Climb a 5.7 handcrack in a slot to a shelf and belay (30 ft). Get back into the crack on the left (crux) and continue on sustained jamming and stemming to the top. The crux is height dependent (9+ for those under 5'4" and 7+ for those over 6'3").
Location
This is on the Northwest Face of the Nautilus (right end). It can be accessed by hiking north along the rock past the climbs Baldwin's Chimney and Humper.
[Hide Photo] Dual ascends on the left then climbs the crack on the left face. Humper ascends the chimney on the right.
[Hide Photo] Dual ascends the left crack on the lower tier and continues up the right-facing wall of the dihedral. Humper ascends the deeper/wider crack on the right.
[Hide Comment] A couple or more #3s, #3.5s will make this shorty crack pure joy. Didn't jam the left (and infinitely more protect-able) crack so much as stemmed between it and the less friendly crack on the right.
Guidebook and Mountain Project BOTH offer this "height dependent" beta BS without any explanation why. Here's why: the opening move at the midway shelf (after the initial 5.7 crack) to acquire the "duel" cracks would be mighty exciting for someone with short legs. It's a full-on opposing arms stretch between two walls, pump up to a Kungfu legs-horizontal stem (make sure you hands-in-prayer-position for a quiet moment) and only then start cramming and jamming the duel cracks. It's an effing heart stopper (and crotch ripper) unless you're over 5'10". Wear your best Chuck Norris pants and an extra pair of boxers.
ALSO: nevermind what the book says about belaying again after the first 30ft crack; there's simply no reason for it. Jam a #3.5 (or a #4 or whatever) high and left with a single runner and there's zero rope drag.
Have fun! A good one to get on if there's a conga line on Mother. Not as hard as all that....
Jul 27, 2009
[Hide Comment] Yeah, definitely a height dependent crux. At 5'6", it felt more like 11a than 9+... easily aided though, if you want to have a good time :) Otherwise a fantastic line, the belay at 30 feet was actually really nice and a good place to get out of the sun.
Aug 1, 2011
[Hide Comment] Getting off the ledge for the second part is really hard and poorly protected. I ended up doing a high-step stem without using either crack until I got both feet up, hoping I didn't fall back in the cracks on the ledge.
Jun 23, 2018
[Hide Comment] Height helps, but the beta given here is making it harder than it needs to be. I'm 5'9" and I discovered that you could get a wide (but not too bad) stem between the left and right aretes marking the outside of the dual cracks. From there, you can easily lean in and start jamming the left crack. To do this stem, just make sure to walk far enough back at first (not intuitive). The move might be unnerving on lead, except you can place a cam high enough in the left crack before this to protect the move well.
Also, any time the crack starts to feel hard, just stem out to your right for a bit. Apart from leaving a #3 to protect the opening move, I was happy as a clam only using 1x#4 & then 1x#5 to leapfrog up the rest of the crack.
For bonus points, finish left! The tunnel-through is fun. Bump a #5 C4 with you and back clean from a body pod to re-use as the belay anchor. I'd recommend doing this under the boulder climber's right, rather than in line with the crack, though, to prevent the rope from running over your other cams.
Sep 15, 2019
Avg: 2.6 from 30
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Guidebook and Mountain Project BOTH offer this "height dependent" beta BS without any explanation why. Here's why: the opening move at the midway shelf (after the initial 5.7 crack) to acquire the "duel" cracks would be mighty exciting for someone with short legs. It's a full-on opposing arms stretch between two walls, pump up to a Kungfu legs-horizontal stem (make sure you hands-in-prayer-position for a quiet moment) and only then start cramming and jamming the duel cracks. It's an effing heart stopper (and crotch ripper) unless you're over 5'10". Wear your best Chuck Norris pants and an extra pair of boxers.
ALSO: nevermind what the book says about belaying again after the first 30ft crack; there's simply no reason for it. Jam a #3.5 (or a #4 or whatever) high and left with a single runner and there's zero rope drag.
Have fun! A good one to get on if there's a conga line on Mother. Not as hard as all that.... Jul 27, 2009
sunshine
Golden, CO
Broomfield, CO
Also, any time the crack starts to feel hard, just stem out to your right for a bit. Apart from leaving a #3 to protect the opening move, I was happy as a clam only using 1x#4 & then 1x#5 to leapfrog up the rest of the crack.
For bonus points, finish left! The tunnel-through is fun. Bump a #5 C4 with you and back clean from a body pod to re-use as the belay anchor. I'd recommend doing this under the boulder climber's right, rather than in line with the crack, though, to prevent the rope from running over your other cams. Sep 15, 2019
Vansion, CO / WY
Also, as for poorly protected, you can literally have a cam over your head pulling off that ledge. May 3, 2021