SE Buttress 5.9 **** III (9-10 pitches)
A fine crack climb, following the ridge behind "The Monk" (semi-detatched feature on the lower right side of the South face).
P1 5.8+ Start up a crack behind a short chimney block which becomes a LFC, then around a roof to the left. Great climbing which becomes grainier at the top where you can choose between a short OW to the left or nondescript but easier cracks to the right. 45m
P2 5.8 Surmount the steep chockstone in the chimney and after 10m, exit to the right and up some more juggy cracks to a stance. 15m
P3 5.8 Somewhat awkward but juggy hand cracks to a ledge, then stem and jam up excellent twin finger cracks. Mantle out of the corner system, step right to a short wide crack, then take twin finger cracks for another 5m. Anchor takes tight hands pieces.
P4 5.8 Climb short discontinuous steps up and left. Step right to a short LFC with twin cracks. Cimb a juggy dike with limited pro. Protect follower, then traverse left on the sandy ledge to a handcrack in a RFC.
P5 5.8+ Climb the RFC to a cruxy mantle, then ramble up ledges to a chimney on your right. Atop the chimney, protect your follower and traverse left on the sandy ledge to a finger crack.
P6 5.7 Climb the finger crack, then walk ledges left to a broad open book feature. Above, work through 3rd-4th class terrain up and a little left, and choose a belay anywhere in this area.
P7 5.6 Continue up discontinuous easy terrain, aiming for the left side of the headwall. One chimney or handcrack move gains the ledge. If linking 8-9, conserve anchor gear for your next lead
[It's highly recommended to link P8-9 into a phenomenal 55m 10a pitch, which skips the only semi-hanging belay on the route.]
P8 5.9 A tricky move down low earns a solid medium sized cam. Follow obvious double crack system to the major horizonal break (optional belay). If linking, sling gear liberally high on this pitch. 25m
P9 5.9+ Stepping rightward, choose between a wide crack and finger crack further right. Where they end into a horizontal break, trend left to access the left side of a big dance ledge. Anchor is hand sized cams, recommend extending. 30m
P10 5.8 Two short steps of fun hand crack with a ledge on between leads to the 3rd class summit. ~20m
Descend the ridge to the west from the summit. Shortly after the infamous jump across, traverse into a gully briefly, then cross back up and over the ridge to your left. Continue descending west, then south down loose slopes to the trail.
A wide selection of nuts and cams (up to #3 Camalot). A single #2 and #3 works well. For the offwidth on P9, a single #4 and #5 will suffice.
Estes Park, CO
Salt Lake City, UT
Regarding beta, Steph Abegg's photos and description on her site are incredibly detailed and got us through the route pretty easily.
I put the route at 10a due to the first 2 headwall pitches (p8 and p9). The start of the first headwall pitch is flaring, delicate climbing that seemed to be a touch more than 9+. The second headwall pitch has the great 10a finger crack that should be part of the standard route topo because no one should be crazy enough to haul BD 4's and 5's 20 miles to do the offwidth pitch (*cough* Jordon...) Aug 15, 2018
P9 finger crack is super fun, plenty of rest and felt easier than the strange flaring cracks on P8. Feb 22, 2019
Winthrop, WA
Seattle, WA
Seattle, WA