Avg: 3.5 from 4
votes
Access Issue: RAIN, WET ROCK and RAPTOR CLOSURES: The sandstone around Moab is fragile and is very easily damaged when it is wet. Also please ask and be aware of Raptor Closures in areas such as CAT WALL and RESERVOIR WALL in Indian Creek
Details
Start near the right (east) end of the expansive south face, on a rib just left of a large, deep hollow. Look for two bolts to start.
1. From the bolts head up and left to a nice crack on the arete. Work up this. Ease past a closet-size, barely-attached block with care. Thinner nailing ends at a 3-bolt belay (A3, 80').
2. Thin seams lead up and right to a bold ladder with occasional hooking. End at a nice ledge (A3, 80').
3. Climb a flake system at the left end of the ledge, past one bolt, to a shallow dihedral. Up this to a bolted belay under a triangular roof (A2+, 80').
4. Over the roof to a splitter, one-inch crack. Romp up this to a bolted, hanging belay (A2, 120').
5. Move up and left into an easy dihedral to a bolt. Tension left to a shallow groove, from which hooking on broken crockery gets one over the caprock to, finally, a big comfy ledge (A2+, 80').
6. Walk the belay 30 feet right (to a 3-bolt rap station) then scamper up a 5.8 chimney to the summit.
The bolt on pitch 3 was where the decision to rope-solo a new route in such a remote location in February/March began to seem not such a great idea and I retreated, eventually returning with a partner. Still bugs me, placing that bolt, there's a placement there.
This is on the south side of the formation. The route goes to the large, main summit. There's still a drop off that prevent easy (non-5th class) access from above. Tony Wilson and Russell Hooper added another route up the north side but I'm not sure if his route goes to the same summit or to a different pinnacle further west.
The whole nine yards. Bunch of beaks all the way to largest cams. Include a selection of hooks. Also include a bunch (12? that many?) standard angles for pitch 4 (the crack is kinda too choked with mud for cams to work without a struggle).
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Palo Alto
Nomad
Fix a rope on P4 to get back to the belay on the way down, otherwise you'll be in no mans land. We also fixed a rope on P5 due to the cap rock roof and the worry of not getting back to the belay. But I think that isn't a problem.
There is no summit anchor so we put webbing around a loose block about 40 ft from the summit to rap off of. I freed the last chimney pitch. It felt about 5.9/10. You can easily aid the initial move. I found sort of a tough sequence to avoid that.
All the grading felt spot on except for a couple things. P4 was physical and long. I had to dig a lot. P5 seemed pretty stoudt for A2+. But I guess it could all be graded A2+ since it is in the Mystery Towers.
As far as gear we used a few #1 peckers, several #2, and tons of #3. We had 6 spectres and could have used more. I think if you brought 5 of each sized pins above LA to #5 angle. Maybe 3 #6 angle. A couple bongs. Bring several Z pins. Small double set of offset stoppers. A couple offset cams. Maybe 3 or 4 sets of cams from .3 to #2. Perhaps doubles from #3 to #6. We brought way too much shit out there. But we had no idea about what to expect.
Judging based on tat and the pin scars....I'm guessing our ascent was the second or third. Either way, I can't emphasize on how great of a route this is! 4 stars. Go do it! The rock is really good on the first three pitches. Oct 28, 2019
Boulder, CO