The Balcony Route
5.10d YDS 6b+ French 21 Ewbanks VII+ UIAA 21 ZA E3 5b British PG13
Type: | Trad, 330 ft (100 m), 3 pitches |
FA: | Tom Whittiker et al. circa 1969 |
Page Views: | 1,149 total · 11/month |
Shared By: | Josh Janes on Sep 8, 2014 |
Admins: | GRK, Eric Bluemn, Mike Engle |
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(1) The area, crags, and routes just north of the Twin Sisters are on private land and the landowner recently posted no trespassing notices at the gated road/trail to the area. Any access of these areas and routes is trespassing. The area was closed by the landowner due to trespassing, illegal camping, fires & trash, and disregard of owner's privacy.
Please be respectful of the land owner's wishes and do not climb or hike here until further notice. This includes White Lightning, Skinner Roof, Weather Wall, Yellow Wall, Larry's Annihilation, Needle Rock, Mississippi Fred's, and Secret Tom's. Park officials and CRAG are working to regain access to this valuable climbing resource. Be patient and check back for updates.
(2) No trash cans anywhere in City of Rocks: urlzs.com/c4eZH
(3) HIGHLINING IS PROHIBITED
By the authority of the park manager, Highlining at City of Rocks National Reserve and Castle Rocks State Park is temporarily prohibited as of August 28, 2019.
The park(s) is reviewing highlining activities. Here are Google Drive links to the closure and the updated Code of Regulations for CIRO. drive.google.com/open?id=1y… and drive.google.com/open?id=1Y…
Please be respectful of the land owner's wishes and do not climb or hike here until further notice. This includes White Lightning, Skinner Roof, Weather Wall, Yellow Wall, Larry's Annihilation, Needle Rock, Mississippi Fred's, and Secret Tom's. Park officials and CRAG are working to regain access to this valuable climbing resource. Be patient and check back for updates.
(2) No trash cans anywhere in City of Rocks: urlzs.com/c4eZH
(3) HIGHLINING IS PROHIBITED
By the authority of the park manager, Highlining at City of Rocks National Reserve and Castle Rocks State Park is temporarily prohibited as of August 28, 2019.
The park(s) is reviewing highlining activities. Here are Google Drive links to the closure and the updated Code of Regulations for CIRO. drive.google.com/open?id=1y… and drive.google.com/open?id=1Y…
The Twin Sisters formations are off-limits to climbing: The Idaho Historical Society has deemed that climbing interferes with the "Historical Viewshed" of the California Trail Corridor and has lobbied successfully with the Idaho State Parks to make climbing illegal on the Twin Sisters. The Access Fund has unsuccessfully negotiated restoration of climbing on the Sisters.
Bolts have been removed as a result of this decision (including descent anchors). Those that remain, if any, are undoubtedly outdated and dangerous.
Bolts have been removed as a result of this decision (including descent anchors). Those that remain, if any, are undoubtedly outdated and dangerous.
Description
Note: This description is for the historical record only. All information contained within is likely outdated and inaccurate. Many, if not all, bolts have been removed from the Twin Sisters formations and climbing on them is illegal. Do not attempt to climb these routes for your own safety and compliance with the law!
This long, lost adventure route is undoubtedly a City classic that weaves a very unlikely path through natural features and threatening roof systems at a reasonably moderate grade. Surely covered in lichen thanks to lack of traffic, climbers, hikers, and vehicle-bound gawkers alike will gaze to or from this climb and feel as if they have been transported back in time to the late 1800's... Is that a wagon train west-bound on the California Trail? Alas no, it is an SUV speeding along the dirt road. Are those settlers in search of land, fortune, and fresh beginnings? Alas, no, those are telephone poles and grazing cattle. What is that glint high up on the wall above you? Could it be an exposed vein of gold? One thing's for sure: It's definitely not a bolt.
P1 (5.9, 130'): Scramble (5.7?) up boulders to gain a belay beneath the obvious, clean handcrack just left of a pillar on the easternmost buttress of the formation. Follow this crack until it peters out beneath a bulge and traverse right underneath this bulge to gain a second, hidden crack system. An ancient bolt once and perhaps still does "protect" this thin traverse. Continue more easily to a belay at a spike atop the pillar. There was once a bolted anchor here but rumor has it it's been removed.
P2 (5.10w is for weird, 80'): It would be real bummer about that missing bolted anchor because this pitch traverses straight right off the belay for 30' before heading straight up for another 30' to a crux roof; the missing anchor would make this situation very difficult for the belayer to provide a good belay for the leader should he or she fall at the roof. And unfortunately protection post-traverse isn't really ideal for setting up what would be a hanging belay out right. Nevertheless, your goal is the giant, chute-like roof. The climbing up to it is scantily protected, but once there good pro is available: at one time there were two decent pins under the roof, but they could possibly be backed up with supplemental gear (though be careful not to occupy a crucial crimp/slot). I've heard that funky, funky moves that seem extremely improbable pull this roof at what might be 5.10c. Upon turning the lip, build a belay at a sloping stance just beneath a striking rattly finger crack below another blocky roof overhead.
P3 (5.10d, 100'): Climb the rattly finger crack to a wide crack to an awkward hand crack through this final roof (crux). Continue more easily up jugs and incuts to the summit.
If there are no anchors on the summit you might have to leave gear, sling a horn, or simply down climb the southern shoulder of the formation (at 5.5 X). There was once an intermediate anchor halfway down this which would allow for a final rappel to the notch between the North and South Sister, though the rappel would be about 40 meters long.
All my info comes second-hand so I cannot vouch for it's accuracy, but I will say this: There is no hope of rescue here; you're on your own.
This long, lost adventure route is undoubtedly a City classic that weaves a very unlikely path through natural features and threatening roof systems at a reasonably moderate grade. Surely covered in lichen thanks to lack of traffic, climbers, hikers, and vehicle-bound gawkers alike will gaze to or from this climb and feel as if they have been transported back in time to the late 1800's... Is that a wagon train west-bound on the California Trail? Alas no, it is an SUV speeding along the dirt road. Are those settlers in search of land, fortune, and fresh beginnings? Alas, no, those are telephone poles and grazing cattle. What is that glint high up on the wall above you? Could it be an exposed vein of gold? One thing's for sure: It's definitely not a bolt.
P1 (5.9, 130'): Scramble (5.7?) up boulders to gain a belay beneath the obvious, clean handcrack just left of a pillar on the easternmost buttress of the formation. Follow this crack until it peters out beneath a bulge and traverse right underneath this bulge to gain a second, hidden crack system. An ancient bolt once and perhaps still does "protect" this thin traverse. Continue more easily to a belay at a spike atop the pillar. There was once a bolted anchor here but rumor has it it's been removed.
P2 (5.10w is for weird, 80'): It would be real bummer about that missing bolted anchor because this pitch traverses straight right off the belay for 30' before heading straight up for another 30' to a crux roof; the missing anchor would make this situation very difficult for the belayer to provide a good belay for the leader should he or she fall at the roof. And unfortunately protection post-traverse isn't really ideal for setting up what would be a hanging belay out right. Nevertheless, your goal is the giant, chute-like roof. The climbing up to it is scantily protected, but once there good pro is available: at one time there were two decent pins under the roof, but they could possibly be backed up with supplemental gear (though be careful not to occupy a crucial crimp/slot). I've heard that funky, funky moves that seem extremely improbable pull this roof at what might be 5.10c. Upon turning the lip, build a belay at a sloping stance just beneath a striking rattly finger crack below another blocky roof overhead.
P3 (5.10d, 100'): Climb the rattly finger crack to a wide crack to an awkward hand crack through this final roof (crux). Continue more easily up jugs and incuts to the summit.
If there are no anchors on the summit you might have to leave gear, sling a horn, or simply down climb the southern shoulder of the formation (at 5.5 X). There was once an intermediate anchor halfway down this which would allow for a final rappel to the notch between the North and South Sister, though the rappel would be about 40 meters long.
All my info comes second-hand so I cannot vouch for it's accuracy, but I will say this: There is no hope of rescue here; you're on your own.
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