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Black Magic

5.11c, Trad, 100 ft (30 m),  Avg: 1.5 from 4 votes
FA: Jim Dunn (barefoot?), Ajax Greene, Ed Webster. July 1976
New Hampshire > Cathedral Ledge > N End

Description

An often wet route that climbs the left side of the chimney in between Raising the Roof and The Possessed. Having been recently cleaned by a local wire-brush enthusiast (Sept 2024), it's possible that this climb has had very few repeats since the first ascent. According to said enthusiast, the amount of loose blocks trundled from the route support this. Be careful, though; there is still some loose rock and the belayer stands right in the landing zone. 

This route might seem spooky based on appearance and name but it's actually well protected and burly. Start with slabby thin crack that leads to a dihedral and a crack that widens to BD #5 size. Pull the roof and tackle the steep climbing to the ledge (BD 2-4). 

There's no permanent anchor: a horizontal crack takes hand size gear and the bolted anchor for The Roof is 10 feet or so to the right. 

Location

In between The Possessed and The Roof

Protection

Singles to BD 1, doubles 2-5

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Ian at the bottom as seen from the Raising The Roof belay. Shows the angle well.
[Hide Photo] Ian at the bottom as seen from the Raising The Roof belay. Shows the angle well.
Ian leading the lower section.
[Hide Photo] Ian leading the lower section.

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Ian Grant
  5.11c
[Hide Comment] This route would be among the best at Cathedral if it had clean, bullet rock. Fun, pumpy, well-protected climbing with some lousy rock in places. Be careful, on the traverse to the bolted anchor to The Roof, we dislodged a death flake the size of a refrigerator door. Thank you wire-brush enthusiast! Sep 25, 2024
Ryan DeLena
Sudbury MA / Bar Harbor ME
  5.11c PG13
[Hide Comment] Some clarity on the mini fridge death flake. From the gear anchor atop Black Magic, there’s two ways to get to the anchor for pitch 1 of Raise The Roof. A low traverse on thin feet with a bomber crack/jug. Or a high traverse walking across the ledge. Given that things were a little damp, I went high. Wanting to protect the traverse so Ian could follow, I placed a cam in what appeared to be a bomber overlap crack. Didn’t even occur to me that it could be choss, there was just barely enough crack to wiggle in a 0.75. Anyways, I clove into the bolted belay and start hauling rope. Feeling some drag, I started pulling more aggressively, and the slight amount of force on the draw from the rope drag literally pulled the whole overlap off the wall. It smashed the very bottom of Raise The Roof, and made the ballistic tumble into the woods. I can’t help but think of all the times I’ve pulled on, placed in, even fallen on gear in much thinner features and had nothing happen. I suppose if you run the experiment enough, you’re bound to get a wild card. Thankfully Ian was so far to the left, and it was empty at the north end when this happened. As for what it means for this route, the time bomb is gone and the traverse doesn’t have any other features like that so I wouldn’t let it discourage you. Just be aware that this route hasn’t been touched in so long, the rock is closer to “first ascent” territory than it is to polished classic at the North End. Just tap on anything suspect you see up there before you yard on it. Sep 26, 2024
Ryan DeLena
Sudbury MA / Bar Harbor ME
  5.11c PG13
[Hide Comment] Also, massive thank you for the effort it probably took to bring this back into climbing shape. As it cleans up, I’m sure it will be a well loved addition to the cliff. Sep 26, 2024