[Hide Comment] FYI, this route will feel harder if you are under 6 ft tall, and/or have short legs, and/or have small hands. It is fairly straight forward to step in a sling to get over the roof, but if you decide to just go for it, be prepared for 5.9+++! Apr 11, 2012

[Hide Comment] Lots of good 5.7 - 5.8 climbing on this one. If this thing was in Yosemite, people would be lining up to epic on it everyday. Good rock, good gear the whole way on this one.

I thought the "High Life" start was a bit more fun start for P1. The leader can clip the High Life anchors then walk over to the anchors for PBR P1 and belay. May 10, 2012

[Hide Comment] Low angle fun. Good rock and friction. Crux move feels like 5.9 if you're 6' tall and can hold body weight on a fist jam. Great climb if you can beat the heat. Jul 22, 2012

[Hide Comment] Good route with a very fun crux.

Speaking of which, if you are short don't be discouraged. I am 5'7 and had no problem pulling the crux. A very unique move, but not harder than 5.9.

I agree with rick that the route would have people lining up to epic on it in the Valley, as well as the fact that the High Life variation is very good. Kinda like a more difficult Jellyroll Arch (Donner Summit), only different. Aug 13, 2012

[Hide Comment] Sounds like a lot of people are still getting stuffed at the crux. Don't worry, if the move feels unreasonable, the whole thing goes at a very civilized 5.8 C1. Oct 30, 2012

[Hide Comment] - The crux is way harder than the rest of the route but takes excellent pro. There are several ways to skin this cat depending on your skill set and body type, but aid it if necessary. Don't bail!

- The final pitch is almost 60 meters. At 40m, you'll see a stray anchor about 15 ft. out left on the slab (P5 in Desc), but if you continue up and left after the corner ends, you will reach another anchor that is impossible to see until you are within 25 ft of it (P6 in Desc).

- Be careful rappelling down over the crux! It's easy to flip or mash your hands. Oct 15, 2013

[Hide Comment] P1- not much fun to climb when it's wet
P2- nicest (clean, aesthetic) pitch on the route, a bit more like 5.7 than 5.8
P3- another fun pitch, solid 5.8 (maybe even 5.9), a couple of nice thin finger locks in a flaring groove/shallow corner to a lieback flake
P4- getting over the lip should be no problem, there are solid hands (even for those with thin hands). the real crux is the next couple of moves (insecure liebacking of the pod above the hand jams). would not want to fall over that lip. definitely the money pitch and extra spicy when it's wet. the fun continues at the bolt. fairly sustained.
P5- bit of groveling. started right, then transitioned left into the groove. stopped at the first anchor (5.7/8 move out to the left).

descent: bypass the crux/roof on the far left, then come back right underneath on the slab to the anchor on top of P3. this avoids the potential flailing across the lip, the rope running over a (sharp) edge, and the potential snag by the rope eating flake (higher up)on the pull. watch ends on all the raps, some are very tight with a single 70m. knot ends. Feb 18, 2014

[Hide Comment] Lovely climb, nice work Tai. Do the first 2 pitches in 1 long pitch (2&3 if you count high life as P1) watch rope drag, gets pumpy, the layback is fun. I agree w/previous, the layback low crack above the roof might be the crux, heady for 5.9, would not want to fall through this section. Link the final 2 pitches, not difficult, watch rope drag. I have climbed this twice, got the rope stuck twice on the rap below the roof. Better to swing over to Big Deal and rap the new(er rap line there. Nov 26, 2014

[Hide Comment] I agree with the previous posts...being tall and/or flexible will definitely help you get past the overhanging roof. As I am neither, I placed a #4 cam above the roof, clipped a sling, stood in it and past the crux with minimum fuss. Lastly, I highly recommend starting the route by doing High Life, an awesome pitch, even on its own. May 15, 2015

[Hide Comment] Or you could look behind you and grab the outside corner of the arete above you and pull up much easier. Im 5-7 and discovered this beta the second go. May 18, 2015

[Hide Comment] The roof pitch crux seems about as hard as anything else on the route, it just looks intimidating as all get out. It definitely ranks up there as one of the hardest looking moderate things I've climbed in a while. It seemed simply like 5.9? There's a second before I turned it around from the establishing jams and realized I was on an easy lieback slab section that I thought maybe it was as hard as advertised. But no.

Delightful. Oct 26, 2015

[Hide Comment] Climbed this as others have suggested by linking the last two pitches. It worked out really well. The roof is much mellower than it appears when you set out. If you're feeling iffy, there are at least three cam placements you can reach before lugging yourself over the edge. Immediately above the roof, then it's maybe 6ft of lieback up a wide crack before you can get a #2 in. If you think you'll feel sketched out here, bring a #5 or so and you can stitch it all the way up. Then leave the #5 at the next anchor and grab it on your way down. Mar 28, 2016

[Hide Comment] Fun climbing! Lots of variety. I'm tall and did the roof just fine, but it was funky. I couldn't figure out how to get my feet up, so just did a pull up on sinker hand jams and propped my knees on the wall and stood up--pretty straight forward and might work for others. It didn't seem to reasonable to place any more gear until the end of the lie back, so you need to be solid on that kind of climbing. Falling over the roof would be nasty. May 19, 2018

[Hide Comment] The roof protects very well and has solid jams move your feet up and it won’t feel any harder than 5.9 I thought the real crux was getting established in the weird ow directly above the roof I placed a #4 here Jun 14, 2019

[Hide Comment] nearest bolted anchor atop PBR P1 about 20' left of P2 seam. P1 gear anchor took up some small cams intended for linking P2 + P3. felt seam at its tightest on P2 & P3 the hardest moves overall, for me, to each their own life challenges. super fun to pull over P4 highlight roof at 5'8 +2, highly enjoyed. around midpt of that ensuing wide section, able to place a med cam into a deep inner slot, as in that stretch seems pretty protectable. Apocalypse Now! Aug 7, 2019

[Hide Comment] This climb was lovely. We did it from 9:30 to 12:30 and heat was manageable in late August 2019. After that, the rock got extremely hot. Can't wait to repeat in the Fall.

Note/Beta/Opinion,
Pitch 2: IMO 5.7, favorite pitch and amazing obvious gear.
Pitch 4: there's a stuck #2 in good hand jam real estate on the roof crux move. Can get a solid #2 higher up a tad higher to feel safe for the move. You could clip the stuck cam... but it's less than ideal. Like others have said, you could use a #5 after the bolt beyond the roof crux. Not a bad idea to, as a fall at layback section could send you over the roof you just surmounted. Could get messy.
Pitch 5: Absolutely stellar. Such fun movement. It just needs to see traffic and be cleaned. Mild OW elements. Lots of potential here. Aug 31, 2019

[Hide Comment] Swapped out leads with KG on this today. Got through the roof move with no problem. Wow, it's fun. route was pretty clean and a lot more fun than the tallus field leading up to it. Thanks Devore for the book. Partner used gear up to a 4 for the middle of the Crux move. Jun 1, 2020

[Hide Comment] Pitches 2&3 link very well, and is easily the best pitch of the climb. The roof crux moves aren't that difficult (I'm 5'7") if you can hand jam. After the roof, one more long pitch to the top. I found the last 25-30 feet of the climb (past the anchor on the face to your left) to not be worth it--I would recommend moving left to the anchors on the face when possible. Jun 11, 2020

[Hide Comment] If anyone is wondering how this goes with 60m ropes, we did it as a party of 3 with twin 60's. Both the link of pitches 2/3 and pitch 5 are almost exactly 60m long - so you can climb and descend in 4 pitches/rappels. Jun 20, 2020

[Hide Comment] I’m 5’2” and the crux was honestly fine, I’m sure it’s easier if you’re taller but if you’re short you’re used to figuring out your own beta anyways. You’ve gotten this far in climbing, if you can climb 5.9 you can do this crux May 24, 2021

[Hide Comment] FYI - Don't slip while rappelling over the roof, you'll slice your rope in half. Oct 10, 2023