Mountain Project Logo
To save paper & ink, use the [Hide] controls next to photos and comments so you only print what you need.

Fusarium

5.8, Sport, 490 ft (148 m), 5 pitches,  Avg: 2.3 from 32 votes
FA: Megan and Aaron W, 2022
Washington > Central-W Casca… > N Bend & Vicinity > Exit 34; Middle… > Garfield Ledges > Spouse Wall

Description

A nice line that runs parallel Aspergillus.  

P1 (3 bolts) Going left around the bulge is probably easier than right; you'll see the next bolt once you're on top of the bulge.

P2: (7 bolts) Could link 1&2 using alpines on the P1 to reduce drag. Walk up and left past the rap anchor to belay from the shared P2 Aspergillus anchor.

P3 (7 bolts) Shares the first bolt with Aspergillus; you can easily skip it to stay out of the way of climbers on that route.

P4 (3 bolts) Wider bolt spacing than the others and a dirty scramble at the top to the anchor. Has a mini boulder problem or two (5.7) gaining some ledges.  

P5 (6 bolts) (~5.8) Friction slab crux pitch on solid rock. Could link 4&5 using alpines on P4 to reduce drag.

P1 and P2 likely have a bit of dirt on them but I cleared most of the rocks and gave things a leaf-blow.  I actually pushed off a moped sized block at the start while cleaning the other day, it was exciting.  P2 especially has some thick funk on some of the holds and it might be helpful to climb with a wire brush.  Fortunately its easy and it should get better with a bit more time. 

Walking down is recommended - top out and hike 100 yards north-north-west (climbers left) to the main Garfield ledges overlook and follow the trail back down.

You can probably rap the route with a 60m but I've only ever done it with a 70, you should definitely tie knots.  I haven't put any rap hardware on the P4 anchors but I will the next time I'm out there, in the meantime you can just rap to the p4 anchors on Asper then from there to the P3 anchors on Fus.

Location

Starts 30ft lookers right of Aspergillus.  First pitch climbs a corner of sorts.

Protection

bolts, 70m to rappel (maybe a 60 is ok, tie knots!)

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Fusarium
[Hide Photo] Fusarium
Start of the first pitch
[Hide Photo] Start of the first pitch

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

[Hide Comment] We climbed this route after climbing NGA which made for a fun day. This is probably the easiest of the three climbs we've tried so far on Spouse Wall (Fusarium, Aspergillus, NGA) so could be a great option if you're looking for something a bit less sustained. Again, a good bit of the slab is dirty, so bringing a brush is a great idea. Everything is 5.8 or easier, though I will say for my other shorties out there, the bolting on the last slab makes that pitch a bit harder to reach the bolts, and you may have to pull some moves harder than 5.8 (though I'd still grade the slab 5.8). Recommend climbing for sure! Aug 18, 2024
John Parejko
Seattle, WA
  5.7+
[Hide Comment] We couldn't figure out how to get to the dedicated P2 rap station without coming off rap at Aspergillus P2 anchor and walking, so just continued to rap Apsergillus (we had a 70m). Definitely recommend rapping with a 70m; the P3 rap put us near the end of our rope.

I tightened several bolts on my way up, including right P3 anchor bolt.

I couldn't budge the right anchor bolt of P1 with my wrench, but the hanger still spun. Someone should come with a bigger wrench or a different technique to snug that one up. Jun 16, 2025
Jacob Englar
Nampa, ID
[Hide Comment] My good friend Zach and I (believe) to have the current FKT on this route at 29:17 back in July of 2024. We linked P1, P2, swapped leads for P3, then linked P4 and P5. Super fun moderate multi's, great for first timers and for a fun casual day out. Big thanks for the route developers for giving us these series of routes! Apr 12, 2026
[Hide Comment] sorry thats not the fkt, ran it in my flops while hitting my juul in just under 9 mins. not sure on the exact time since i was counting in my head while climbing Apr 13, 2026