Continue with onX Maps
Sign in with Facebook
Direct North Buttress
5.10b YDS 6a+ French 19 Ewbanks VII- UIAA 19 ZA E2 5b British
Avg: 3.8 from 107
votes
Routes in Merriam Peak
|
|
Direct North Buttress T 5.10b 6a+ 19 VII- 19 E2 5b |
|
|
Dr. Bear Love Project T 5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c C1 |
|
Flying Buttress, The T 5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c |
|
|
Foundation Crack, The T 5.11 6c+ 23 VIII- 23 E4 5c |
|
|
Gargoyle T 5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c PG13 |
|
|
Heart of Darkness T 5.11- 6c 22 VIII- 22 E3 5c |
|
|
Triple Cracks Project T 5.11 6c+ 23 VIII- 23 E4 5c C1 |
Order Wrong?
Sort Routes
| Type: | Trad, Alpine, 1000 ft (303 m), 7 pitches, Grade IV |
| FA: | Vern Clevenger/Bob Harrington |
| Page Views: | 17,882 total · 88/month |
| Shared By: | Old Skool Slabhead on May 26, 2008 |
| Admins: | Chris Owen, Lurk Er, Mike Morley, Adam Stackhouse, Salamanizer Ski, Justin Johnsen, Vicki Schwantes |
Your To-Do List:
Add To-Do ·
Your Star Rating:
Use onX Backcountry to explore the terrain in 3D, view recent satellite imagery, and more. Now available in onX Backcountry Mobile apps! For more information see this post.
Description
The entire route entails some challenging but very fun diverse climbing. The crux 10.b lies on the Seventh pitch. It is definitely a Classic and must DO!
Total of seven technical Pitches with an additional 300' feet of Class 3ish to reach the Summit proper.
Approach: Scramble up the right side of the pedestal (3rd class) to the bottom of the route.
P1(5.9, ~100'): Climb ~30 feet of blocky 5.6, then head up the crack just left of the arete. Belay at the "ear".
P2(5.10a, ~100'): Climb the crack straight above the "ear". Fun face moves to link crack systems. Belay at ledge.
P3(5.9, ~100'): Continue up, traversing left on the obvious sloping ledge below the orange lichen-covered bulge. Belay at the base of the "Triple Cracks".
P4(5.9, ~120'): Climb the "Triple Cracks". This seemed like the physical crux of the route. Stance belay just above the obvious alcove. The rock below the alcove is somewhat loose, there is a thin crack just above the alcove that's solid.
P5(5.8, ~100'): Take the center of 3 cracks above the alcove. The left one looks like a wide lieback, and the right one is a splitter (but grainy) thin crack. The one in the middle takes the path of least resistance. After ~50', head left up a couple of rampy lieback sections (not the splitter hand crack directly above). Belay at a large ledge below a right-facing corner.
P6(5.10b, ~120'): Climb the crux dihedral. Stiff off the bat, then eases up. Below the smaller summit block, head left up an offwidth/chimney/stem with a large fixed cam in it. Belay at large ledge.
P7(5.7, ~50'): Head up/right through a small notch, then follow the right-slanting crack system on a slab below/around the larger summit block (the huge one that's obvious from the approach). Belay on another large ledge.
You're now on the summit ridge (~500'). The climbing along the ridge is inobvious, and is definitely not 3rd class, more like mixed 4th/5th class. Lots of gendarmes and large pillars to navigate. We ended up following the ridge proper for ~200', downclimbing to the right of the ridge, then heading straight up through blocky 5.6ish climbing to the summit plateau.
Total of seven technical Pitches with an additional 300' feet of Class 3ish to reach the Summit proper.
Approach: Scramble up the right side of the pedestal (3rd class) to the bottom of the route.
P1(5.9, ~100'): Climb ~30 feet of blocky 5.6, then head up the crack just left of the arete. Belay at the "ear".
P2(5.10a, ~100'): Climb the crack straight above the "ear". Fun face moves to link crack systems. Belay at ledge.
P3(5.9, ~100'): Continue up, traversing left on the obvious sloping ledge below the orange lichen-covered bulge. Belay at the base of the "Triple Cracks".
P4(5.9, ~120'): Climb the "Triple Cracks". This seemed like the physical crux of the route. Stance belay just above the obvious alcove. The rock below the alcove is somewhat loose, there is a thin crack just above the alcove that's solid.
P5(5.8, ~100'): Take the center of 3 cracks above the alcove. The left one looks like a wide lieback, and the right one is a splitter (but grainy) thin crack. The one in the middle takes the path of least resistance. After ~50', head left up a couple of rampy lieback sections (not the splitter hand crack directly above). Belay at a large ledge below a right-facing corner.
P6(5.10b, ~120'): Climb the crux dihedral. Stiff off the bat, then eases up. Below the smaller summit block, head left up an offwidth/chimney/stem with a large fixed cam in it. Belay at large ledge.
P7(5.7, ~50'): Head up/right through a small notch, then follow the right-slanting crack system on a slab below/around the larger summit block (the huge one that's obvious from the approach). Belay on another large ledge.
You're now on the summit ridge (~500'). The climbing along the ridge is inobvious, and is definitely not 3rd class, more like mixed 4th/5th class. Lots of gendarmes and large pillars to navigate. We ended up following the ridge proper for ~200', downclimbing to the right of the ridge, then heading straight up through blocky 5.6ish climbing to the summit plateau.
Photos
18 Comments