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Hey, This Isn't Kamp's Ridge

5.9-, Trad, 1000 ft (303 m), 6 pitches, Grade III,  Avg: 3 from 2 votes
FA: Brett Wines & Tom McLaughlin - August 22, 2015
Utah > Wasatch Range > Central Wasatch > Mt Olympus > N Summit

Description

Start with 300 feet or so of 4th-class with a protectable mantle 30 feet in. Then trek up a wide and long rockbed that goes further up the mountain. Head straight up for two or three hours until you arrive at a rock wall, then go right a while almost until a dead-end: this is the pitch shown in the photo. Go up for a fantastic lieback; the hardest climbing of the route.

After the lieback pitch, there aren't any solid pro placements if you go up, so instead traverse left 60m or so to the edge of the ridge and around for probable(?) linking with the Kamp's Ridge route.

Can also be accessed - as we did - by going up and down the two or three ridges closer to the parking lot with medium to heavy bushwhacking in between. These ridges don't have many gear placement opportunities but are (spectacular) 4th-class scrambling so you can simulclimb it.

Location

Approach as for Kamp's Ridge -- "park at the Neff's Canyon trailhead and follow a broad dirt road / trail to a stream crossing where the trail forks. Head right here."

You'll pass a waterhole / pool of drainage water on your left with graffiti. For direct access to the main ridge of the climb, find the Kamp's Ridge trail (head straight), which heads up the right side of the canyon, until you see a creekbed -- get on it and follow it deeper into the canyon past the ridges on the right until it veers right. Follow it until its end and then further a bit until you find a good place to start climbing.

Disclaimer -- our memory of this location is faulty and this description is OK at best, but the nice thing about this area is that it's all one great climbing adventure, so you can pretty much climb any of the ridges and eventually end up at this climb :P

Protection

1 rack of cams for the lieback pitch; extra slings and bail biners if you rap down (3-to-4 60m raps off trees)

there aren't any bolts on this route, so if you see any, you're on something different

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

The lieback pitch -- if you can find this, you're in for a treat ;)
[Hide Photo] The lieback pitch -- if you can find this, you're in for a treat ;)
the hike back (you can probably approach this way)
[Hide Photo] the hike back (you can probably approach this way)
the lieback pitch (different angle)<br>
<br>
if you went up and over the face, then across a valley onto the next ridge, you'd be on Kamp's Ridge
[Hide Photo] the lieback pitch (different angle) if you went up and over the face, then across a valley onto the next ridge, you'd be on Kamp's Ridge

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

[Hide Comment] ended up in this gully today looking for the great chimney. Was very tempted to break out the rack and go for what your photo shows, or anywhere else - as you say, great climbing adventure. We ended up skirting around 4th class terrain, then rappeling into the gully beneath the Chimney/Kamp's ridge. The bushwhacking isn't the greatest, but you pay a price for solitude.

to get here, we followed the trail towards Kamp's ridge, then broke off too early up a less pronounced gully that got steep and bushy. Basically, one drainage before the Kamp's one. Oct 23, 2016
Alex Fletcher
Las Vegas
[Hide Comment] Would someone mind explaining how this is a grade V? Jan 27, 2018
Brett Wines
SF Bay Area, CA
  5.9-
[Hide Comment] @Alex, sorry -- that was a typo on my part. I've revised the description. Thanks for bringing it up! Jan 29, 2018