Arrowhead Arête 

Can also be started by climbing Arrowhead Spire first and rapping off. At least, that is the way I did it.

The knife-edge ridge was a fun bonus! I would have given the climb 3 stars if the approach wasn't so bad.

Climbed this again today, 10 years after first doing it. As George suggests, climbing the Spire first is recommended, adding a couple pitches of climbing plus a cool summit. 3 out of 4 stars done this way. The knife edge ridge is worth it!

Also, the approach/descent is really not as bad as it's made out to be. It's on par with Braille Book - a fair bit of elevation gain, but fairly straightforward. Took us just over an hour to get the base, and about the same to get down from the top. All told, 6.5 hours car to car, and thats from a couple of old guys.

When Mark Powell put this striking line up in 1956 it was the hardest climb in the country at 5.8 He also did it free on sight which was unheard of at the time. Way to go!

Hey Robert - just climbed this last weekend with Jay Pozner....was remembering our adventure up there some years ago...

this route is great I've decided. Approach with humility aspiring Yos moderate adventure climbers....

Mike - wassup with the "old guys" thing?
Don't make that too much of a habit or it will become true!

Fun position for a valley climb well away from the crowds. We did it in 5 pitches linking the first and second and belaying from the top of the great white flake with has a much better stance though fewer pro options.

Did this route on a Saturday in late September and didn't see another climber all day. The approach is a bit of a pain, especially since we unknowingly departed the "trail" a bit early and soloed up about 150' of some very sketchy and loose vertical rock. We thought this was the "4th class rock band" mentioned in the Supertopo. On the descent, we found the "proper" route and the "4th class rock band" was trivial (rap anchor at top but not needed). Our approach detour was by far the scariest part of the day, maybe even the last few months.

As for the route, it was great. The Spire was a cool way to start and avoid the less than desirable first pitch of the Arete. We linked some pitches and did the arete in 6 pitches, rather than the 8 mentioned on the Supertopo. The belays mentioned in the Supertopo don't make much sense; there are great belay ledges about 30' above where the ST marks several of the belays.

Our first three pitches on the arete were filled with great climbing. The original rating of 5.8 seems appropriate except for the crux bulge, which seemed more like Yosemite 5.9. There is some loose rock on the route so watch out for that. The knife edge ridge was a cool finish but the pitches leading up to the Great White Flake were the highlight of the route.