Type: Trad, Alpine, 220 ft (67 m), 2 pitches
FA: Todd Swain & Mike Cody
Page Views: 793 total · 9/month
Shared By: Robert Hall on Aug 27, 2016
Admins: Jay Knower, M Sprague, Lee Hansche, Jeffrey LeCours, Jonathan S, Robert Hall

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Description Suggest change

We did this climb 8/27/16 and found the old 1/4" bolts had been replaced, both on the climb and at the "Lead Poisoning" anchor. 

I've given this a "5.7+" rating..."old school 5.7".

Another hidden gem by Todd Swain and Dick Peterson. As Art Gran said of "Dry Martini": "A good climb for the sequence climber, that is, one who plans ahead." [A Climber's Guide to the Shawangunks", Art Gran, 1964 Pg 95]

Although modern cams and TCU’s reduce the run outs, there is still enough spice to keep you alert. Slightly easier, and better protected than its neighbor, “Superior Races”.

START – About 20 ft right and down from “Mice and Men” and about 80-100 ft up from the start of “Part the Sea”. From “Part the Sea” hike steeply up, passing the small dirt ledge that is the actual start of Superior Races, continuing up past the “turn off" for Lead Poisoning, until it is possible to slab over right-and-up on very steep dirt to a modestly large dirt ledge in front of two 6-8-inch diameter oak trees.

P1- Walk to the right end of the dirt ledge (oak branch sawed, note that as soon as you step off the dirt ledge there’s a 30 +/- ft drop below you.) and climb up to the white slab. Step left on the slab, then up to the low-angle ledge just right of “Mice & Men”’s corner. From several feet right of the Mice & Men corner, climb up and right on flakes (pitch’s crux) to an eroded dike. Up this, then step right around a rounded arête to the “Lead Poisoning” belay stance. 90-100 +/- ft 5.6  NOTE: If you climb up high in the dike and protect (small cam, or medium nut) then climb down, the leader does this "step around" with, essentially, a top rope.

P2- Reverse the "step around traverse", moving left to a flake (good gear). Up this and a step right, then up to the first bolt. [Original 1/4-inch bolts replaced with 3/8-inch S.S.]  Step left (yellow Alien/Camalot TCU-sized behind a shallow flake, a protection piece not available in 1982!) and climb up the crux sequence ["think ahead" !] to the face above. Continue up past the 2nd bolt and a final crack/flake leading left and a new 2 bolt anchor. 90+/- ft 5.7 / 5.7+  

Descent – Rap to the Lead Poisoning station, then to the base of the climb, swinging to rappeller’s left. We used a single 70m, but a 60m should do it.

Gear – Small-to-medium nuts and TCU’s. Nothing larger than a #1 (Red) Camalot.

Protection Suggest change

Std rack - nothing larger than a #2 Camalot. Wired nuts extremely helpful.

Photos

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