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Wildest Dreams

5.12-, Trad, 350 ft (106 m), 4 pitches, Grade III,  Avg: 3.7 from 26 votes
FA: Chris Hensen, et al '06
Washington > Central-W Casca… > Skykomish Valley > Index > Upper Town Wall > (d) Dana's Arch Area

Description

P1 (5.10): Start as for Golden Road or climb the flake more easily from the left. 6 or so bolts lead up a face to the right of Golden Road to a left facing corner (9+). Stem and jam the corner past thin gear (10+) at the top to a belay anchor on a ledge on the right.

P2 (5.11): A flake goes up left to a fin/shallow corner. Use some small cams and nuts between bolts 1 and 2. After about 4-5 more bolts, the fin ends and you face a thin seam/face-climbing crux. A few more face moves (protected by medium-sized gear) lead to a 5.10 mantel and comfy belay ledge.

P3 (5.12a or A1): Two bolts protect the beginning of a right-leaning, thin fingers/fingertip crack. Tiny cams (0,00 TCU, 0 C3, black and blue aliens) to finger size pieces protect the rest. At only 40 feet, this pitch is certainly sustained at the grade. Belay on a large ledge that forms part of the descent and traverse pitches on the original Davis-Holland route.

If aiding it's probably easy to just French-free the crux.

P4 (5.10): Two bolts protect face moves that lead to sustained, thought-provoking climbing in discontinuous cracks. The pitch is nearly 35 m, so if you want to lower off the chains or rap, make sure you have a 70-m rope (or a second rope).

A short face traverse and 4th-class climbing leads up to the top of the wall where you can quickly get to the trail.

Location

Starts in the same area as Golden Route via a two bolt slab or a 3rd/4th class flake traverse.

A single 70m will work for the whole climb and the descent. The final pitch is a full 35m so be careful when lowering the leader and be sure your rope is likewise a full 70m.

Protection

SR to 3" with extra in the tiny to finger size. Don't recall if you absolutely need doubles in the larger sizes. Some smaller nuts are useful for P1 and maybe P2 but I dunno if you absolutely need them.

Anchors are all fixed and equipped with rappel hardware.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Near the top of p1 of Wildest Dreams.
[Hide Photo] Near the top of p1 of Wildest Dreams.
Eric Hirst at the start of p2 Wildest Dreams.
[Hide Photo] Eric Hirst at the start of p2 Wildest Dreams.
Eric at the finishing jug on the long, sustained 4th pitch of Wildest Dreams.
[Hide Photo] Eric at the finishing jug on the long, sustained 4th pitch of Wildest Dreams.
Tips crux.
[Hide Photo] Tips crux.
P2 some dude from CO.
[Hide Photo] P2 some dude from CO.
P2.  Tenuous.
[Hide Photo] P2. Tenuous.
P1.  Light sprinkle.
[Hide Photo] P1. Light sprinkle.
On the crux 5.12 crack on Wildest Dreams.
[Hide Photo] On the crux 5.12 crack on Wildest Dreams.
Eric Hirst near the end of p4 on Wildest Dreams.
[Hide Photo] Eric Hirst near the end of p4 on Wildest Dreams.
Looking up at p4 of Wildest Dreams. The route follows the crack system; first rightward, then leftward, then slightly rightward.
[Hide Photo] Looking up at p4 of Wildest Dreams. The route follows the crack system; first rightward, then leftward, then slightly rightward.
Eric Hirst after the crux on p2 of Wildest Dreams.
[Hide Photo] Eric Hirst after the crux on p2 of Wildest Dreams.

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Jon Nelson
Redmond, WA
 
[Hide Comment] Best UTW route I've done yet.

Parties often aid the third pitch to get to the ultra-classic 4th, but it is certainly worth it to do just the first one or two pitches.

You do not need a 70-m rope if you hike off, which is easy to do. From the end of the 4th pitch, the climbing to the top is relatively clean, solid, and easy. Oct 21, 2013
[Hide Comment] Our 68m rope would not have been long enough to rap or lower from the 4th pitch, although a full 70m rope would have been just enough. I used Chris' old fixed rope as a handline to lead through to the forest above. We removed Chris' rope, but the mossy/chossy top-out pitch should still be mostly pretty easy 4th class climbing, as long as it's dry.

Specifics on the thin gear:
  • A few small brass nuts
  • A #2 (red) LoweBall/Camp Ballnut is very nice for the crux of p1.
  • 3-4 #0 (purple) Metolius for aiding p3, or a mix of #0 (purple) and #00 (gray) if you are going to try to free p3.

Best UTW route I've done yet as well. Possibly my favorite route at Index now. Oct 21, 2013
[Hide Comment] The best 5.10 at Index?

If you aid the 5.12b section, Wildest Dreams is only slightly more demanding than Davis Holland -> Lovin' Arms. Think of it as a 5.10+ trad route with a bit of bolted 5.11- thrown in for good measure. Then get on it.

No need for etriers on p3. The seam is less than vertical, and only lasts about 20-25 feet. One shoulder-length sling to stand in was plenty. Sep 30, 2014
MorganH
  5.12-
[Hide Comment] I really enjoyed this route. All the pitches were pretty spectacular. The climbing is all pretty well protected.

I aided the 12 pitch and then toproped it a couple times to figure out gear placements/stances. I'll be back. Feels similar in difficulty to Iron-Horse.

I think a single set is plenty for yellow alien and larger, doubles in purple TCU and/or blue aliens for the 12 pitch. A gray TCU is nice too.

Our 70m rope was fine to rappel. Feb 2, 2015
Ben Gilkison
Leavenworth, WA
[Hide Comment] Climbed this in recent past. Really fun route. For what its worth, TR'ing the crux felt way easier than leading it. 12- seems about right for the sharp end. The 4th pitch is icing on the cake. Aug 21, 2015
Drewsky
  5.12a
[Hide Comment] .12a it is. Nice to see more people doing this route. I remember really liking it. The crux pitch was cool: just slam in the thin cams and go! Techy feet, too. Aug 22, 2015