Steppin' Stone

A pretty fun route but felt more like .11b to me. This is a really interesting climb because it has several different styles of climbing. Apr 23, 2008

Wow! Fun to see this route as the "Featured Route" on the Mtn Project home page. I'm listed as the FA guy when in fact I only did the FA of the first pitch. Never did get back and get any higher. Dick Richardson and friend (maybe Malcolm Jolly?) went up and pushed the upper face which was inspirational for the time. Neat memories!

Eric Barrett
Spokane, WA Oct 24, 2008

The first pitch offers two distinct, technical .11- cruxes, separated by an airy rest. Thin gear in the dihedral, off-finger to protect the undercling. Paste the feet and go. Superb. Feb 8, 2009

Placed way too much gear in the roof at my first lead attempt out of fear and pumped off it. I only placed two pieces in the roof the second time around and got it. Seems harder than 11a to onsight. Jun 13, 2010

My favorite route at the Spires that I've done so far (well, that and Candyland!) Came back for a second time and this time did the second pitch...

I wondered: has someone led the first pitch without cams? The first ascent being in the late 70's, I imagine they have? That seems truly incredible, I'd love to hear stories of those early ascents. Personally, I placed 4 pieces under the roof, and couldn't imagine futzing with anything but cams there...

The lower stemming section was also quite memorable, and lots of fun - hard moves are followed by decent rests in the lower part.

Second pitch - nothing too scary but definitely some thin slab moves needed in a couple of sections to connect the knobs. Trickier and more sustained than it looks from below, I found that pitch much less straightforward and in a way, harder.

Altogether these two pitches combine into one sweet and memorable line! Apr 29, 2013

Is sitting on the big ledge to the right of the crux roof technically off route? It was a much needed rest but felt a little like cheating. Nov 6, 2013

Hi Rennie,

I don't think that most people consider the ledge to be 'off'. In fact, I think most folks probably regroup there and try to reach over and stuff some pro in before casting off into the undercling. Such a good route. Nov 6, 2013

I'm a bit confused. The rating for the route seems to only go for the first pitch, which is pretty cruiser 11a. The 2nd pitch is clealy the crux with a few very thin sections and climbing as hard as on neighboring "Lesbian Love" or perhaps even less secure, so 11b or even c seems more appropriate. One of the best routes at the spires! I've been waiting to do this one for a very long time and wasn't disappointed. Feb 2, 2015

^^^ Interesting take on this route Vlad. I actually felt that the second pitch was more like 10c and that the first pitch was the clear crux (I think Lesbian Love is quite a bit harder than anything on SS). I also didn't think that it was super easy at 11a, but its hard for me to remember because its been close to a decade since I have done it. Feb 18, 2015