Maiden Voyage

Maiden Voyage is a friendly cruise up the striking east buttress of the Earthship. Four short pitches of moderate slab climbing, including a memorable headwall crux pitch, lead to a spectacular summit towering above Boynton and Long Canyons. With a straightforward approach, sweeping vistas, and a minimal gear list (one set of quickdraws and just three cams), it's a pretty low-key outing. Your first Sedona summit, perhaps?

Pitch 1: Locate the boltline at the toe of the buttress. Venture up the lumpy mudstone slab and through a miniature roof crack (#2 camalot) to the two-bolt anchor just left of the tree. (5.7, 70 feet) - Pro: 7 bolts + #2 camalot

Pitch 2: Climb up and over the limestone band (#0.3 camalot), past a bulge in wildly-featured limey sandstone, emerging onto a clean low-angle slab. Cruise up to the two-bolt belay. (5.7, 100 feet) - Pro: 6 bolts + #0.3 camalot

Pitch 3: The crux headwall pitch. A dash of wind makes those balancy dimes seem extra thin. After scaling the headwall, clip the directional bolt and walk 20 feet left to the two-bolt anchor. (5.9, 80 feet) - Pro: 7 bolts

Pitch 4: Walk a bit further left from the belay and scramble up into a blocky left-facing corner. Scum the corner and float the final steep face on patina crimps. Clip a directional bolt and walk right to the two-bolt anchor. (5.8, 40 feet)  - Pro: 2 bolts + #0.3, #1, #2 camalots

Variation to P3+4: From the base of the headwall pitch, you can traverse hard left into the chimney/gully (5.7) that gains a tree belay on the summit ridge. Then, turn right (north) and boulder up a squat triangular block (5.7) to merge with the standard Pitch 4 corner. This was the original FA line and goes fine with the three listed trad pieces, but it's not nearly as good as the headwall pitch. - Pro: #0.3, #1, #2 camalots

Descent: Rappel the route with a single 70m or two 60m ropes, skipping the P3 anchor below the summit block.

This route climbs the direct east buttress of the highest tower on the Earthship massif. Commonly the conditions are sunny and windy. See the Earthship area page for approach directions. The route is obvious for nearly the entire approach, at times framed nicely above the trail.