Ace of Spades 5.9
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| Type: | Trad, 1 pitch, 80 feet |
| Consensus: | 5.9 [details] |
| FA: | Mike Lechlinski, John Long & Craig Fry, November 1977 |
| Submitted By: | Josh Beck on Mar 7, 2003 |
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Mike Holley cruising the double cracks up high. (A...
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Description Start up Popular Mechanics, the very clean, right facing, off-vertical dihedral that is the centerpiece of the White Cliffs of Dover, and about 1/3 of the way up diverge left into the middle of the 3 parallel cracks that head up the left wall of the dihedral. Excellent steep hand jamming makes this a great route and worth doing even if you've done Popular Mechanics already.
Protection Standard selection from thin to 3", bolted anchor/rap station (3/8")
BETA PHOTO: Anchors are up and left. Don't be tempted by the a...
| Heading up the twin cracks.
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| Comments on Ace of Spades |
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By C Miller Administrator Sep 3, 2004 rating: 5.9
| This excellent route with clean rock, good position and memorable moves is a treat for those who like quality crack climbing, and is one of the recommended routes at the White Cliffs Of Dover area. Four stars out of five. |
By C Miller Administrator Sep 3, 2004 rating: 5.9
| The bolts at the anchor are 3/8" |
By Richard Beller Dec 30, 2004 rating: 5.9
| I remember this as one of the best 5.9 routes in the park, and just as good as Touch N Go or Pope's Crack. Do it! |
By Woody Stark May 20, 2005 rating: 5.8
| A fine route, well protected, but no more than 5.8. |
By Joe Dawson Jan 18, 2006 rating: 5.9 PG13
| This climb is plently of fun, even if you already did Popular Mechanics. The climb is 5.9, the guy who said it is no more than 5.8 must have had a low gravity day. Beta: The anchor is about 10 vertical feet above the Popular Mechanics anchor and it is a little to the left of the end of the crack. You cannot see it from the base of the climb, but it is there. Rap is about 90 feet. |
By Ryan Kelly From: work. Oct 6, 2008
| I'm surprised at the low ratings, especially compared to Popular Mechanics. I think this is the better of the two, as you get to do the meat of P.M., and then veer off the dihedral into a splitter crack for some varied climbing on great rock. Fantastic route, I'm tempted to give it 4 stars, if it was a 5-star system I certainly would. 5.8? Meh, could be. Not the toughest .9 in the park, but it's fairly sustained and has a few moves. It's close enough, not worth worrying about. I have absolutely no idea how you would assign a PG-13 rating to this climb. |
By BrendanC From: Sherman oaks, ca May 14, 2011 rating: 5.9
| Beautiful line! Three cracks go up the steep face starting at about the midpoint of popular mechanics. The center crack is the money. I made this harder than it had to be by using only the center crack (5.9+ IMO if you do this, which I highly recommend) since I showed up dead set on pure jam climbing. If you use the right crack as well, which gives you a positive rail whenever you need it, it's 5.9- at most with pro aplenty. In any case, the fact that you climb the best section of Popular Mechanics and then get 50 plus feet of this gorgeous line on the highest quality stone in the park makes this arguably the best 90 feet of 5.9 climbing in Josh. Add the several hundred vertical foot hike to the base and you feel like you're 400 feet off the deck while you're cruising the crux. SSSSWEET! |
By Fluoride From: Los Angeles, CA Nov 5, 2012 rating: 5.9 PG13
| This route never gets old. So classic. Climb the first part of Popular Mechanics and when the crux breaks, head left up the double crack system to a great anchor. |
By Mike Holley From: Boone, NC Dec 6, 2012
| One Beaut of a route!!! Crux down low, but protects well with small stuff. Climb the double cracks with some amazing quality rock! The anchors are up high and left, slightly strange, but they are there and that's all that matters at the Tree. A Must do at the White Cliffs Of Dover!!! AMazing!! |
By Kevin Dahlstrom From: Fort Worth, TX Dec 8, 2012 rating: 5.9
| As fine a pitch as you'll find anywhere. Reminded me of Bishop's Terrace at Yosemite - similar style and difficulty. This route is only 5.9 because of the thin corner move on the lower section that is shared with Popular Mechanics. The upper crack felt like 5.8. |
By Chad_N From: SEKI, Ca Feb 5, 2013
| Great climb. Loads of fun on good stone. Lol it does kinda climb like Bishops Terrace in a couple moves or so. good call |
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