[Hide Comment] I gave this a 5.7 R based on how we climbed the squeeze chimney on P2. The lowest section of the squeeze was too tight for us to traverse low, so we climbed 20 ft up on the outside edge of the squeeze to reach a wider section. Then we traversed the 40ft of squeeze to a stuck block, then up the 5 ft into the cavern. No pro that entire section up and through the squeeze, just made sure to keep myself partially stuck most of the time! We had 7 people in the cave at once, with plenty of room all over! We downclimbed to the rated X bolts, which rap to the bottom with a 70m. Sep 23, 2013

[Hide Comment] Great climb! Definitely not 40' back or up, more like 20'-30'. Easy to do a single pitch to the ledge/cave at the top of the squeeze. Jun 23, 2015

[Hide Comment] Probably a couple of different ways to run this one. We soloed up the easy 5.3 broken gully to the right of the diagonal crack and set up a somewhat awkward belay near the base of the squeeze chimney. Went through the first squeeze chimney and set up a belay in the large cave. For p2 we went up through the large vertical shaft at the far end of the cave. Probably only placed about 6-7 pieces total for both pitches. Super fun, definitely some adventure climbing. Jun 27, 2016

[Hide Comment] Hilariously fun climb. Normally I avoid squeeze chimneys like the plague but this one was easy to protect with a hand crack in the first pitch and a finger crack in the second pitch. Do it! Aug 12, 2016

[Hide Comment] I'm a pretty thin person and I actually could not psychically get deeper than 5 feet in the squeeze, my partner couldn't even get into it. It's a shame because the route looks fricken amazing. Jun 30, 2017

[Hide Comment] My partner and I had the same experience as Sam when we tried this last year. Neither of us could get into the squeeze and my partner is skinny! We bailed on a cordalette around the block below the slot. Either we were off route, or we don't know how to get into squeeze chimneys (also likely as we're both new climbers). Aug 11, 2017

[Hide Comment] I'm 5'11" and 160lbs and couldn't fit in at the bottom of the squeeze. But it gets wider as it goes up, so after climbing up 5 feet I was able to get into it. Then after about 10 feet of going in, it gets wider everywhere so was able to drop down to the ground and walk to the rest of the way to the back.

If it's too hot to climb at black wall, this is a great way to cool off. Sep 5, 2017

[Hide Comment] Sounds like a lot of people once they tunnel through the main squeeze, and get to the main cave area, they continue towards the back (south) and exit that way. We instead exited from the end of the squeeze we went right, (west) to a dead vertical chimney shaft about 30-40ft tall that had a finger crack for pro. (Ends up behind a hand crack at the top) Very clean and was the highlight of the route for me. You can climb this shaft a thousand different ways probably. Hate OW and thought the squeeze was a bit stiff for 5.6 due to how tight it felt, and no pro for leader or follower. Definitely climb up 10 or so feet to get into it, entering at the base looks like a closterphobic cluster. Aug 1, 2018

[Hide Comment] Question: In the back of the lemon squeezer of labyrinth just before the last bit in the corner another chanel intersecs and goes down and right , what is this route? Wrap around the corner of xrated and go up and scramble the broken slab to a ledge to get into the right OW with a large chockstone.
It's worth it if your easily amused Jul 25, 2019

[Hide Comment] If you are more than one inch thick and can't tunnel forty feet into this thing (is it even 40' deep? Don't think so...), climb the squeeze chimney near the outside. It protects reasonably well using the thin crack to the right. Sep 5, 2019

[Hide Comment] I added a photo to better show the start of the squeeze as viewed on the way up from Rated X. We spent a solid 45 min trying to tunnel into the WRONG chimney -- unless you're a fan of The Machinist look, I do not recommend that chimney! It's crazy tight with a truly precarious entry. Oh, and it probably goes nowhere.

After that, climb went smoothly. You do have at least two options once you get to the cave past the squeeze. Back and to the left in the cave you'll find a shark's tooth. Surmounting that will bring you on a fun little wander that eventually spits you out of a hilarious birth canal. Or you can take the beautiful finger crack Tyson mentions in the right of the cave. Both will get you to the top. Finger crack is probably better climbing (we didn't go that way), but that birth canal is a hoot! Aug 3, 2020

[Hide Comment] Surprised at how highly rated this climb is. P1 was dirty. And the squeeze in P2-P3 seemed not doable as intended for normal sized humans. Had to bail because I didn't fit, and didn't like the alternative option of climbing on the outside of the squeeze as an R rated climb. Would also say it's not 5.6 unless you can easily fit inside the squeeze. Sep 5, 2023

[Hide Comment] For what it's worth, I couldn't seem to fit in at the bottom of the squeeze either, so I took a few min to contemplate, placed what I could in the small crack to the right, used some face holds to get ~8ft higher, and was able to slide in. Once in, I wiggled my way in about 10ft horizontally until I could drop down to the ground inside the squeeze, then moved to the back where the crack leads to the cave (similar to Mike Horan's comment). Fun climbing using the crack, chimney, and chock stone to the cave. Cool cave and pretty short/easy final chimney pitch with good pro to top. Looked like you could top out from the back of the cave, but we took the chimney in the northwest corner of the cave that seemed most obvious. I am 6'4" and almost 200lbs, if you don't think you will fit, climb a little higher at the entrance, you probably will. Sep 7, 2023

[Hide Comment] If you’ve ever lifted weights on purpose, you won’t fit in this chimney. I’m 5’7”, 130 lbs, muscley/curvy, not a skeletor, and could not get in. It might be slightly wider up higher, but the run out climb up without good holds is not a 5.6. I also couldn’t fit through the first pitch gully with my helmet and gear on, and the climb outside is more slick and difficult. I’m shocked this route is rated so well and doesn’t have more size warnings in the guidebooks and app narratives. Sep 21, 2023

[Hide Comment] ^
“If you’ve ever lifted weights on purpose, you won’t fit in this chimney.”

I disagree with that statement. Myself and several others who I know sent have lifted weights on purpose and were fine. Many of them were not “skeletors” at all. (Likely why there isn’t guidebook warnings on size).

Don’t let the comments scare you off, this unique climb is rather fun. Sep 22, 2023

[Hide Comment] I agree that your mileage may vary. 5’9” and 140 pounds. Went up over the block at the mouth and still could not squeeze in. I had a rack and even if I didn’t have that on, I could not squeeze in without exhaling and holding the buckle on my harness to keep it from catching on the rock. Might be doable for someone smaller or someone soloing without gear and harness. Sep 22, 2023

[Hide Comment] Clearly very dependent on subtle differences in thickness and YMMV. Have to agree with those slightly thicker folk about this being sketchy...6' 180lb skier/college swimmer build did not work out well and had to go quite high before traversing. Crack on the right only protected the bottom of the chimney. Though I think if you don't fit in initially then paranoia of getting stuck may prevent you from getting in until you are quite confident you'll fit--the subtle width variations were hard to gauge for me as I vision quested far above a black totem. Otherwise a cool route.

Also followed the cave feature all the way back and there is a very tight hole exiting overhead. Not sure where this ends up but wasnt able to fit through it, so ended up doing the sharks tooth/birth canal exit which was great. Oct 8, 2023

[Hide Comment] Only placed a pair of BD #2 on the first pitch, and a single #2 on the second pitch. Probably easier to free solo than deal with rope and gear. Oct 10, 2023

[Hide Comment] You will laugh doing this route. I'm pretty thick and if you get on the right route, you'll fit in the squeeze chimney. Definitely an adventure. Don't be put off by the grade...this route has a very high Calories per Inch factor and is really cool. Jul 9, 2025