Friction Loss

While Phil was working on Samsara, he handed over this project for me to work on. This is an incredible line with a crux that seems rather impossible at first. He climbed the line via aid a couple years previous. The interesting thing is that this line looks like a rather easy send at first. At the time, there was a fixed brass nut in subpar rock, and then you would be forced to do a runout in the V7/8 crux. If the nut held, you would realistically impact the slab below and get hurt. If it didn't, an injury would be likely.

After talking to Phil, I added one bolt at the crux to eliminate that. This bolt to the side also pulled the rope out of the seam which was mandatory for the redpoint. A year after, it got vandalized and chopped along with the couple pitons you use to clip before the bolt. The angry party that chopped it heavily flailed on TR and barked at me that there was good gear everywhere. It is pretty funny to look back at but sad that they didn't do it properly and just scarred the rock leaving the trash all over the ground.

Anyways, that bolt should be replaced. Feel free to do it if you are up there. You'll see the scar of where it's at, as the angry party didn't do a good job. If you send it without the bolt, then good on you - no need to replace it. I'm pretty against unneeded bolts but feel it is needed.

Climb 5.9 in a finger crack off the ledge into a hand crack to the roof. Either hand jam or use jugs to get through the roof. Extend your gear. As you pull out of the roof, the crack turns into a slightly overhanging seam. This starts the crux of very sequential footwork, gastoning on whatever you can. You are then faced with a final 12c/d section to get to a thin hands pod. Place gear in here, and fire the last 11+ fingers section that may feel like 12a at that point. Pull onto the top.

All in all, it felt like 5.9+ to a V7/8 crux to a V5 and finally 11+ fingers to the anchor you make at the top.

From the Samsara page with some additions:

This route is found on the northern rim of the Rumdoodle Ridge, the long spine stretching east from the Pike's Peak Highway out to The Pericle. The area has been explored for decades, with numerous ascents in the 5.7 to 5.10 range. Multiple hard routes have been established in the upper tier and are accessible by rappel. Scrambling to the base is a possibility as well, but a fall would have fatal consequences.

Park at the shallow dip in the Pike's Peak Highway, around mile 17.6. There is a small check dam on the inside corner. Hike northeast, aiming to split two bumpy hills. Go through that pass, and angle down and left into some big boulders. Continue hopping down these and aiming Northeast. If far enough left, you'll come to a drainage, and you'll want to be on the East side of that gash. Follow the ridge to the North, and you'll cliff out at the routes in a few hundred yards. A big bobblehead boulder marks the top of Samsara. Go further down to the top of the climber's left side of the wall to find the top of the route marked with a bomber handcrack.

Doubles or triples in fingers; some offset cams are nice; and doubles in hand size for the anchor as well. Small stoppers are also nice.