead for a 5.8 leader. 20 foot traverse left to the anchors if an onsight would be would be quite serious trying to route find because anchors can not be seen from last pro placement.P2- after Bolt 3, I was able to place a Blue Alien and Black/Blue Alien in a small slot on the ledge and equalize them with a sling. Either one on it's own with a higher impact fall would probably fracture the rock and you would take 40-50 ft fall, equalized they would likely hold, however the climbing is not that difficult getting to the bolt, unless there are 40-50 mph wind gusts?

Save a 3, 3.5 or 4 Camalot for the top.

I have climbed several routes at Cadillac, and this is one of the best. Sep 21, 2003

This is a superb route! Climbing the P1 flake is excellent... to an airy hanging belay. I have to say the P2 (10b) face is fairly graded, and a very worthy pitch of Cadillac fin climbing... Oct 4, 2003

This is one of my favorite pitches. Tons of fun! The flake on P1 is a blast, but placing gear is sometimes hard as you have to contort around to see it. I'll aslo concur that the final 10-15 feet is a)S, and b) has some suspect rock in places (thin flakes waiting for their chance to go) and c) really fun. I doubled up on a couple of placements right out of the crack and felt OK about it. Don't head right to the roof; the bolts are a bit lower.I blew off stringing the 2 Ps together, therefore making my partner pull the cruxes, but I regret that. I think with long slings, they'd go together withough THAT MUCH drag.

When you get to the top, hit Midnight Trundler if you're so inclined.

Enjoy! Oct 9, 2003

This route definately rates two stars. Very nice position with good exposure on both pitches. Jan 23, 2005

The move from the third bolt to the fourth bolt is not too bad minus the wind guts which really sucked. I didn't see any placements between these bolts at all. Pick a calm day to do this.

I followed the first pitch and noticed rotten flakes that probably wouldn't hold a fall. Solid 5.8 and fun, though. Mar 15, 2005

Recommended. Green or yellow alien before the traverse left on pitch one. Don't remember much gear on pitch two apart from the bolts. Jun 21, 2005

If you didn't find any gear between the third and fourth bolts, it's because it's at your feet when you're standing on the big ledge. Set two opposing small stoppers. Maybe it was the comfort of clipping bolts, but the second pitch seemed no harder than 5.9. I certainly concur with all the [trepidation] expressed over the first pitch death flakes. Pull carefully. Sep 25, 2005

"No harder than 5.9" I just don't get it (my partner said the same thing, "5.9"). I think it is solid 10- for 3 moves. Also, this route should be considered S (Serious), due to the exfoliating/thin/rotten nature of several sections in P1 and the RO in P2. . . . at least remember this warning (and the others) if you're using this website as beta.Really fun climb - and exciting for the grade! Oct 1, 2005

I lead this today having followed it a year or two ago. It seemed very easy. The first pitch is maybe 5.7. The big flake was more solid than I remembered. The rock on the traverse left is atrocious--don't pull out on anything, but the gear is pretty good, and the climbing is very easy if you stay low. The crux is on positive 1/2 joint or bigger hand holds and pretty big feet, and is all in balance. One standup move is all. I had followed Deviant (9+) that morning and had more trouble following that than leading this. As for the gear between bolts 3 and 4, it is indeed at your feet. I used a #00 Metolius. Nov 18, 2006

Read all the comments. Good route indeed, but everyone who says watch out on p. 1 is quite right. Very suspect little holds, and the big flake is going to break if you pull out and hard on it. We all know it is possible to rate things differently, and maybe the folks who say p. 2 is 5.9 went some different way. The way we did it, definitely 10b. Also I said "R" as you do NOT want to fall at the 9+ move just before you clip the 4th/last bolt on the arete - pretty run out at that point (previous bolt maybe 25 feet down). Sep 10, 2007

I didn't think the runout between bolts was too bad. It would be an uncomfortable fall, but not a dangerous one. I found the suspect rock on P1 more spicy than anything else on the route. May 4, 2008

I agree with Ivan.
"As for the gear between bolts 3 and 4, it is indeed at your feet. I used a #00 Metolius."
I used a blue Alien.

I also found this and Ichiban Arete about as difficult as Deviant. For the record I think Deviant is 10a easy. Aug 9, 2008

Great climb. Both pitches are on the spicy side but not bad. I enjoyed this climb more than both V3 and Gonzo. Definitely don't agree with the description of "A good climb for sure, but nothing spectacular." The flake on P1 is cool. I don't think it's going anywhere, but I also didn't even think of place any pro behind it. I got a suspect #2 Metolius curved nut in on P2 between the 3rd and 4th bolt, but it was probably just mental help. Sep 27, 2008

Copy Ivan's comments above. Compared to Deviant, Highway of Diamond, Chockstone, Xanadu, and other 10a in Eldo, I think Moonlight Drive is a bit easier. There's a bunch of suspect rock on the first pitch, bit being careful, you only need to touch one suspect rock (the very large flake) while climbing it at 5.8 level. Just avoid the big suspect jugs and use the smaller and more stable features. Gear can also be placed away from the suspect stuff with a bit of imagination. Make sure your second is a solid climber as the traverse (5.6?) at the top of P1 doesn't have a lot of solid gear. Jul 12, 2011