Love Route

Route finding on the first few pitches is confusing. The large gully Aaron speaks of is nasty and kind of loose, but really easy. As soon as you clear that though, the Love route delivers. Great climbing. Jan 30, 2002

Not much fun on the first 3 pitches--blocky and 5.4 max. Above P3, however, the line is awesome. It is very easy to get off-line (as on all routes on Hallet). Check out the route from the ground and look for landmarks. In the case of the Love route, it is very easy to trend too far to the right above pitch 4. Stay left (actually, for the most part, straight up--just avoid going too far to the right). Aim for the obvious black dihedral that cuts through a roof. If you want a nice belay right below the crux, there are a couple of somewhat manky pins about 20 ft. below the crux. They can be backed up with TCU's or Aliens in a thin seam above the pins. This is a great line with the hardest part at the (almost) end of the line. Great position at the top. This line is well worth doing, route-finding being a bit easier than some nearby routes. Check out the Petit on the descent. Apr 26, 2002

The first three pitches up the gully/corner has a total of about 20 ft. of decent climbing, I thought. P3 is a bowling alley. Be careful! Once you reach the top of the triangular buttress, though, this route is outstanding. The last three pitches (or 4) get progressively harder and better. The belay ledge at the top of pitch 4 is a comfortable spot to have a snack and relax if you're not hurried. From here, you can combine the next two pitches and belay at another decent ledge about 75 ft. below the huge roof. Jul 8, 2002

We found we had to do about three pitches of crap climbing to get to the good stuff. After that it was three more directly to the top. From the top of the third we climbed out of the small belay alcove, denoted by the abundance of slings (one properly knotted and wedged), and around about 160 ft. to the next belay ledge, denoted by another obvious ledge just below it. We actually belayed at the lower ledge, which proved to cause trouble, but the upper has a manky drilled rivet for those interested in landmarks. For the fifth pitch I actually stayed too far right making it much harder than 5.8+,but only once runout more than twenty feet thanks to a nut popping from the rope tension. I actually made a hard beeline for the cave/ledge, accidental of course and avoiding the ramp altogether as well as stretching the rope to the absolute hilt. Had we belayed at the higher ledge with the rivet this would have been no problem, nor would have the drag caused by clipping to a fixed pin intermediate of the two lower ledges. At the top of the fifth, in the cave/on the ledge there is a bomber fixed pin and some incredibly awesome 1-3 camalot slots as well as a good chock (note: bomber belay). Straight above is the black dihedral. This is where things got really messy. It seems we picked an ideal day to do this route-right after a torrential downpour, and the last pitch was a virtual waterfall. My friend on the sharp end couldn't french free, could no way climb, so I suggested the few options we had. Either come down and we go down or sit and sleep (it was getting late this day), or he could try traversing right towards the Englishman's Route and hopefully bypass the water and the overhangs. Traverse he did, finding that the water continued to plague his passage, but eventually, after another rope stretching pitch, he made it to the top. Upon following I found this pitch to be incredibly hard, with small .10 cruxes throught the climb, and in between these never a calm moment or good stance on much more than sloping features. Not to mention the unhappy fact that the pro was as poor as I have ever seen in my life. After turning the corner around the roofs clip a manky pin, climb 15 feet up to a wonderous bulge, place a number 4 nut in a tiny, almost invisible seam (it popped with a slight yank), pull the bulge and climb another fifteen feet to another manky, manky fixed pin. Wipe sweat off of forehead and complete the final, easy .5-.6 section with better pro and belay at the top! A day I'll never forget. Jul 10, 2002

viz. the end of my comment above......don't check out the Petit on the descent. You can't check out the Petit on the descent. The Petit is like 2 miles away from this route.I submitted this comment after doing a line on the Sharkstooth, and beer muddled them up in my head.....sorry.....won't happen again.......... Aug 20, 2002

In case anyone out there hasn't figured this out yet-

Skip the first three pitches of "crap climbing" by doing the first three of "Better than Love." Then finish on the Love route, by heading straight for the big huge black roof above (which provides the final 5.9 move to the summit).

Climb Better than Love to the top of the triangular buttress (about 3-4 pictches). At the top of the triangle buttress, take the left side of a huge pillar to its top, as described. Following this, I ran it out for a full rope length on runout 5.7 - 5.8? face climbing before settting a belay on a sweet ledge immediately below the black roof. There is a multitude of unnecessary fixed gear on the way up to this roof. Exit the right side of the roof (follow the pins), which I found easy for 5.9. Aug 25, 2003

This route is great even with the first three pitches. I didn't find the gully to be as lose and crappy as has been explained to me. They are easy though and not as thrilling as being on the exposed side of the buttress. One could even simul-climb the majority of the route before the black roof if you feel confidant on 5.7ish terrain. There is a good grassy ledge with a solid pin about thirty feet below the roof. Dec 13, 2003

As recommended by David C., we combined the first three pitches of Better Than Love with the top pitches of the Love Route. We carried a copy of Gillett's route description but found it very confusing when it came to the upper pitches. Here's my attempt at a revised description:

4. From the large ledge at the top of the pitch 3 (or pitch 4 if climbing BTL), climb the left side of a large pillar to a small sloping stance at the base of a RIGHT-facing flake, 5.6.

5. Climb the right-facing flake, which leads to a right-facing corner. Climb up this and move slightly left, then up to a ledge with two bolts (possible belay), 5.7. Continue up easier ground to a good stance about 75' below the large roof (old piton).

6. Lead up the left-facing corner dropping from the right edge of the roof, 5.9. There are several fixed pins in place but none of them inspire much confidence. Angle left above the roof then continue to the summit.

All of these pitches are close to 200'. Jul 18, 2004

I just did this route today, and it is a spectacular climb. The rock is solid, and though the lower pitches aren't why people come to do this climb, they're still fun. They're easy, you can move fast on them, and the rock is great quality. Clearly the upper pitches are the best on the route, but for anyone who enjoys a great alpine climb, this one is a beauty. Aug 4, 2004

I agree with David C. We climbed the route last week by taking the first few pitches of Better than Love and moving over to the Love route. I thought the second pitch of Better than Love was really great! The rest of the climbing was fairly easy until the roof crux exit. I find it interesting that most people think the crux exit on the roof was fairly easy. It was dry and I still found it difficult. I live at near sea level and had only climbed in Lumpy for one day and then went to this route. However, I climbed 9 pitches in Lumpy including Fantasy Ridge, Melvins Wheel and one 5.10c pitch called "The Goose" put in by Celin Serbo. Everything I did seemed fairly simple until I got to that short crux. From the belay under the roof, the approach to the crux is really simple but gets progressively steeper as you get to the exit and the crux. I noticed a couple of old rusty pitons just below what were hard moves for me. Maybe I was just getting tired from the altitude but at the crux I saw great jugs just above my reach but had to use a small hand sized slot with my left hand. This small slot was probably one inch wide and six inches vertical. With my right hand, I saw a small nub and used it. The feet didn't have a whole lot but there is stuff there to use. I popped off twice and looking down with several hundred feet of air didn't inspire much confidence. I finally moved about 3 or 4 feet to the right on the face and came on up. I saw chalk in the vertical slot and my leader wasn't chalked so I know that hold is used. Could someone very knowledgeable of the crux tell me what I was not seeing? Also, at this same point, where does the Better than Love route exit? I have read it is about 30 feet to the right. All I saw to the right was what looked like a corner or small arete. I do know that after I climbed the crux I looked from the roof to the right and saw a sloped ramp heading down. I was gassed at that point and only wanted to get to my belay. My lead said I look like a flounder flopping into a boat when I popped above the crux. Maybe I was just gassed a bit, but I think I missed something on the crux and I may climb this thing again. Naturally I would appreciate some beta. Very enjoyable climb. Aug 10, 2004

Like many others, I would definitely recommend the Better than Love direct start. The second pitch was, in my opinion, more sustained and therefore a bit harder than the 5.9 roof. The second pitch has great pro and great rock. I would advise using a 60m rope as well. The party above us was able to combine the 5th and 6th pitch, both of which are runout. They were able to get to a good belay ledge and avoid my hanging belay on a questionable flake. Also, we encountered the worst mosquitos the entire route, which made belaying a chore. I wish I had had some Off. None the less, a very enjoyable route. Aug 13, 2004

This is a good alternative to the Culp-Busy-eh?. This past weekend there were 4 parties cued up for that route, and none for this. We did some so-so pitches to the right of the huge dihedral and then cut hard left for a full pitch to get back on the Love Route. The top few pitches of this route are outstanding. Jul 26, 2007

The pitches leading up to the top of the triangular buttress are pure crap...recommend an alternate start to avoid the gully altogether. HOWEVER, the last pitch, past the 4 fixed pins, and the LONG pitch leading up to it are absolutely fantastic! Jul 25, 2011

My 3 stars are contingent on 1) linking into the Love Route from Better Than Love and 2) that the last pitch of the route is dry. Jul 27, 2013

I agree with those above - start this route with Better Than Love. With the BTL start, pitches 2 and 5 (both 5.8) are the best pitches of the route. After the first 3 pitches of BTL, stick to climber's right. Pitch 4 will be easy (low 5th climbing), and pitch 5 ends at a button-head bolt belay. From there, it's a full 60m to the next belay at a fixed pin backed up with gear 20m below the crux roof. I think there are 4 pins on the crux route (though I skipped one), and none inspire much confidence. A couple of the pins moved as I was clipping them. The crux was bone dry when I climbed it, and you get a jug to pull over the roof. Sep 3, 2013