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Black Diamond 
Bloodline, The 
Don't Bosch Me Around 
Icon 
Jamaican Bobsled 
Red Cross 

Black Diamond 

5.12a

   
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Type: Trad, 1 pitch, 80 feet
Consensus: 5.12- [details]
FA: Tom Gilje and Mike Lechlinski, 1989
Submitted By: Randy on Mar 1, 2003

You & This Route  |  Other Opinions (4)
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BETA PHOTO: bd

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Description 

This route is located on the southeastern side of Olympic Dome. It heads directly up the featured, but overhanging face to the left of Icon. Class 3 scrambling takes you up to the base atop a large boulder.

Arguably "R" rated, it is reasonably well protected, but has a couple no blow it parts on easier ground. The technical crux of this route is getting past the first bolt, but the real crux of the climb is the fact that it just doesn't relent. Slightly overhanging for its entire 80+ feet, there are no big rests; with the upper half having continuous moves to the very top. Probably 12a/b.

A mega classic route that has it all.


Protection 

6 bolts, 2 bolt anchor/rap. Not really sport bolted, but not super dangerous either. A stray bolt will be found higher up and to the right, which is off route.



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new bolt near Black Diamond

BETA PHOTO: new bolt near Black Diamond


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By Vernon Stiefel
Dec 19, 2005
rating: 5.12a

While an R rating is probably unnecesary you wouldn't want to fall near the third bolt because you may end up on the boulder next to your belayer.

It seemed like the most difficult move was 11d but there are 5.11 moves at every bolt. The route is easily one of the best face climbs for the grade at J-Tree.

By RTM
Jan 30, 2009
rating: 5.12b R

I found this route to be one my headiest redpoints at JTree, or anywhere for that matter! The runout in the middle was sublime, 20ft between bolts, with a solid 5.11 deadpoint with the next bolt just out of reach! Maybe not actually dangerous, but damn!

By RTM
Mar 20, 2009
rating: 5.12b R

Black Diamond has 6 bolts! There is a new bolt on the wall that was not there before. Maybe a 1 bolt link up from Icon into Black Diamond? It looks like one could clip this new bolt on the runout section of Black Diamond, by traversing right to the bolt, then back onto the route. That sux!

By Craig Fry
Jan 30, 2011

I found this route, and we had set up a TR on it, and were going to Rap Bolt it, and make it a Five Star Sport Route. Spencer had already named it the "Nimbo Clatus"

I told the Lechlinski's about the Queen Mt. area that I discovered, and they Said, "Craig, you are so full of BS, there is no good climbing up there"

After I discovered the area with the Stahl bros, Al Bartlet, Todd Gordon and DE did a bunch of FAs cleaning up the easy pickins before we could get back up there, so only the hard routes were left

So after a couple weeks of all of us raving about it.
Mike, Gilge, and crew secretly follow us up there, and we see them watching us with Binocs from afar.
I was with Dave Tapes, Spencer, Todd Battey, DEE, and Epperson. et al.

Well the next week they do the route, using much better style than rap bolting, but now its rated R, and no one does it, its 5.12c for 5.13 climbers

Its a truly gorgeous rock, and you should go up there at look at it, and do the Icon at least

By Randy
Mar 3, 2011

"5.12c for 5.13 climbers"!?!?

Since I'm no 5.13 climber, maybe that's why it felt 5.12a (or perhaps a bit harder due to pump factor). But as noted above, the crux is low (5.11+) and above it is sustained 5.11.

Great route. Not sure it would get done much more even if it was more closely bolted. People are lazy and don't like to hike that far.

By RTM
Apr 6, 2011
rating: 5.12b R

According to Lechlinski, the stray bolt on the right is not part of the route Black Diamond. My recollection from leading the route (4 times maybe, for redpoint)was - a stout .12a move down low lead to a stretch of easy .10 to a heady .11b deadpoint move, followed by the most brilliant stretch of .11a in Josh.

By fubar
From: Babylon
Feb 14, 2012
rating: 5.12a R

The "extra" bolt is definitely not on the route, and clipping it would give you a lot of drag unless you put a runner on it, in which case you might as well not clip it in the first place, since you already have a bolt there. Unlike some big runouts in Queen Mountain, these bolts are in good condition. Probably only 12a for taller folks, but deceptively steep and incredibly sustained.