Aeronautes

Before the next guidebook arrives, I wanted to share this route. Jarrod and I really enjoyed it and would love to see more people on it.

The crux was retrobolted to be safe and easily A0'ed to give access to one of the best 5.9 cracks we've found in this canyon. The route gets early morning light and holds sun until mid-afternoon, making it a great winter option or after work summer mission. The hanging corner of P2 and the exposed, splitter OW high on the route are both memorable, and this gains a beautiful position to experience this magical place. We named it Aeronautes after the white-throated swifts nesting deep in the 5.9 hands section on the FA. If you do the route in summer, you may hear them and enjoy watching them fly in the fading light.

P1 low start. Place a good medium stopper off the ground, then stem up a wide groove before stepping left into nice splitter reaching the terrace after 50’ (make an optional belay here). The upper start: hike further up trail to access 4th Class traverse into terrace system.

Trend left at the terrace system to a big, right-facing corner. Climb the corner (5.7) or face to the right of the corner (excellent but spicy 5.8, a microcam is needed). Reach another big ledge with optional belay, or trend right into rightward-leaning corner system, belaying at nice flat pedestal off small gear (0.3-0.5), 5.7ish, 130’ from the ground.

P2. Place a piece off the belay ledge, and step back left into a crack system, passing cool “telephone”-shaped feature. Jam up a crack to a stance below the crux crack switch, passing bolts, leading to amazing, double crack, corner system (the highlight of route?). Save finger-size gear for the top of the pitch. Belay at a small ledge off a two bolt rap station, 5.10ish, 90’.

A 70m rope can BARELY get you back to the terrace system where you can downclimb skier's left back to the trail.

P3. Climb good but occasionally hollow/vibrating rock up corner system, stepping out right when possible into good rock. Jam and stem a variety of sizes, taking a splitter hand crack which cuts straight up, then step out right to the top of a pedestal for an optional belay (limited gear, get creative). Otherwise continue up vertical splitter which becomes 5s, 6s, and 7s sized before summiting the formation, Unaweep 5.9+, 180’.

P4. It is possible to do a short pitch towards rappel anchor of Guides Routes. Look for a rap station up and out right. Or take wandery 4th/easy 5th Class to the top of the buttress joining original finish of Guides Route and the top of the wall. and walk off to the east. It is 80’ to the top of the buttress and 150’ to the top of the wall.

Descent options: do a single 70m rope rap from the top of P2, a single 70m rap from Guide Route's descent (Make sure to swing hard left around arete on the first rap- its easy to miss this anchor). It is also possible to top out on the wall and walk off to the east with adventurous descent down notch on right side of Cave Buttress.

Approach: follow the approach to Cave Buttress, passing Lower Mothers Buttress, but before reaching Cave, cut left along flat talus pathway to base of upper East Face of LMB. Look for an obvious, short, left-facing corner. The lower start begins just right of this corner.

Gear: a set of stoppers, a doubles rack from #0.3 BD to #3, singles of #4, 5 & 6, and an optional single #0.1 & #0.2. A second #5 is a good idea, depending on our comfort level with offwidth (don't burn it too low on P3), and a #7 was placed on the FA but could be optional.