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Spectacled Bear

5.10+, Trad, 110 ft (33 m),  Avg: 3 from 5 votes
FA: Derek Field & Nolan Burman (Feb 2020)
Arizona > Northern Arizona > Sedona Area > W Sedona > Dry Creek Rd Area > Bear Mtn Area > Ursa Minor Spire

Description

This pitch is a real bear. Don't forget to tape up. Hikers and runners will stop to gawk at the spectacle of suffering rock-climber clawing their way up the blue-collar wide crack. Feels long and tiring with several fisty bulges and a wild roof exit at the top.

Lower/rappel 110' from two-bolt chain anchor. If you only have a 60m rope, you can traverse 30 feet left to the two-bolt ring anchor for Be Bear Aware (100' rap).

You can also tag the summit via easy 4th class.

Location

Hike 20 minutes up Bear Mountain Trail to the base of the route. This striking wide crack is visible from the Bear Mountain trailhead and is the most obvious system on the tower. Just below the skyline of the tower, depending on the angle, you might see a window of blue sky in the uppermost part of the crack.

Protection

Single set cams 1-1.5"
Triple set cams 2-4"
Double set cams 5-6"

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Let the spectacle begin! Photo taken by a hiker from the Bear Mt trail. Shortly after, Derek Field tamed this rare bear with the first send
[Hide Photo] Let the spectacle begin! Photo taken by a hiker from the Bear Mt trail. Shortly after, Derek Field tamed this rare bear with the first send
Doug Biber himself came wandering along and accepted our invitation for a toprope burn. "This is very different from Nirvana," he observed. Here he is wrestling with one of the crux bulges, roughly one-third of the way up.
[Hide Photo] Doug Biber himself came wandering along and accepted our invitation for a toprope burn. "This is very different from Nirvana," he observed. Here he is wrestling with one of the crux bulges, roughly…
The spectacle in early morning light.
[Hide Photo] The spectacle in early morning light.

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Sam F
Arizona
  5.10+
[Hide Comment] I’m a big fan of this pitch. It was well protected and fun and gains a cool summit. A handful of us led this pitch today and we all agreed on two things. First we only used one number 6 and second, we thought the crux was the start. There are plenty of hard moves above the start too though. Good fun and decent rock quality! May 25, 2020
Aaron Vix
 
[Hide Comment] Fun and stimulating from start to finish. Solid rock. The cracks are consistently changing sizes along the spectrum of cupped hands, fists, stacks, arm bars, chicken wings, squeeze and proper chimney. A great test piece for the aspiring OW’er. Looking forward to coming back. Nov 4, 2021