Type: Trad, Alpine, 800 ft (242 m), 7 pitches
FA: Ben Collett and Josh Thompson, July 2012
Page Views: 16,467 total · 116/month
Shared By: J. Thompson on Jul 28, 2012
Admins: Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monty, Monomaniac, Tyler KC

You & This Route


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Description Suggest change

Here's the description, I'll give my personal comments and more beta in a comment below:

Start on The Emerald Highway.

Pitch 1: start up a shallow, left-facing corner. After about 40 feet, it ends at a ledge. Above the ledge is an arch. Follow the arch to its apex, and face climb up to a small, bushy ledge above below another arch, 80 feet, 5.10+.

Pitch 2: climb straight up off the belay aiming for a bolt, just above a bulge created by the arch. After clipping the bolt, do a couple of moves up and then traverse left to another bolt. Gain a left-facing corner and continue up this to a 2 bolt anchor on a very nice ledge to the left. Pay close attention to gear through this section, it's there and it's good, 90 feet, 5.10-.

Pitch 3: climb up and right through a lower angle and vegetated section. You are aiming for the obvious, huge corner system above. Splitter cracks will appear on the left side. Climb the crack system to a 2 bolt belay at a stance on the right, 140 feet, 5.10.

Pitch 4: continue climbing up the huge dihedral above. This is a stellar pitch, combining various jamming techniques with liebacking, stemming, and face holds. Climb out the left side of a roof and continue up to a bolt on the left. Traverse left past the bolt and gain a nice ledge system and a 2 bolt belay, 120 feet, 5.10+.

Pitch 5: traverse left on the ledge system to a hand crack around the corner. Climb the crack (if you place gear here use a double runner)and follow the weakness back right into a left facing flake/crack. Continue up this feature to its top. Use awesome chickenheads (one is a 3 foot long tufa!) to ascend the blank face above. The face is protected by 2 bolts. Traverse back left on horizontals to a clean jam crack, which is ascended to yet another awesome belay stance with 2 bolts, 100 feet, 5.10-.

Pitch 6: climb the face above the belay on more cool chickenheads. Clip 2 bolts that lead you rightward to a series of angling seams. Follow these seams back up left to a small roof with an obvious break. Surmount the roof and clip a bolt. Traverse left on really cool features to gain a thin crack. Continue up the crack to a grassy ledge. Climb left of the crack up a large flake/block. At the left side of this (it's turned into a small ledge), climb up the short arete and gain another nice ledge and 2 bolt belay, 120 feet, 5.10+ (5.11-??).

Pitch 7: face climb straight up off the belay on smaller chickenheads and horizontals. Place gear in the horizontals! Gain a stance with a small roof above it. Climb right off the stance, up a short crack and break in the roof. Gain another stance/small ledge and traverse back left. Find gear in a crack, then reach up and yard on the obvious chickenhead jugs to gain the next ledge. Traverse right to a bolt, after climbing above this bolt head back left to another bolt and a bit of cool slabby climbing below a roof. Enter a very short chimney/cave and climb out its right side. A funky move onto a ledge followed by 1 more funky move onto the summit ledges. The anchor is 2 bolts and is back quite a ways from the edge, placed high on the next(short) section off cliff. Runner your gear well! 130 feet, 5.10-.

Location Suggest change

This is located on the far right side of the Black Wall. There are several options for getting there.

#1: Hike down from the saddle and traverse the moraine to the base.
#2: Use the Black Wall rappel route(s). At the bottom of those raps, you'll need to scramble down to the base proper and traverse the base of the wall.

To descend...scramble up from the final anchor and walk off as for all Black Wall routes.

Protection Suggest change

1 set of nuts, 1 black Alien/grey TCU.
Double set from blue Alien/purple TCU to #3 Camalot, optional #4 Camalot.

Photos

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