Whispers of the North

30 years after the first free ascent of the Glass Menagerie, and 17 years after the Glass Eye, we finally have a third free climb that goes to the top of the main wall of the North Side of Looking Glass! The climbing is spectacular on very high quality granite. Each of the first three pitches are among the best of the grade you'll find at the Glass, with the 4th being quite good as well. I'm obviously quite biased, but I believe this is one of the very best multi-pitch climbs in the region. It's mostly very well protected, but with a few places where you could catch some air on steep and clean terrain. Bringing a portaledge or at least a bosun chair will improve your belaying experience tremendously.

Pitch 1: (5.12c, 120ft)

Climb Kahntian Ethics to it's original anchor, but instead of stopping here continue climbing up and then hard right past a couple bolts to gain a belay under the headwall. This extension adds an additional 20ft of fantastic climbing to an already great pitch. Expect some very long sideways moves towards the top. Someone with under a ~5'8" wingspan may even have to do a sideways dyno to gain the final jug of the route. This pitch has some of the coolest moves around! A 70m rope will let you lower down if doing this as a single pitch.

Pro: 7 bolts, single rack to #1, an extra .3, and a blue ballnut.

Pitch 2: (5.12b, 90ft)

Climb off the belay into the overhanging headwall on an incredible array of crimps and jugs while clipping safely spaced bolts. Don't traverse rightwards to the anchor you'll see at about 40ft, instead make a long move up to a jug then keep climbing upwards as the angle lessens and the climbing gets a bit less pumpy. After clipping the last bolt, climb up to a bomber .3 placement in a horizontal, get in a flared out black totem a few feet above that, then place a blue ballnut and/or another flared out black totem to protect one final tricky sequence moving up and right to gain a thank-god horizonal where you'll place a bomber .75. A couple more easy moves will get you to the belay out right. You can rap to the ground from here with two 60m ropes.

Pro: 6 bolts, a .3, one or two black totems, a blue ballnut, and a .75.

Pitch 3: (5.12d, 50ft)

The slab pitch! Get ready for some classic NC granite climbing on slimpers, slopers, pinches, underclings, and smedgy footholds. Don't be scared off by this pitch, it's safe and incredibly fun with some amazing, thought provoking moves. Towards the top of the pitch you'll traverse leftwards towards a crack which you'll karate kick into before crack-manteling into a scoop to the belay under a roof. You can rap to the ground from here with two 70m ropes, but knot the ends as it's very close.

Pro: 6 bolts, one fixed nut, and a small cam above the second bolt.

Pitch 4: (5.12b or V5 to 5.11, 130ft)

Shimmy rightwards from the belay until you can reach upwards to one of the nicest jugs you'll ever grab. Clip a bolt above your head, execute a V5 boulder problem getting over a bulge, clip another bolt, and then do some slab moves to gain a long sloping "ledge". Move right, place a cam (sling this one long), and climb up and right again passing two more bolts on a face angling towards a crack. Climb this flared handcrack (red and orange totems highly recommended, with a couple small cams in horizontals) until you reach a final tricky sequence protected by two bolts to a belay on a small ledge. Needs an 80m or two ropes to rap.

Pro: 7 bolts, cams from micro to #3 with doubles in .4-2 sizes, crack gloves.

Pitch 5: (5.8R, 60ft)

Climb leftwards off the belay, clipping the anchor of Blue Steel Throbber as you go, and then up some wet mossy runout slab towards some roofs where you'll get some gear. Pull the roof, slab up some more, grabbing whatever bushes and branches look like they might hold you, then bushwack through rhodos and loose moss on a 45° slope up and right to belay off a tree of your choice. This pitch is not worth doing unless you really want to be able to say you topped out the wall, I'd recommend declaring victory after P4 and getting home safely.

Pro: Some cams, no anchor.

Starts on Kahntian Ethics

A set of cams from micro to #3 with doubles from black totem to #2, totems recommended especially in the black, red, and orange sizes, 12 or so draws including a few alpines, and a blue ballnut.

All anchors are bolted with rap rings.

Rap the route with either 2 ropes (recommend) or one 80m rope.