PRINT: Rock Climb Wings of Wax, Castle Rocks

Wings of Wax

5.12c, Trad, 120 ft (36 m), 2 pitches,

Avg: 3.8 from 4 votes
FA: Ian Cavanaugh
Idaho > S Idaho > Castle Rocks > E Sector > Eagle Rock Grove

Access Issue: (1) BLM Managed Lands at Castle Rocks PERMANENTLY CLOSED TO CLIMBING!! Castle Rocks State Park and US Forest Sevice lands are OPEN TO CLIMBING. US Forest Service Lands closed to new route developement. (2) Highlining temporary ban in place at CIRO/CRSP Details

(1) The BLM has amended the Cassia Resource Management Plan (RMP) to permanently close the 400 acres of land it manages in the Castle Rocks Interagency Recreation Area to staging, traditional rock climbing, sport climbing and bouldering, as well as overnight camping and development of new trails. Here is a link to a map that shows the BLM land in yellow. parksandrecreation.idaho.go…

The adjacent Castle Rocks State Park and the National Forest Service land to the north remains OPEN TO CLIMBING,
as does the nearby City of Rocks National Reserve.

(2) 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…

Arrest and/or hefty fines are likely if caught rock climbing with ropes and gear in the BLM land.

Please respect this closure to ensure access to the open climbing at Castle Rocks is not threatened.

The "Final Supplementary Rules for the Castle Rocks Land Use Plan Amendment Area, Idaho" is located in the Federal Registry. This document gives the details on the closure but doesn't provide a map. You can check it out here: federalregister.gov/documen…

Description

Pitch 1: Short but fun sport pitch. Start at the base of the large crack/chimney, clip the first bolt and traverse left onto the face. follow the grove up until it is possible to exit out right and to the anchors

Pitch 2: Climb up the shallow corner above the anchor (gear) to the first bolt. Follow 3 bolts up and left on some killer crimps up the just over vert face. Traverse the crack out right (gear) until it is possible to pull over onto the slab. 3 more bolts of slab that will make you feel like Icarus, shoes melting off with each step higher.

Location

This is the first route you will see on the west face when you approach the wall.

Protection

pitch 1: 5 draws and chain anchor
pitch 2: 00-3 master cams, offset 00/0 and 1/2 are useful

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Andrew Gerald Thaller

First Pitch is way cool. I onsighted it not sure what it is. Jun 7, 2015

Josh Janes

This thing is so good and it will only improve with traffic. The belay ledge between pitches is good, but if you wish to leave your belayer on the ground you can lead this in one pitch if you reduce drag by pulling your rope through at the (first pitch) anchor and dropping it back down. It is possible to clean the whole thing lowering from the top even without the rope running through the draws on P1.

The natural line at the crack traverse takes you a bit right of where the first bolt on the upper slab is located - I was unable to clip it until after doing the moves, and even then it was by my knees and off to the left. This is a bummer but fortunately the gear in the horizontal is good. Jul 12, 2019