Circus Maximus

Circus Maximus weaves a long & fairly moderate line up the center of the Palantine Wall. I think it climbs quite nicely & is a great multi-pitch adventure in a beautiful setting. In addition, the first pitches of each tier are worth climbing in and of themselves.

The climb itself is well protected, but the nature of this wall is a bit serious. There is a lot of loose rock around, with potential for spontaneous rock fall. I’ve seen dead trees tumble down the tiers & explode below. Not a good place to be when it’s raining - there will be rockfall. With that said, I believe the risk can be mitigated with good decision making & skills. Be cautious.

Start from the main platform left of the fixed lines. I like to bring my approach shoes at least to the base of P3 and leave them there to go down the fixed lines.

P1: 5.10a, 22m, 7 bolts. Climb easily past the first two bolts up the obtuse corner to the steep face above. Up this, then bust out left for a rest. Continue up to the anchor on a ledge & belay here. You can lower from here if just doing this pitch.

Use the fixed line to move the belay up & right to the base of the next pitch. Lots of small, loose rocks here on the ledge. Clip a draw to the bolt along the way to help keep the rope out of the loose rocks. 

P2: 5.10, 31m, 13 bolts. Climb a short blocky corner to a stance. Trend up & left to another stance before pulling a cruxy bulge. There’s an anchor here if just doing this pitch (9 bolts); otherwise, continue up the slab to another anchor below the next pitch. Long draws & slings useful on this pitch.

Use the fixed line to move the belay up to the base of the next pitch. The next two pitches can be climbed two ways depending on which anchors you stop at.

P3: 5.11a, 27m, 13 bolts. Straight up vertical brown rock to a rest, then a techy & balancey traverse left & up to a corner (.11c var goes straight up). Climb the face, corner, & arete above to an anchor at a small stance.

It is possible to climb for 4 more bolts to a ledge, but you’ll be a ways from your partner while they’re pulling the crux traverse if you do this, but have less drag on the next pitch.

P4: 5.10a, 60m, 17 bolts (35m, 12 bolts if you stopped at the ledge). Continue up the easy slab to a loose ledge with an anchor. Be careful of loose rocks through this section, especially if your belayer is at the anchor below. Climb the corner left of the belay for a few bolts, then trend right & up the slab to an anchor on the ledge. This pitch was mostly bolted from earlier development on the wall. Long draws & slings useful on this pitch.

P5: 5.11a, 35m, 12 bolts. Climb a chert corner & face just left of the belay up through an easy section. Follow steeper rock past a loose corner to a rest as the wall gets even steeper. Pull some moves through the small bulge to a quick shake, then bust some moves over the big flake & up to the anchor. Incredible exposure on this pitch - don't forget to look down.

Move the belay up & left ~100’ to the final tier. There are two options here & they both start at the same spot. May as well do em both if you’ve got the time. There is an older development anchor marking the starts, but it is not used on the way up nor the way down.

P6 Left: 5.9, 25m, 11 bolts. Though easier, this is a classic pitch for the grade with great rock quality. A trad-y start up the groove leads to wonderful climbing up the corner all the way to the top. Belay from a 2 bolt anchor. Rap from the anchors 30’ right.

P6 Right: 5.10b, 25m, 10 bolts. Start up the ramp, then bust out right. Continue up some steeper rock to a rest above the crux. Cruise on up to to a rap anchor on a loose ledge.

Enjoy the summit, stellar views up there after a long climb.

Rap the route as follows:

• Top of P6 Right down to the large ledge. Walk down to the top of P5.
• Top of P5 to top of P4.
• Left trending rap (clip into fixed draw) to anchor on loose ledge. Full 35m rap. (possible to rap straight down to Via Appia as well)
• Loose ledge down to top of P3 at small stance.
• Rap to third tier ledge. It's best to walk off down the fixed lines from here - it's quite fun. Third tier to second tier is easy going down. There is usually a fixed rap line from top of tier two to the base. A PAS or sling is helpful for going down via ferrata style. If you must continue rapping the route:
• Rap from small stance top of P3 past the third tier ledge to the anchor at top of P2.
• Top of P2 to intermediate anchor.
• Rap past the second tier to the anchor at top of P1.
• Rap to ground.

From the summit, I suppose you could also join up with the South Loop Trail near the overlook & walk off if you’re into that sort of thing.

1x 70m rope

17 draws with a few being longer draws & slings

Start from the main platform left of the fixed lines.