V) Thin and Bear It

This is the farthest right climb on the "West Wall" section at Casket Quarry. About 50 feet to the right of Big Blue the wall juts out a bit (and also gets rampy and broken mid-cliff). The route starts just Right of the rounded arête in a shallow dihedral below a bulge with a hanging crack.

Climb up thin torques and mungy flakes trending right to a stance below a shallow dihedral (in some years ice starts here). Ascend shallow dihedral on thin holds (or ice) to base of bulge below hanging block crack. Power up bulge using crack (crux). Immediately after the crux and when you get your feet under you, look for anchors on slab to the left (they are an awkward 3 feet to the left and might be covered with snow). A note on the grade and description: This route can be climbed dry and is M6 in such condition. With ice to the ground (very rare) it's M5. The description above (and M6 grade) is for a dry or average ice year.

8 Quickdraws for bolts in an average year. If there is a lot of ice you might have to chop out a couple of the bolts on the lower section (or use short screws) To TR, rap off a tree to get to lead anchors and hang a rope of them.

Around 1980 'ish Curt Johnson and Rick Allen did the true FA. In a rare, very fat year the ice gets thick and goes all the way down to the ground. Curt led it on screws and 2 XL Angles (pounded in sideways I am told…) and then did the wallow/grovel/thrash up the broken rock ramps to the trees above. It has been led a few times in the following years but the lack of an anchor always sucked and when it was thin or iceless, as in most years, it was a no-pro-horror-show until you get to the hanging crack (and some years the hanging crack is iced up solid…). After leading it a few times in these conditions I felt it was reasonable to equip it. The FA party (RA) was agreeable so, for better or worse, it got "modernized"… It's become quite a popular route despite its lack of length!

(Thanks to James Loveridge for supplying the above info)