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Henchman

5.10+, Trad, 80 ft (24 m), 2 pitches,  Avg: 3 from 3 votes
FA: Derek Field & Giselle Fernandez (2017)
Arizona > Northern Arizona > Sedona Area > Village of Oak… > Castle Rock Area > Castle Rock > S Face

Description

Henchman is a short steep offwidth with two cruxes in its 40 feet of hard climbing.

Pitch 1 (5.10+, 40 feet): Grunt up the flared fists 20 feet to a stance, face climb past a freaky detached flake to another stance and then leavittate through the steep fives finish.

The neat thing about this route is that, after you set your belay on the ledge, you can actually shimmy down the back of the chimney (where it's widest) and retrieve your cam(s) from the final section! Thus saving the rope from getting pinched in the cam lobes.

Pitch 2 (5.8, 40 feet): Darn, the "splitter" above the midway ledge is nothing more than a knifeblade seam. Step right and finish on the chimney as for Jester. Rappel 80 feet from the two-bolt chain anchor.

Location

Obvious offwidth crack on the “leaning pillar”, 15 feet left of Jester. Traverse in from the right on a little ledge 10 feet below the start of Jester.

Protection

2x 2, 3
1x 4, 5, 6
+ a couple 1-2" cams for the ledge belay halfway
[BD c4 sizes]

Single 60m rope

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Henchman (left) and Jester (right).
[Hide Photo] Henchman (left) and Jester (right).
Giselle soldiers through the upper half of the business. Wicked overhanging fives. Should've warned her to wear long sleeves on this one.
[Hide Photo] Giselle soldiers through the upper half of the business. Wicked overhanging fives. Should've warned her to wear long sleeves on this one.