Although rated 5.10a by Don Reid's guide, this nice two pitch crack route on the southwest corner of West Cottage Dome seems harder to us compared to other routes in Tuolumne.
Pitch one is a very nice finger crack with some hands and liebacks, sustained 5.10- that ends on a nice ledge. Move the belay left about 20 feet on the ledge and climb the super physical corner/roof with bomber hand jams. The crux is in the first 15 feet followed by a short, easy offwidth and then some 5.7ish hand crack climbing. Despite great jams, lots of large holds around and great protection, this second pitch seemed really hard!
Location
This route is on the southwest corner of West Cottage Dome. It starts on a ledge reached by moderate climbing that probably should be roped or belay lower than Reid's guide shows. The first pitch is the right crack of two dihedrals. Easy down climbing off the east then down through the notch west between Daff Dome and West Cottage. The descent should take about 15 minutes.
Protection
Stoppers to 3" cams. Extra stoppers to 1" for the first pitch. P1 belay thin to 1", P2 belay has lots of options for gear belay.
This is a fun route with good pro that deserves more traffic.
Gear and General Beta: I do not remember placing anything larger than a #2 Camalot on the first pitch. You do not need to set up a belay and move it at the top of the first pitch - just put in a direction and go on over and set a belay up below the start of the second pitch. As advertised in the description above, there are a lot of gear options for the belay at the top the first pitch.
The first 15 feet of the second pitch are a little bouldery, but it takes good pro. I would take a #4 Camalot to protect a short wide section midway up the second pitch. There are plenty of options for the belay at the top of the second pitch, so you will be able to find a place to stick in whatever you have left.
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