Alpine Clutch

Beautiful movement, jaw-dropping views, and rappelling into a hermitage cave: welcome to Korea! Mostly bolted, but cams are required to climb this route safely. Routefinding is straightforward except for pitch 4, as described. Otherwise, follow the bolts!

p1) 5.10b. Climb a fairly steep bit with good holds. Continue up a slab to an anchor at the bottom of a steep bit. Belay.

p2) 5.10c. Walk right on the ledge to a crack system and climb it. Continue up a couple small ledges to a bolt anchor and belay. This pitch is balancy and fun.

p3) 5.10a. Climb up an offwidth crack system with bolts. Continue up the slab above that to a ledge--the slab is 5.6 and poorly protected. Belay off a thick tree with lots of slings around it.

p4) 5.10a. Some tricky route-finding on this pitch. Climb up the cleft behind the tree--protection is tricky here, and may not be sound. Check all holds because they may be loose. You will get to a ledge with a bolt on the left. Clip this and continue up and left up a cleft.
When you can, go up and right on a rail of rock, with bolts. Continue up this rail as it traverses onto the main face. There is a thin traverse section, then a few moves up to a bolt anchor under a roof. Belay.

p5) 5.10c. Climb up a dihedral with a thin crack in the back. Balancy and really fun. As the dihedral peters out, go up and right on the face and around a corner to a bolt anchor.

p6) 5.11a. Go up broken rock, then up and right around an overhanging fin. Place small cams on this section, saving your #1 and #2 for higher. Go up to a ledge under a bulge. This bulge is the pitch's crux, like a boulder problem in the sky. After the bulge, go up cracks, placing cams, then follow bolts upwards. Arrive at a spacious ledge and belay.

p7) 5.11a. At the right end of the ledge the bolts go up over a mantle. The mantle is really hard, but pulling on the quickdraw (cheating) is really easy. Continue up a slab to a face with two incipient cracks. This face is tenuous and requires body tension. Belay at two bolts on the summit ridge.

Descent: Rappel the route to the ledge at the top of pitch 3. One 60 meter rope works, but it barely reaches, so tie knots to avoid rappelling off the end of your rope. From the ledge, walk down (East) to the metal stairs.

Walk up the stairs to the cave where monks have lived for centuries, meditating and filling the valley with their chanting. Relics said to have been touched by the Buddha are on display.

Route name in Korean: 알파인 클럿치

From Biseondae Shelter (비선대 산장), cross the bridge and take the trail that goes uphill. Continue steeply uphill until you get to cliff of Janggun-bong. The trail splits here: take the left fork. Alpine Clutch is the first route on your right.

Many quickdraws. 12 is ample, plus 4 or 5 slings.

I recommend one each of cams 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 2 (black diamond camalot sizes). Many climbers don't use cams, but this requires long, dangerous run outs.

Helmets. Many climbers use this as a rappel route.