Evolution Arete

This route climbs the major corner system on the left side of the tower that forms the lower part of Resolution Arete. It climbs 900’ of independent terrain and adds about 200’ of technical climbing to the route and makes for a more sustained and classic way of approaching the harder pitches on Res Arete. The route starts in a beautiful splitter #1 crack straight out of the creek. 

P1 120’ 10c Splitter hands in a left facing corner to strenuous flare. This flare has really sandy feet, it cleaned up a fair bit just on the FA, traffic will only do it good! Belay at the back of a big ledge. Alternatively: Climb the right facing 5.9 hands/fists crack to the same ledge. 

P2 110’ 5.9 Head up a nice hand crack with featured face climbing to a ledge. A short awkward chimney takes you to a brief scrub forest and short easy corner that takes you to an alcove below a chimney. There is an old bail sling and remnants of a bivy from long ago in the alcove. 

P3 100’ 5.10- Climb the obvious chimney. This starts out as a #5 size crack and quickly widens to easy chimney. This is 5.7R without a 6. The chimney takes you to the top of the obvious pink tower and to a massive sloping ledge. Walk left to a nice left facing corner. Belay on the narrow ledge about 40’ up. Alternatively climb straight up the corner above the pink tower at 5.11+. This direct variation was top roped clean on the FA but would be an extremely bold lead without first fixing one or two pins. Bring bugaboos (or fat KB’s) and a number 1 LA if you plan to add pins here. The climbing on this corner is excellent. 

P4 80’ 5.10 Continue up the epic hand crack with wide sections to a tiny sitting ledge. Fingers for anchor. Despite being a little crispy, this is the money pitch! It is possible to link into the next pitch to a better ledge. 

P5 70’ 5.10- Step left from the tiny ledge to a hidden crack. Continue up the technical corner to a nice ledge. 

P6 200’ 5.9 R Face climb up and left aiming for a large crack/gully. Follow this gully to a nice ledge. This pitch is crispy and runout with sometimes intricate gear. 

P7 70’ 5.6 Climb the nice varnished gully to a large ledge. With careful rope management you can link with the next pitch with bad communication. 

P8 130’ 5.8 Traverse the face to the left into low angle blocky terrain. Follow this to an obvious massive ledge and notch behind a large tower. This is the notch that you cross on Resolution Arete near the base of the White Overhang pitch. Top of pitch 6 on the George Bell topo. 

P9-17 finish on Resolution Arete. With a 70M rope you can link pitches with minimal simul climbing into 8 pitches. Below are my recommendations on how to link pitches with numbers pulled from the George Bell topo. 

P9 Climb pitch 7 as is

P10 Link 8 and 9, it is possible to link 8,9 and 10 with horrible rope drag

P11 Climb pitch 10 as is

P12 Link 11 and 12 with a short simul

P13 Link 13 and 14 with bad rope drag. Move belay to bivy.

P14 Climb 15 as is. It is possible to link 15 and 16 with mega drag.

P15 climb 16. Then move the belay across the catwalk.

P16 Link 18 and 19 to the tree

P17 simul, solo or do 2 rope stretching pitches up the “scramble” to the top. 

Approach the white rot gully, just as you would for Res Arete. The approach differs once you reach the junction of the white rot gully and willies couloir. Once you reach the junction, continue up the white rot gully for a couple hundred yards, take the small bushy gully on the left wall of the white rot. This gully has some scrub but is short lived. Once at the top of the smaller gully, make a 4th class (with short sections of low fifth) traverse to the left aiming for the next major gully. The feature to aim for is an obvious tiger striped rock scar with a splitter finger crack. Once in the gully below this you will have to tunnel through a chock stone, you will now see the first pitch. 1-2 hrs from the oak creek pullout in the loop

Single Rack .1-4; Doubles .2-3; Full set of offset nuts Optional #6. Blue ball nut helpful on 10c first pitch.