Rob Andrew heel-hooking the 10c crux overhang on t...
Description
Mystic Mile is a good climb on good clean rock, with a few hard moves low down on the first pitch, and another hard move on pitch two, with a lot of somewhat easier nice slab climbing in between.
Mystic Mile starts from "Ledge Two" at a small tree growing at the base of the wall, 15 feet left of the rap anchor for Into the Mystic. This anchor is at eye level as you walk along Ledge Two. The start is 20 feet right of the first big tree on Ledge Two. 100 feet up the wall above this tree is a prominent double tree. Ledge Two is reached by following the trail along the base of Sleeping Beauty to its end where it scrambles steeply up to the left end of Ledge Two, a long ledge with several large trees.
Pitch 1 (10c, 10 bolts, 100 feet): Climb past a roof near the ground on its right side. Step left then undercling right and up (good cam for extra pro) to a ceiling. Reach over the ceiling to big holds, clip, and pull over with a gymnastic move that is harder than it looks, given the great hand holds. This was the crux for me. The climbing below is also pretty hard. Climb a slab left of a small dirty corner to the anchor at a good stance. The double tree is now directly left.
Pitch 2 (9+, 7 bolts, 90 feet): Continue up the slab left of a large, left-facing corner, then move right into the corner. Place optional gear, move onto the arête and reach over the roof to clip a bolt. It looks hard to clear the roof, but it's only above 5.9 via a surprising move. Continue to the top past 3 more bolts staying left of some dirty thin cracks.
Although you could rap to the ground with two ropes, due to the low-angle rock, it's safer to do two one-rope rappels.
This route is probably easier than 10c by trad standards (10a?). I self-belayed this and was pretty solid, which is not the case when I lead 10c trad in Eldo.
Protection
Pitch 1 (100'): 10 bolts to a 2-bolt anchor with rings. Pitch 2 (90'): 7 bolts to a 2-bolt anchor with rings. Optional: Single set of cams from green Alien to #2 Friend.
Great route! The first time I climbed this route, my buddy Brent and I were amazed that we were the only ones on the wall. Animal World was swarming with people, and we had all of Sleeping Beauty to ourselves. I can't believe that there isn't a line at the bottom of this route on the weekends. The crux of the route is a mantel over a roof. The move is outrageous!!! It's not harder than 5.10+ (once you figure out how to do it), but you will probably find yourself laughing your ass off when you do it (like Brent and I were), or you'll be cursing Rossiter for grading the pitch 10c. Climbing "Into the Mystic" and then this route make for 3 excellent pitches of climbing. "Into the Mystic" hits the 2nd ledge 10 ft right of "Mystic Mile." As a side note, the picture above has the anchors too low. They are actually where the #2 is in the picture. To climb "The Wave" traverse straight right from the anchors in the middle of "Mystic Mile." I'm pretty sure that "The Wave" has a manufactured hold on it, but I'm not an expert on the subject (looked pretty suspicious). I'm also pretty sure that "The Wave" isn't 10a. It's MUCH harder than "Mystic Mile."
Really nice route - probably the best quality route there. I found both pitches to be harder for a tall (6 ft 2") person. The tower roof was especially awkward. 5.10c seems like a reasonable grade for P1. The 2nd pitch is probably 9 for a shorter person and 10a for a taller person.
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