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Cast In Stone

5.8, Sport, 200 ft (61 m), 2 pitches,  Avg: 3.3 from 104 votes
FA: John Robinson / Brad Johnson
California > Lake Tahoe > I-80 Corridor > Bowman/Emeralds > Emeralds > Benches > Negativity Cave
Warning Access Issue: No overnight camping on PG&E property DetailsDrop down

Description

Cast in Stone is a Two pitch climb (see Negativity Slabs Area for a description of first pitch) To get to the start of the second pitch of this climb, climb the first pitch of "Cast In Stone" (See Beta Photo #4) When you get to the top of the first pitch you will arrive at a bench area that is at the base of Negativity Cave. Move to the left side of Negativity cave. Move up to the first bolt and traverse left past the fixed draw. There is a bolt with a chain protecting the move over the lip. Climb to the next bolt then down climb to lip bolt and remove draw to reduce rope drag. Although only 5.8, climb has great exposure and a few tricky moves up top.

Protection

bolt protected with musseys at the anchor.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Lead bolting 2nd pitch of Cast in Stone.
[Hide Photo] Lead bolting 2nd pitch of Cast in Stone.
Life's Bad .8. Negativity Cave, Emeralds, CA.
[Hide Photo] Life's Bad .8. Negativity Cave, Emeralds, CA.
Comin Over
[Hide Photo] Comin Over
Amazing fun
[Hide Photo] Amazing fun
On approach to negativity slab from trail.  Shaded area is Negativity Cave.
[Hide Photo] On approach to negativity slab from trail. Shaded area is Negativity Cave.
Michael DeWitt on the first half
[Hide Photo] Michael DeWitt on the first half
Eli Nuñez just past the crux on the second pitch of Cast In Stone
[Hide Photo] Eli Nuñez just past the crux on the second pitch of Cast In Stone
high up on cast in stone, negativity cave,  emeralds, ca
[Hide Photo] high up on cast in stone, negativity cave, emeralds, ca
cast in stone, emeralds, ca
[Hide Photo] cast in stone, emeralds, ca
Photo of some friends I made while taking turns on the second pitch. Beautiful Climb!
[Hide Photo] Photo of some friends I made while taking turns on the second pitch. Beautiful Climb!
Fun route
[Hide Photo] Fun route
Pulling the Roof on Life is Bad.
[Hide Photo] Pulling the Roof on Life is Bad.

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Rick Batha
El Macero, CA
  5.8
[Hide Comment] Super fun, great exposure! Aug 3, 2014
[Hide Comment] Probably my favorite route at the Emeralds love the exposure and it's actually the upper part of a two pitch climb. Great views from the top. Be careful one of the chains mid climb is pretty thin go with the bolt as soon as you can instead of the chain.
View from the top anchors
Sep 20, 2016
carl al
 
[Hide Comment] classic, fun, exposed. Reminds me of the 2nd pitch of bonnie's roof at the gunks. Oct 2, 2017
Karalyn Aronow
Sacramento, CA
 
[Hide Comment] Super fun climb! Loved the heady-ness of the exposure. 10 bolts to a 2 mussy anchor. Alpine draws are helpful in reducing drag. I also downclimbed after getting the second bolt to unclip first draw to reduce drag. Watch some of the corners around the second chain - there's a few sharp rope eaters! Jan 1, 2018
Simon Leigh
SF, CA
 
[Hide Comment] +1 the 2nd chain (used to extend maybe 5th bolt?) is super thin and it can be tough to fit a biner with a large nose through it. Jun 11, 2019
[Hide Comment] There are no permadraws on this climb. The chain on bolt 4 (under roof) is a bit rusty and the chain on bolt 5 (above roof) needs to be replaced with something larger to accept a wider range of carabiners. Mar 15, 2020
Max R
Davis, CA
[Hide Comment] Harrison is right about the need to replace the small chain. Many of the newer carabiners with snagless nose designs will not fit through that janky dog chain. Jul 19, 2020
Lurk Er
Truckee, CA
[Hide Comment] I'll let the chain committee know, they'll get a couple of people on it! Jul 19, 2020
Michael Bee
NorCal
 
[Hide Comment] Lurker, we've alerted the salty climber committee of their new contentious leader :P Jul 26, 2021
James Amort
  5.8-
[Hide Comment] Absolute classic for the area - a must do. This was my first "multipitch" route about a year ago and holy cow was it beautiful. If you've ever even climbed 5.8 don't be intimidated by the big roof move - it's very well protected, secure footing, and if you just reach up and go for it the handholds are all fantastic. Great climb to get used to some exposure as well. Oct 13, 2021