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The Diagonal: Right Finish

5.9+, Trad, 130 ft (39 m), 2 pitches,  Avg: 2.6 from 22 votes
FA: Tim Farr, Jess Simon, Sep. 4 2013 (Portions of this finish had been climbed before, including the final wide crack)
Vermont > 1. Northern Ver… > Smugglers' Notch > Quartz Crack Face
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Description

As you top out on The Diagonal you'll probably think there can't be any more good rock above here. It doesn't look that inviting to be honest. However, the rock quality and aesthetics do get a lot better the further you go up.

P1 (5.9+ 90'): Move left from the belay and up to a big ledge. Before mantling up, you should be able to clip a bolt (with a long runner) that is on this ledge. Head up and right aiming for two bolts to guide you in the right direction. This marks the crux of the route. It's pretty short and well protected by the two close bolts. Move up from here and when possible get out right on the arête above. The exposure starts to kick in around here. There's a big ledge above this section that you can build a gear belay on.

P2 (5.7, 40'): Continue up to the obvious top. There's a really fun large hand crack near the top on the left that you shouldn't miss. A gear anchor at a nice ledge on the top of the cliff marks the end.

It's definitely possible to combine both of these pitches together without too much rope drag. Double ropes and long runners will help.

Descent: From the top, hike climber's right and down a bit to another rap route. It's a fairly obvious trail that may be marked with orange/red tape. Look for a nice ledge out to the right. Once you see it, you'll hop down a 4ft. step to reach it. There are two anchors not visible from the trail. The one closest to the edge will have rap rings. A single 60m rope will take you to the next ledge (I don't recommend 2 ropes for this first rap - a bit dirty). After that, a required double rope rap will take you back to the ground and your packs. Alternatively, a shorter first rappel just down the slab will allow you to walk climber's left to reach the top of The Diagonal (where Right Finish started). From here, two more single rope rappels will take you to the ground via the Flight of the Manatee midway anchor.

Location

This starts from the nice ledge at the top of The Diagonal.

Protection

A few bolts on the first pitch. Trad gear required for both though. A single rack should do.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Green: Quartz Crack (5.9) <br> Blue: The Diagonal (5.8+) <br> Purple: The Diagonal: Right Finish (5.9+) <br> Red: Flight of the Manatee (10c) <br> Pink: Trail <br> Yellow: Rappel Route
[Hide Photo] Green: Quartz Crack (5.9) Blue: The Diagonal (5.8+) Purple: The Diagonal: Right Finish (5.9+) Red: Flight of the Manatee (10c) Pink: Trail Yellow: Rappel Route
Wide crack at the end; it's fun to jam here.
[Hide Photo] Wide crack at the end; it's fun to jam here.
The first rappel station from the "trail." There's a 4-5ft. ledge to hop down. Rope is by the anchors.
[Hide Photo] The first rappel station from the "trail." There's a 4-5ft. ledge to hop down. Rope is by the anchors.
Tom following the upper portion of the route.
[Hide Photo] Tom following the upper portion of the route.

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Zak Munro
VT,CO, Bar Harbor ME, SLC
  5.9
[Hide Comment] Overall much better than it looks from the start with a fun little crux boulder problem. Clipping the first bolt with a double length runner would make it very double in one pitch, but if not finger sized cams work well for the anchor on the first ledge. Sep 21, 2017
Will WB
Sacramento, CA
  5.9-
[Hide Comment] I would give 2.5 stars. Not as great as The Diagonal itself, but it was a nice way to finish it off. It does not look like it's had much traffic recently. There's a nice variety of climbing styles and some fun exposure to continue the experience on P2 of The Diagonal. We combined both pitches with a single 70m and it was not bad with gear extended well, although you do need to be mindful. I suggest simply "back-cleaning" the bolt protecting the mantle after clipping the next bolt. Don't know if it was bolted this way intentionally but it worked really well. You can descend with a single 70m rope by using the pink "trail" marked in the topo. The first rappel is down a short slab (don't go past the bushes), the second is straight down to the halfway anchor of Flight of the Manatee, and the third is to the ground. We simul-rapped just fine, but it would have been easier to just go one at a time. Aug 13, 2020
Frosty AC
Smugglers Notch, VT
  5.9+
[Hide Comment] The start of this route is chossy with some loose blocks present, test before you pull. Sep 18, 2022