Avg: 3.3 from 103
votes
Access Issue: Bad Bolt Submission Form & USFS press releases
Details
This rarely traveled yet quality pitch lies at the juncture of the Coke Bottle and Fall Wall. Begin as if you were going to climb TM Chimney, but then move right (as soon as it's reasonable to do so) back into the daylight, and continue straight up. There is a direct start; it is more difficult and harder to protect.
To descend, rappel from good anchors on a ledge at the top of the climb. The anchors are about 10 feet right of where you finish.
Hand sizes and bigger, up to #3.5 or #4 Camalots. The upper half of the pitch tends to take fist-sized pieces. There is a single bolt about halfway up.
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Colorado
Fort Collins, CO
Boulder, CO
My 60m rope barely made it back to the ground. Tie knots. May 21, 2012
Salt Lake City, UT
I'm super glad "The Voo" guidebook turned us on to this climb, because it was probably my favorite pitch in five days of climbing there. No idea why some sources referred to this climb as "obscure" and/or "rarely led" - it is easily reachable and obvious. Ascending this pitch required smearing, stemming, chimneying, offwidth, jams, and lieback. There aren't too many pitches I can think of anywhere that request that whole arsenal of skills in a (generally, see below) well-protectable environment.
I chose the leftward chimney start - while not very protectable, the movement seemed rather solid considering my affinity for full-width chimneys, and offered a good slingable gear placement at the exit. After that, the arcing sidecling/undercling flake protected well and set up improbable spaced-out knobby face climbing. I felt the crux move was directly above the singular face bolt, requiring a delicate stem/smear/mantle combination to get established in the chimney/offwidth section behind and to the left. From there, either a well-jammable or fully stemmable (depending on expertise and preference) section led to the anchors on a good ledge (set a piece at the end of the wider crack to protect your follower before traversing to the anchors).
We skipped the other climbs above this and rapped off just barely with a 60m rope (depending on your rope stretch factor, you may have to downclimb ~1-2 feet to finish the rap with a 60m).
Just a killer, killer pitch if you enjoy a thoughtful style of climbing that requests more elegance to climb than it does brutishness. In an effort to gain a wide array of experience, I don't re-climb too many lines in general, but I would definitely do this one repeatedly given the time. Jul 18, 2013
Denver Colorado
Evergreen, CO
Louisville, CO
Yosemite