Rites of Spring

The 'long' trad classic of Pine Creek, with lots of hand cracks and variety. A bit of crumbly and/or hollow rock in a few spots but really pretty clean for sierra granite multi-pitch trad climb.

P1 - Long pitch starting up right facing corner to a long left facing finger and hand crack with some techy crux sections.  Gear anchor - 10a/b - 140'.   There is a bolted anchor out left for South Park, but it is not convenient for a belay anchor.

P2 - Classic granite crack climbing in a left facing corner. Get's a bit wide towards the top. Bolted anchor out right - 5.9 - 70'

P3 - From the anchor go left to climb moderate cracks up about 40' into the deep alcove, make a move right to a sweet hand crack in the right face up to the roof, pull the right side of the roof and climb deep hands / fists to a bolted anchor on the left. Alternatively, instead of moving right to the sweet hand crack on the right face, you can continue up the initial crack system, now a right facing corner past blocks to a black roof, undercling traverse the black roof right to crux roof crack. The roof pull and crack above are kinda burly and exposed. Bolted anchor - 10b - 110'

P4 - From the anchor, climb right to a finger crack that leans right slightly right. When the crack thins, pass a chunk of loose looking rock that is pretty solid, make techy moves up to and past a fixed pin to a short hand traverse right. Make a cool move to exit the hand traverse to another burly hand and fist crack in a short right facing corner.  There is good gear with small cams / stopper just below and above the pin. A cam smaller than black totem can be placed just above the pin but is taxing to place and takes up the nice finger lock.  Bolted anchor - 5.10d - 70'

Start at the left edge of the main Ministry Wall panel, starting in a slick right-leaning crack. Stepping back from the base you can see the P3 roof you're aiming for.  

To avoid the very real danger to others, strongly recommend five rappels with a single 70m back down the route and then down to Friendly Faces Everywhere's rappel anchor.  Rappel fixed anchors using Rites of Spring's P4, P3, and P2 anchors.  For rappelling P2, recommend rappelling down P2 dihedral to the left back to the ledge belay of P1.  On this ledge 20' climber's left is a bolted rap anchor for South Park.  Use this anchor and then down to Friendly Faces Everywhere's P1 rap anchor.

While you could rappel from P2's anchor down Ministry Wall, this presents real danger to others below, the two Ministry Wall anchors are painful hanging anchors and you'll most likely break off loose flakes on others below as well as hitting them with your ropes.  It is not hard or dangerous to head back to the P1 ledge from the Rites P2 anchor and reach the anchors for South Park/Friendly Faces.

Standard rack: Set DMM trapezoid stoppers, 2x black totem size to 3" cams, a 4" cam can be placed on all four pitches and is particularly helpful on P2 and P3.  Save a #3 and the #4 for the ends of P2, P3, P4.  There is a fixed pin at the crux of P4 that looks funky but is very good, a yellow DMM stopper is bomber a couple feet below the pin.

All belays are bolted and have rappel hardware.