[Hide Comment] Great climb! If this were in Colorado it would get done all the time (along with the Regular Route). I might take a finger sized cam to avoid the big runout on pitch 6 next time. Not too many 1000' sport climbs in the US, definitely check it out if you are in the area. Bring your slab shoes, my toes still hurt... Jul 24, 2008

[Hide Comment] I did the Regular Route a few years back, then a few days later did the Memorial. The Memorial was rather ho-hum after the classic Regular. A few too many bolts for my liking. 1/2 to 1/3 the hole count would probably be adequate. Oh well, it was better than being at work. Heading up there next week and will try the harder routes on the left side. Might just do the Regular Route for fun too. Aug 28, 2008

[Hide Comment] My wife and I just did the Memorial Route. For the most part I really liked the climb, but, in my opinion, its more like solid 5.9 than a 5.8. I give the climb two out of three stars.
If I do this climb again I will definitly bring a yellow or green alien for the roof. The move inst too hard, but I was at least 15 feet out at that point (so 30-40 footer was possible). I dont really think a new 5.8 leader would like this climb as they would be run out often at their limit. This climb, to me, is a 5.9 route for solid 5.10a/b leaders.
Also, the last two pitches are a bit redundant (for those of us who tire of slab climbing easily) in that they are pretty much the same move over and over-put foot on nothing and stand up, repeat. A nice option would be to climb the memorial route to the top of pitch six (the crux) and then take the regular route to the top or rap from here. Two ropes to rap! The regular route is ten feet to the left at the top of pitch six. Jul 18, 2011

[Hide Comment] Cruised this on monday. All the blots look good, only one lose hanger but still bomber. Fun climb, its 9 pitches if you stop to belay off the set of semi rusty anchors just after the first crux, Pitch 6? Agree with 5.8+ rating. Jul 19, 2011

[Hide Comment] Seemed a bit soft for 5.8, and there were about 3 times as many bolts as I'm used to seeing on a slab climb, even on the easy pitches . . .
That said it's a nice long climb on good rock with some great views. Jul 25, 2011

[Hide Comment] Bring your sticky shoes! Beautiful rock and setting. There were some bolts (a spinner on the third pitch) that had been chopped and replaced--everything was very bomber. I think the 5.8+ rating is accurate. We used a nut on the roof and it made the experience all the better. Thanks for putting it up! Jul 26, 2011

[Hide Comment] My son and I did this climb 2 weeks ago. Our second multi-pitch sport route and a whole lot of fun for us. We thought that it was a 5.8+ or 5.9. The climb was just an amazingly beautiful, enjoyable climb for us. However, a there are few things I would like to point out that I don't think are mentioned here yet. First, the approach. Not really bad, but plan on 30 minutes + whatever amount of time it takes you to find a way across the river - which did not seem obvious to us. Second, having come from mostly climbing at the Red River Gorge I felt like there was a lot of run out. Not dangerous, because its a slab, but made me a bit nervous. Took a pitch or two to get over. Finally, the decent ... . From the description here I thought it would not be too bad, but wow. The path/walk-off did not seem obvious to us and got hairy fast. After fearing for our safety we came upon a tree with 5 different colors of webbing and a rap ring that could be used to double rope repel out of danger. We added our gear and made it down safe. It would be great if someone could post a google earth image, map, or something about where the "real" walk-off is. Clearly several groups have ended up where we did and probably shouldn't have? Aug 30, 2011

[Hide Comment] K.C.: I agree about the river crossing not being obvious. It took us awhile to find our way to it the first time we went to SR. There are actually two spots with logs to cross on, one involves less bushwhacking than the other.

Regarding the descent, I think you were on route. It's steep and loose. The 4th class chimney downclimb actually isn't as bad as it looks from above, and in my opinion is the least sketchy part of the descent. There are numerous loose rocks just waiting to be dislodged and hit someone on the portion of the descent before the chimney. In my opinion by the time you've made it to the rap anchors the worst is over. After the chimney it is still steep and bushwhacky, but at least there aren't any more loose blocks.

Plan on 20-30 minutes to walk down if not rapping. Aug 31, 2011

[Hide Comment] Linked the first 2 pitches on a 70m. Really fun and mellow climb. I would say the cruxes are right around 5.8, with the vast majority of the climbing 5.7 or easier. Will probably simul-climb the first 4 pitches next time. No big runouts, even on the easy pitches. We brought a few small cams as recommended in the comments, but didn't place them at all. You can place a .5 C4 around 2/3rds up, but the move it protects is less than 10 feet out and isn't hard. Bring lots of runners, rope drag would be pretty bad without them. Walk off was fairly easy to figure out, just top out and find the second gully to climbers right and descend it. Follow a steep loose trail down, and downclimb or rappel past a loose chimney. Try not to dislodge rocks on the way down, the descent is a bit of a bowling alley. The trail eventually brings you right back to the base of the route. Oct 1, 2012

[Hide Comment] Had a great time on this route. We had no problems finding the approach, as of 20 July 13 there is a very obvious log jam just below the turnout with solid logs that was no problem to cross. We did however have issues finding the start of the route, thought the dihedral mentioned in the description was one that starts the standard route. Turns out its a very large right facing dihedral quite a ways to the right. I would have to agree with the above comments that there are some 5.9 moves on the route, not many but a few. Other than those I agree the rest is 5.8+ at the hardest. We noticed probably 3 or 4 loose hangers, one that I was able to hand tighten. We took a few small cams and nuts and didnt see anywhere worth placing them, the bolt protection is adequate. If the roof people are talking about placing gear in is the same one I am thinking of (first moves above the older anchor bolts??) I thought once I reached the roof it was pretty smooth climbing until the crux at the end of the pitch. Anyways a great route Jul 20, 2013

[Hide Comment] Midnight ascent 08-17-13. Car to car in 5 hours. We did it in 6 pitches with simul-climbing intertwined. Good times. Aug 21, 2013

[Hide Comment] Can be done with a 50m rope. Most of the pitches use all 50m but it was clearly bolted with that in mind. Great route, fantastic view. Aug 29, 2014

[Hide Comment] Awesome Climb! Felt like they 5.8+ was a little steep, with the exception of one section of pitch(5 or 6?). That being said conditions were perfect. Skip the first set of anchor bolts, there are others about 10 or so meters up. If you try to belay from the first anchors you will fall short for the next set. Not that big of a deal though either way as climbing is probably 5.5 or less there. Down climb is pretty easy to follow, look for cairns, a slow and cautious decent is HIGHLY encouraged here. 5 hours car to car with a bit of summit lounging thrown in. Sep 25, 2014

[Hide Comment] Climbed for maybe the 10th time, trailhead is just 10 miles from my house and visitors always want to climb it.
Pitches 2 and 3 can be combined with a 70m and about 10m of easy simul-climbing.
The move over the small roof on P6 can be protected with a pink tri-cam. Don't get bored on the first 5 pitches, the fun starts on P6. P6 and P7 have a few thin friction moves, thus the + rating. Jun 4, 2015

[Hide Comment] Here is more detailed beta about each pitch as of July 1st 2016:

Pitch 1- 5.6, 7 bolts to Rap Hangers.

Pitch 2- Class 4, 2 bolts to Rap Hangers.

Pitch 3- 5.5, 7 bolts to Rap Hangers.

Pitch 4- 5.6, 7 bolts to Rap Hangers.

Pitch 5- 5.8, 11 bolts to Rap Hangers. *loose hanger on bolt #11

Pitch 6- 5.8, 12 bolts to Rap Hangers. *crux pitch, don't use the two bolt anchor with standard hangers between bolts 4 and 5

Pitch 7- 5.7, 10 bolts to Rap Hangers.

Pitch 8- 5.8, 8 bolts to Rap Hangers.

With the exception of bolt 11 on pitch 5 and the extra set or anchors on pitch 6, all bolts and hardware were in very good condition. Jul 3, 2016

[Hide Comment] My wife and I have only been climbing for three years and got this done in August. We had a dang good time! A great multi-pitch for the newer climber. For people that have never climbed slab like this, we felt the route hovered around 5.6/7 most of the way, but the three or four cruxes throughout, while not exposed nor impossible, felt higher (to us) than anyone here has mentioned. Take that as you will. The trails were very easy to find, up and down. Going at our own pace, we were seven hours, car-to-car. I did protect the "roof" (which is more like a bulge) with a cam (either .5 or .75, I forget); while definitely not necessary, the move above the "roof" isn't a gimme and a fall here would be pretty bad. Enjoy! Oct 4, 2016

[Hide Comment] Great climb and fully recommend to any 5.9 lead climbers. This was our second multi pitch done and it was a great experience. We ended up climbing in 7 pitches linking 1 to three with and easy 30 ft simul climb once the rope becomes tight.

Then on pitch 6 we passed an old set of anchors right before the roof. Climbing gets a little tricky but nothing to extreme. A .5 or .75 cam can be placed in a crack above the roof for peace of mind making that move. Not really necessary though.

Topped out and walked off too the right. Class 4 scramble down. Car to car in 4.5 hrs
6/30/19 Jun 30, 2019

[Hide Comment] This week, my climbing partner and I did the Standard Route and connected into the Memorial Route for pitch 7 and 8. Some total jerk has flattened the hangers on quite a few of the bolts on those last Memorial Route pitches(I don't know if that's also the case down lower on the MR). It's possible but awkward to girth hitch a sling thru the flattened hangers...or just press on and run it out on 5.8 friction. I don't know when it occurred, but don't see any previous mention. Who would do that s...? Jul 2, 2020

[Hide Comment] Climbed again recently. Saw the above mentioned flattened "hangers" (bolts). My guess is that the flattening was the result of a creeping ice/snow layer. Bolt was still usable. Aug 21, 2020

[Hide Comment] Climbed 9/4/20 with a party of 3. Made the summit in 5 hours for a total of 8 pitches. Bolts have not been “smashed” but a few are slightly bent. I agree with others that it might be rock fall or ice. You can still get a draw on it as well. This route seemed pretty soft for the grade. I would say it’s 5.7 sustained and 5.8 for a few moves. This route is awesome! The walk off isn’t terrible, and the trail is easy to follow. Rapped down the scramble. Sep 6, 2020

[Hide Comment] This route is a lot of fun!
FYI to people thinking about climbing it: - The anchors are too far apart to do a normal rappel with a 70m rope.
-The walk-off is very chossy and not too safe. The trail is also easy to lose. We ended up going back up and rappelling instead.
-I highly recommend bringing a second rope or a tag line to do single rope rappells down. If you do single rope rappells, a 60m will work. A 70m would be more preferable.

We did it with a party of 3 and finished the route in about 5-6 hours. I would definitely climb it again. Sep 5, 2021

[Hide Comment] Did this route 08/13/22, car to car in little over 7 hours. A few notes. River crossing at the beginning is not hard, but not too obvious, as well as the trail to the base of the route. Bolts can blend in with the rock, but after finding the first one you should be good. First, four pitches are relatively easy ( none harder than 5.7) but expect some decent runouts, would not recommend it to a 5.7 slab climber as they will often be run out at their limit. Upper pitches have as many bolts as one could want. The 4th class downclimb is not too bad, taking it slow makes it highly doable, but it can feel like a long time bushwacking to make it back to the base of the route. Killer summit views and great weather made it a great day outing. Aug 14, 2022

[Hide Comment] Pure friction climbing. Can feel insecure and run out at times. Linked pitches 2-3 with 30 meters of simul climbing. Pitch 5 was scary and thin with some run out. Pitch 6 was the same. Could have extended last 3-4 draws on pitch 6. I would say the grade is 5.8+/5.9 for the crux moves, but there is a lot of easy climbing on the route. All belays have a comfortable ledge. Pitch 1-2 can be linked for the rappel (used 70m rope) if you swing out to climber's right and do some easy down climbing. It can be really challenging to throw your rope down this low angle of a cliff for the rappels, so we used the saddle bad method. Next time I will try the walk off. The log jam is now unhelpful in crossing the stream. We had to ditch our shoes and walk through the water. Aug 22, 2022

[Hide Comment] Just climbed for the 2nd time on 9/16/23. I took 3 friends for their first time and we climbed in 2 groups of 2. Walkies made for easy communication. We got lucky with really great weather. All anchors and bolts in really good shape. Climbed on a 60 m. Linked pitch 1 and 2 with about 30 feet of simul climbing. Leading Pitch 6 is all of 5.9 in my opinion and someone on slab for the first time would probably grade it even higher. There are real fall possibilities right before the roof, right after the roof, and right before the anchors. But trust your feet... they will stick. Used a .5 cam on the roof. Pitch 7 has a couple of spicy spots as well. Walked off. Car to car in 5.5 hours. Really good times! Sep 18, 2023