Ziggurat

Great adventure with a significant amount of crack climbing for the area. Rock quality is good for a Catalina backcountry route but a few sections of suspect rock exist. I found the Kerry guide to be rough at best, and potentially completely missing a pitch. Here’s what we did:

P1 | 5.9 | 150’ : Jam cracks of all sizes and good rock to an alcove belay, best protected pitch on the route.

P2  | 5.9 | 100’ :  Either head straight up, or work left then back right into the corner. Head up the rad steep corner, exiting the corner when the gear gets bad. Belay at another alcove / decent stance if you want to watch your second/ be in the sun (80’) or continue up 20’ to a better shady ledge.

P3  | 5.9 (R?) | 150’ : If you stopped at the sunny belay, climb straight up the offwidth using face holds to the next ledge (5.8++ R) or potentially work right from the belay and then back left into the gully. The latter option looked improbable but going up felt like a pretty huge sandbag to not mention. Follow the gully to the massive shin dagger ledge and NOT the summit.

P4 |  5.6 |  100’:  This pitch is absent from the Kerry guide. Continue up to nearly the top of the  gully. Step left onto the face to some “maybe” cam placements. Move left along foot ledge, up and over large blocks. Belay at tree, or at finger to hand-size cracks on the summit ridge.

Descent:

Head away from the climb along the top (3rd class). Rap off a large chickenhead (wobbles?) or use the small tree (long tat needed). Bring a knife to clean up old webbing. The Kerry guide mentions a 40’ rap into the top of the gully, but a 28m rap brings you to the ground with no down climbing. Shwhack counterclockwise around formation) back to your packs. Optional rappel or 20’ 4th class downclimb

Left of the main gully separating the spires (Cakewalk) is a buttress protruding from the wall. Ziggurat climbs the continuous crack/weakness up the length of the formation.

1x #0,#3, 2x blue Metolius/black totem - #2, small to large stoppers.

Optional extra 1x: 00, #3, #4.

Could get by with less but pitches are long and all require finger to hand size gear anchors