S&M Ridge

Three long pitches ascending a striking ridge.  Some thought-provoking runouts, but bolts or good pro for the hard stuff.  First pitch won't win any awards for quality, pitches 2 and 3 are better.  Gets full sun most of the day.

Pitch 1 60 meters. Begin on the left side of the lower black portion of the ridge.  Move right to gain the crest, and scramble easy 4th to reach the first bolt.  Four more bolts protect a fractured chossy face before gaining lower angle terrain and a 25-foot runout.  Move left to clip another bolt, then climb and scramble to the two-bolt belay on the big ledge above.  Small to medium cams will help your head below and above the 6th bolt.

Pitch 2. 60 meters. Begin a balance move above the belay and move right to the ridge crest and a bolt. Two more bolts get you high on the ridge for a long but easy runout stretch.  Look for a sling thread below a block, then run higher to a big parallelogram block with great pro on the lower boundary.  A couple of 5.7 moves right and up leave you scrambling up the ledge above to another two-bolt belay.

Pitch 3. 50 meters.  Start with two bolts of balancy face climbing, move right to a groove.  Get a good #2 Camalot then run it out 30 feet to a bolt.  Easier climbing and trad pro leads to a comfy belay at the top of the ridge.  No fixed anchors here, but a nice block to sling.

From here three long rappels would take you back to the ground.  To finish the ridge, scramble up and right to a short headwall (the final pitch of the Groover).  20 feet of 5.7 and you're ready to unrope, and explore the upper mountain.  

Descend the Mountaineers route requiring 2 60 meter ropes.  Alternatively, descend the SW ledges route requiring only one rope.

Southeast Ridge of Courthouse.  Start in a shallow gully between two black rock ribs.  The rightmost rib rises to become the southeast ridge.  Place first belay on a flat spot near the base of this rib.

single set cams to #2 Camalot. wired nuts. Helmets