The is the best 5.10a climb at the Leap, and it should not be missed if you are a 5.10 climber. It is located on the right side of the main wall.
P1: Follow a fun steep 5.8 corner for 120ft to a set of fixed anchors.
P2: The money pitch. Follow the continuous right-facing corner with jams and lieback moves. Milk the stems for rests, since the hardest moves are at the end of the pitch.
Great route- 5.10 doesn't get any better than this.
By caughtinside From: Point Richmond, CA Dec 14, 2006 rating: 5.10a
If you go up this climb with 2 60m ropes, you can rap all the way to the ground (Main ledge) in one rap.
Also, I have not done this but have seen it, you should be able to rap with a single 60m, but you have to go to the right, onto some of the anesthesia bolted anchors. Please note that I've heard people do this, but I haven't done it myself.
Fabulous route. Also try the Gamoke, just to the right. A little grungier from lack of traffic, but better and steeper than it looks. If you can handle Hospital, you can do the Gamoke.
Did this stellar route just after the Angora fire was out. This might be one of the finest routes I've done in 25 years of climbing, at this grade (10a is just right - no moves harder, but lots of those). We had Carvell's old (yellow) guide. Do not use his old advice on gear. The earlier comment is correct - take 3" stuff and even bigger. There are lots of slots for larger pieces and you can protect the crux moves on pitch 2 using cams in a hand-sized crack to the left of the corner. Also, you can indeed rap' down on a 60 meter rope now if you angle down onto the route to your right. We did this - just watch carefully for the new (to me anyway) anchors on the bolted route on the face.
I agree that this is an outstanding route- as good as any pitch of 10a climbing I've ever done. The dikes that characterize the rock at lovers leap are absent on this route, making it very interesting. One of the Climbing magazine covers features a shot of Hospital Corner that clearly shows the beauty of the route. See the cover for issue 178, August 1998.
If you don't mind a short pitch of dirty adventure climbing, you can top out in 2-3 additional pitches. From the top of p2, go up slightly left to the Slash and then follow the ramp diagonally up right, being VERY CAREFUL not to knock anything loose (especially if there's a party below you). Keep an eye out for another bolted anchor on your left, which is reached by a short face traverse.
From here, go more or less straight up the flakes and dikes, perhaps 5.8+. There is one short wide section and probably many variations. I've been told you could run it all the way to the top in one pitch, but you may have enough rope drag to prefer belaying on an obvious ledge. The roof directly above is allegedly 5.9+ but my partner and I opted to go right and then up for moderate and somewhat run-out face climbing over dikes. A fabulous summit experience!
By Mike Morley Administrator From: Oakland, CA Jun 25, 2008
It is possible to get off the route with a single 60m rope, but requires a bit of trickery. Probably best w/a 70m.