A matrix of sharp flakes leads to a stembox, capped with a groin vault-shaped roof. The vault is escaped via a fat-finger crack for a few more meters of straight-in cranking.

From the creepy name, to the percussive flakes, to the tottering pillar forming the right side of the stembox, the Chopping Block experience feels a bit heads-up. Nonetheless, it's a worthwhile route, with protection in generally good rock where you need it, so the competent desert climber should not be deterred. Kind of a tower experience: fun climbing on big features with a high Indiana Jones factor.