Type: Trad, 550 ft (167 m), 4 pitches
FA: Percy Wimberly & J. Seay, @ 73 FFA Grover Cable, Dave Black, Diff Ritchie, & Direct Finish Bob Rotert & Tom Kimbrell, @ 75
Page Views: 16,733 total · 80/month
Shared By: Bob Rotert on Dec 22, 2006
Admins: Ky Bishop, Steve Lineberry, Aaron Parlier

You & This Route


48 Opinions
Your To-Do List: Add To-Do ·
Your Star Rating:
Rating Rating Rating Rating Rating      Clear Rating
Your Difficulty Rating:
-none- Change
Your Ticks:Add New Tick
-none-
Use onX Backcountry to explore the terrain in 3D, view recent satellite imagery, and more. Now available in onX Backcountry Mobile apps! For more information see this post.

Description Suggest change

This was one of my favorite routes, for the grade, at the Glass. It was originally called Five Easy Pieces by the first ascent party that did it as an aid climb. Sometime afterwards we started calling the route Hyperbola and the name stuck.

My recollection of this route is it has a very hairy first pitch that involves some thin, hairball, 5.9 Carolina slab climbing where a fall would not be good for the leader, to reach the base of the arch. To start the route you climb up on some large flakes that are below & to the left of the arch. The tricky slab climbing starts off of the flakes and heads up & right to the base of the arch crack system. Since the first ascent, a harder, but better-protected direct start has been added. Getting thru the hairy slab climbing is the psycological crux of this route. A rest can be had afterwards at the base the crack system. Here the leader can rest & recoup for the pumpy technical crux under cling & pull-over move to reach the beautiful arching dihedral finger crack. Be sure your pro is set good before heading up here.

On one memorable ascent, a good friend of mine, was launching out on this move when his pro pulled out while in the middle of the crux pull over. Cams were not on the market at that time and he had only placed this one hex to protect the undercling. This left nothing but the bolt on the slab as his last protection and he was caught looking at a potential 50-plus-foot ground fall. He looked down at me, trimbeling, wild eyed, like a deer caught in the headlights!! I shouted out my encouragement and sent up all the positive energy I could thru the rope that ran between us. Shaking, scraping, and breathing like a locomotive he managed to barely pull over the crux move!! "Are you alright Peter!!??" I called up. After a quite a few minutes, where I think he was digesting seeing his whole life flash before his eyes, he replied "Yea!" He finally regained his composure and, like the true hard man he was, finished up the rest of arch.

Most folks will rap from the top of the arch, but there are 2-3 more pitches to finish the route to the top. Second pitch being around 5.9 with one, guide book says two bolts, but I only remeber placing one for pro and the crux moves would be getting off the top of the arch. The third & fourth pitches follow an indistinct line and are probably 5.7-5.8. Dave Black and Grover Cable did another route going further right from the top of the arch.

Location Suggest change

About 300 feet to the right of Sundial on top of some large flakes below the very obvious beautiful Yosemite-looking arching crack.

Protection Suggest change

Light Looking Glass trad rack.

Photos

loading