Witness and George

Pitch 1: 5.7. Begin at the base of the gully and climb onto the arete. Follow the standup moves past a dead tree and onto the ledge with the anchor on your right. 4+ bolts / 2 bolt anchors. ~30m.

Pitch 2: 5.6 Step Left and climb around the corner left onto the main face. Pass a tree and continue up just left of and inside the chimney. The stench of baboon excrement is strong on this pitch. Belay at a comfortable ledge. 4+ bolts / 2 bolt anchor. ~35m

Pitch 3: 5.7. Continue straight up the face next to the chimney. Angle slightly left to avoid the suspect orange flakes and stay on solid black rock to a bad stance. 4+ bolts / 2 bolt anchors. ~30m 

Pitch 4: 5.7. Traverse diagonally up and left. climb parallel to the vertical, overhanging head wall. Many loose and weak plates. Finish in a big hole that offers a nice seat for the belay. 4+ bolts / 2 bolt anchors. ~25m

Pitch 5: 5.8. Traverse left on clean black rock, with a couple tricky sections. First bolt is 4m directly to the left of the belay.  Continue slightly up, climbing parallel to the now overhanging headwall. Gain the shallow left-leaning ramp to the hanging-belay. 4+ bolts / 2 bolt anchors. ~20m

Pitch 6: 5.10+. Crux Pitch. Climb up and left toward the headwall to the first bolt. A sequence of technical face moves on crimps and edges will lead you through the lichen and plants on solid holds. Continue up on well-protected, steep, and fun rock. Where the pitch leans back to easier slab terrain: continue up and slightly left past plants and another few bolts to a huge ledge. 10+ bolts / 2 bolt anchors. ~40m

Pitch 7: 5.7. Climb right. Leave the ledge following a right trending groove. Follow the right-to-vertical sweeping corner to the top and a hanging belay to the right. 4+ bolts / 2 bolt anchors. ~30m

Pitches 8-15: Follow the black streak. This feature of solid black rock is your highway for the remaining upper pitches. It is the most vegetation-free and high-friction path to the base of the lower slab’s final headwall and our high point on the wall. More and less slabby rock undulates upward and pitches are stretched across minimally protected low 5th-class calf-burning cardio fun. Where the slab steepens, expect to find a bolt. Where it leans back, expect long run-outs. 4+ bolts  and 2-bolt anchors on most pitches. You may encounter parallel bolts. These are retreat points and can aid in your descent.

Notes on specific pitches:

Pitch 11: Finishes at a huge ledge with grass and a few trees to the right.

Pitch 12: Bends the black streak to the right. 

Pitch 13: Brings you around a steep headwall to your left. 

Pitch 15: Ends under a tree between increasingly tall vegetation. The headwall is just above you now. There is the beginning of a white streak that ascends the headwall 10 meters to your right. 

Recommended equipment requirements: 2 x 70m ropes / 15 quickdraws

(Equipped with: Powers 3/8" X 2-3/4" 7312SD4 Power-Stud+SD4 Strength Design Wedge Anchor / Bonier Pingo 304 Stainless Steel Hangers 5/16” / Stainless Steel Quick Links)

Descent: 

General Notes: Must Rappel

The route can be retreated by rappelling with  2 x 70m ropes at any point on the route. Extra rappel anchors are incorporated along the route. The most critical of these rappel stations is the last two. They are described in detail here: 

To avoid rappelling the traversing of pitches #4 and #5 there is a set of anchors positioned vertically in-line with the crux pitch #6 and horizontally in-line with the anchors at the top of pitch #2. This rappel station, at the time of development, had red tubular webbing tied to it. It is recommended that you first rappel to anchors at the top of pitch #5 (before the crux at the base of the lower headwall). Then throw your ropes straight down to this off-route rappel station. From this rappel station you can lower straight down over a neighboring headwall feature to the ground approximately 70 meters left of the beginning of the route.