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Desert Shield

5.9, Sport, 50 ft (15 m),  Avg: 2.7 from 190 votes
FA: John & Gina Emminger (1990)
Washington > Central Region > Frenchman Coule… > Feathers > N Side
Warning Access Issue: May 2026, area is effectively closed due to issues with the main road into the area. DetailsDrop down

Description

A fun arete. The first bolt is fairly high, but it felt secure.

Weekend Rock calls this a 5.10a, but it seems to have been downgraded after more bolts were added.

Location

On the northern arete of the Medicine Man column (immediately above the gap between the north and south sides).

Protection

5 bolts and 2 different chain anchors

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Yellow: Desert Shield <br> Red: The Uprising <br> Blue: Porthole
[Hide Photo] Yellow: Desert Shield Red: The Uprising Blue: Porthole
Pulling the last few moves up the Arete
[Hide Photo] Pulling the last few moves up the Arete
Desert Shield
[Hide Photo] Desert Shield
Amazing and fun lead climb (for a new climber :-)
[Hide Photo] Amazing and fun lead climb (for a new climber :-)
Great arete, shorter but higher quality that the aretes on the sunshine wall
[Hide Photo] Great arete, shorter but higher quality that the aretes on the sunshine wall
I opted for the top anchor which falls more in line with the arett
[Hide Photo] I opted for the top anchor which falls more in line with the arett
Overhead shot
[Hide Photo] Overhead shot
Nicky Hastings near the top of Desert Shield.
[Hide Photo] Nicky Hastings near the top of Desert Shield.

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Rick Shull
Arcata, CA & Dyer,NV
  5.9
[Hide Comment] 6 bolts. Well protected, rebolted since the first ascent. Oct 16, 2008
Ian Dickson
Mazama, WA
  5.8
[Hide Comment] Yea, i wouldn't rate this PG-13 any more. Dec 24, 2009
Morrismc
Portland, Or
 
[Hide Comment] An amazing climb! Fun movement. Dec 24, 2010
Heavy Dwight
[Hide Comment] Yeah, you can pull the PG rating off. We retro bolted with permissions from the FA dudes. Way more safe and fun corner. Jul 16, 2013
Nick Scott
Vancouver, BC
 
[Hide Comment] I wouldn't call this PG-13. The climbing is solid up to the first bolt and it is much lower than many of the other first clips at this crag. Mar 27, 2018
Quincy aka Tiffany Samson
Seattle, WA
  5.9
[Hide Comment] Fun climbing on the arete. First bolt is high like many of the climbs at Feathers. Crimps for hands and small corners for toe ins. Some high hands or step up feet to get up higher. A little balancey. Nice arete climbing practice. Harder than it looks from the bottom. Lots of chalk to follow. Load up biners on the left. Not PG-13. Apr 16, 2018
Hangdog Hank
Leavenworth, WA
 
[Hide Comment] Not PG13 Dec 23, 2018
Maple Leung
Seattle WA
[Hide Comment] 3 bolt hangers loose on the route Oct 14, 2019
Jonathan Hogue
 
[Hide Comment] This thing is stellar. Just looking at the 2 routes side by side beckon to any climber, regardless of grades. I gave it a classic rating because the rock is bomber and it has the right mix of flow and risk, flow and risk. Amazing for the grades, this and it's rightmost neighbor. Oct 29, 2020
Will N
  5.9
[Hide Comment] Very enjoyable route and I'm surprised it isn't more popular. Some airy moves to the left moving around the arete but the holds are all good. A little bit more mentally involved than similar 5.9 leads looking down and seeing more air than usual, but still a great route for a 5.9 leader. One of the higher-quality routes the Feathers IMO. Mar 28, 2022
Kevin Patterson
Lower Hutt, NZ
  5.9
[Hide Comment] Half 5.7, then half a whole series of nice 5.9 moves Jun 18, 2022
Anton Evseev
Seattle, WA
  5.9
[Hide Comment] The 3rd and the 4th bolts are spinning.

Super fun moves, especially reaching out around the arete for the jug after the second bolt. Sep 22, 2024