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Lovin' Arms [Edit]
5.10b/c YDS 6b French 20 Ewbanks VII UIAA 20 ZA E2 5b British A0
Avg: 3.7 from 107
votes
Routes in Central Wall Area
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Abraxas T 5.11d 7a 24 VIII 25 E5 6a A3-4 |
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Crying Dragon T 5.11d 7a 24 VIII 25 E5 6a |
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Davis-Holland Route T 5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b |
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Golden Arch 5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b A3- |
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Good Girls Like Bad Boys S 5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a |
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Green Drag-on T 5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c C2-3 |
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Lovin' Arms T 5.10b/c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b A0 |
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Rise and Fall T 5.12a/b 7b 26 VIII+ 26 E5 6a |
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Starfish Enterprise S 5.11d 7a 24 VIII 25 E5 6a |
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Swim T 5.12b/c 7b+ 27 IX- 27 E6 6b |
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Technicians of the Sacred S 5.12b/c 7b+ 27 IX- 27 E6 6b |
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Town Crier T 5.12d 7c 28 IX 28 E6 6b |
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Waterway 5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b A3- |
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| Type: | Trad, Aid, 3 pitches |
| FA: | Don Brooks, 1980 |
| Page Views: | 10,089 total · 84/month |
| Shared By: | Eric Fjellanger on Jun 30, 2008 |
| Admins: | Scott Coldiron, Jon Nelson, Micah Klesick |
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Access Issue: 2018 Seasonal Raptor Closure: Upper pitches of the Diamond
Details
2018 Seasonal Raptor Closure at Index through July 15: Climbers should observer a voluntary closure on pitches 4 and above of Centerfold to Hell Bent For Glory for the peregrine falcon nesting season.
Each year, Washington Climbers Coalition partners with WA State Parks and WA DFW to monitor the Index Town Walls for nesting raptors. When hiking or climbing outside this closure buffer, avoid disturbance, keep noise to a minimum, and use your best judgment to gauge and mitigate your impact.
Each year, Washington Climbers Coalition partners with WA State Parks and WA DFW to monitor the Index Town Walls for nesting raptors. When hiking or climbing outside this closure buffer, avoid disturbance, keep noise to a minimum, and use your best judgment to gauge and mitigate your impact.
Description [Edit]
This route continues directly upward from the third pitch of Davis-Holland, and the linkup of these two is considered a classic.
P1: 5.10b - From the anchor, tenuous face holds and side-pulling in shallow cracks brings you to an excellent hand crack. Follow the hand crack up into a mossy chimney that presents many options. A two-bolt anchor lies on the left side of the chimney on top of a small ledge.
P2: 5.10a, 5.10c A0, or 5.11c, depending on how you go - The original route, with a single bolt for aid if you traverse right from the anchors. Pulling on a sling brings you to a crack system; these moves go free at 5.11c.
The more common way is to continue up the chimney for about 20 feet then follow a crack on a ramp that goes down and right to a shallow corner. Done this way the pitch is overall 5.10a.
Either way, from this point continue up a crack in a small corner until some large solid holds become available, then rightward and upward to a mantle onto a large ledge and the anchors.
P3: From the anchors climb up the quartz-like face, past one bolt, to some cracks that will take gear. Hand and footholds are numerous but many are downsloping. Continue directly upward to the anchors, or bail out leftward into the pine trees. This pitch probably deserves an R rating.
For descent, you may rappel the route with 2 60m ropes, use one of many rappel options to climber's left, or walk off easily. To find the trail, go leftward until you find the dirt road, follow it until you reach a steel and cable barricade, and go left. This trail links up with the UTW approach trail, about 3/4 of the way up.
P1: 5.10b - From the anchor, tenuous face holds and side-pulling in shallow cracks brings you to an excellent hand crack. Follow the hand crack up into a mossy chimney that presents many options. A two-bolt anchor lies on the left side of the chimney on top of a small ledge.
P2: 5.10a, 5.10c A0, or 5.11c, depending on how you go - The original route, with a single bolt for aid if you traverse right from the anchors. Pulling on a sling brings you to a crack system; these moves go free at 5.11c.
The more common way is to continue up the chimney for about 20 feet then follow a crack on a ramp that goes down and right to a shallow corner. Done this way the pitch is overall 5.10a.
Either way, from this point continue up a crack in a small corner until some large solid holds become available, then rightward and upward to a mantle onto a large ledge and the anchors.
P3: From the anchors climb up the quartz-like face, past one bolt, to some cracks that will take gear. Hand and footholds are numerous but many are downsloping. Continue directly upward to the anchors, or bail out leftward into the pine trees. This pitch probably deserves an R rating.
For descent, you may rappel the route with 2 60m ropes, use one of many rappel options to climber's left, or walk off easily. To find the trail, go leftward until you find the dirt road, follow it until you reach a steel and cable barricade, and go left. This trail links up with the UTW approach trail, about 3/4 of the way up.
Location [Edit]
Starts slightly right of the top of Davis-Holland pitch 3. then slants back left. Two crack systems leave the ledge; LA takes the right one.
Protection [Edit]
A set of nuts, a double rack of cams from finger-size to #2 C4, and a single #3 C4 were quite adequate.
Tacoma, WA
P1 - The double cracks seemed harder than 10b.
P2 - We did the alternate 10c (15+ feet up then traverse right on a hand crack) rather than traverse over to the aid bolt. This seemed much easier than 10c and easier than the first pitch.
P3 - Random easier face/edge climbing, and is easily linked with P2.
If you only have a 60 meter rope, there is a decent way to rap off the upper town wall using both the Heaven's Gate and Golden Road Anchors:
-Walk climbers left over to the top of Heaven's Gate (The anchors are a little hard to find, but but it is the second bolt line from climbers left of the main chimney/corner; the anchors are down one ledge, past a small tree, then anchors are below this ledge/tree on another ledge at the edge of the wall).
-Rappel straight down 30 meters to next bolted anchors on Heaven's Gate (you will be at the ends of your rope).
-Rappel down 30 meters to the very ends of your rope and pull/walk yourself ~30' over to the anchors on Golden Road (the anchors are not very visible until you are near the ends of your rope, and you will be at the last 2-3 feet of your rope to reach the anchors; there is little to no rope abrasion when pulling/walking yourself over if you position your rope properly).
-Rappel to next anchors on Golden Road.
-Rappel <30 meters to a ledge 15 feet off the ground (ropes will be out of sight down an overhang).
-Scramble down off of the ledge after pulling your rope.
Be aware! These are full length rappels on a 60 meter, so if you are unsure of your rope length, walk off instead (or bring a 70 meter or double ropes). Aug 24, 2009
PDX, OR
Also a 70 meter rope does not reach all the way down to the first pitch. You will come up about 10 feet short. My partner found this out the hard way. Aug 30, 2009
Boulder, CO
With two 60M ropes, you can rap all the way from the top of the route to the top of Davis-Holland in one rappel. You'll have about 6 feet of extra rope at the end. Jul 30, 2011
Bellingham, WA
All three pitches are a blast. The jamming on the first pitch is fantastic -- nice fingerlocks and hand jams. Aug 24, 2012
Taking a suggestion from the Davis Holland comments, we brought 4 green 3/4 Camalots, and were able to place most or all of them on almost all 6 pitches of DH/LA. I thought the first 20 feet of P1 was the crux of LA. There were some scary blocks directly above the belay in the chimney version of P2. P3 was Type I Fun; I trended L near the top and found plenty of good protection and no loose rock.
We were happy to walk off L on a very nice trail system marred by a short section of illegal Jeep track. When in doubt, stay L on the walk-off; other options lead you either back into Deliverance country or drop you too low on the UTW approach trail. Jul 29, 2013
Seattle, WA
70m rope works to rap the entire DHLA route. Perhaps these guys had a short 70m or rapped using different stations.
"The final pitch has enough loose rock to warrant a 5.9+ R rating."
We didn't find any loose rock on this pitch, nor a lack of gear. The gear may be small and technical, but no way this pitch warrants an R rating. Aug 15, 2016
Bellingham, WA