Cryptomaniac (to Flakes)  5.10a

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Type:  Trad, 2 pitches, 200 feet Consensus:  5.10a [details] FA:  P1: Ivan Rezucha, Luke Clarke, October 3, 2010, P2 - previously climbed as P2 of The Flakes New Route:  Yes Submitted By:  Ivan Rezucha on Oct 15, 2010 You & This Route  |  Other Opinions (1) Your todo list: Your stars: Your rating: -none- [change] Your ticklist: [add new tick]

Above the crux, moving right to the ceiling. Photo...

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Closed for raptor nesting from February 1 through July 31 each year. MORE INFO >>> Mickey Mouse wall is generally closed for raptor nesting from February 1 through July 31. Details This information is a public crowdsourcing effort between the Access Fund, and Mountain Project. You should confirm closures, restrictions, and/or related dates. Keeping climbing areas open and conserving the climbing environment Private Property issues MORE INFO >>> The West Bank / Wild West / Secret Crag has been problematic for years due to access concerns. There have been negative encounters with gun-toting landowners who have alleged that the entire mountain is on private property. Typical approaches involve brief crossing of railroad property which appears to be prohibited. Exact demarcation of property boundaries are not always clear. When in doubt, be discrete or polite. Do not park your vehicle near the railroad tracks near Plainview. It is a well-known irritant to Plainview residents. This information is a public crowdsourcing effort between the Access Fund, and Mountain Project. You should confirm closures, restrictions, and/or related dates. Keeping climbing areas open and conserving the climbing environment

Description 

Cryptomaniac is an obvious but unreported line that climbs directly to the start of Mausoleum and from there angles right to the top of Oblique Streak. The climbing is good, although indirect at the bottom, and the rock quality is for the most part excellent. The crux comes early, but there are two more interesting secondary cruxes to follow. The first pitch serves as a better first pitch for Mausoleum than Oblique Streak.

Pitch 1) Scramble up to a slanting ledge. You could belay there. Step up to the bottom of the slot. Make a difficult crux move left and up from the top of the slot to a right angling shallow groove. The rock here looks deceivingly low angle from the ground. Use long slings here. Follow the groove awkwardly right, passing a fun thread, to a stance below a ceiling that leads to a left facing corner. Instead of making the crux move left and back right, it appears to be possible to climb a nice face directly to the ceiling, but there is no gear. There are two chockstones in the ceiling. The bottom one rocks but appears to be safe. The top one is solid. A 5.8 or so move leads over the ceiling to a stance on the chockstones. With some difficulty, get in gear at the next ceiling (deep inside, on the right, and/or high on the left). Layback past the left side of the next ceiling at 5.9 or so and then up easier rock to the 2-bolt anchors at the base of Mausoleum.

Pitch 2) Eds. This is previously ascended terrain as Flakes. Angle right along a relatively easy and somewhat dirty crack past a 5.8 move near the top to the tree at the top of Oblique Streak.

Location 

Getting there:
Just uphill from the wildly overhanging Industrial Wall at the bottom of Mickey Mouse is a lower angle wall whose top is where Garden of Stone is located. In the center of this wall is the angling crack system of Oblique Streak . The left side of this wall is bounded at the bottom by the short Prow (or “Ship's Prow”) buttress and at the top by an obvious, red, right-facing corner whose left wall is the huecoed arete of Mausoleum. The bottom of Cryptomaniac is marked by a short, left-angling slot about 30' off the ground that is clearly visible from the right, but barely visible from directly below.

Getting down:
There are several options for getting down. By far the easiest it to rap with two ropes from the tree at the top to ground. The next best option is to do only the first pitch and rap from the bolts at the base of Mausoleum. I think, but can't verify, that you can get to the ground or the first ledge, from there with a 60m rope. A third option is to walk down from Garden of Stone. If you don't know the way, you could end up trashing weeds and even end up on the wrong side of the tunnel. Another option would be to do an extremely diagonal rap along the way from the top to the Mausoleum anchors. This looked very dangerous. The last option is to rap from the top with one rope and hope you can find or build an anchor somewhere along the way. Note that Oblique Streak diagonals more than it seems, and you would end up in the middle of the wall to the right of Oblique Streak. You might be able to get to the easier rock below Industrial Wall.

Protection 

Single cams from micro to #3.5 Camalot. Optional doubles from #0.5 to #2. Single set of medium nuts. 15 or so slings, mostly long. Double ropes are required to rap to the ground from the top.

Photos of Cryptomaniac (to Flakes) Slideshow

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The first ceiling is exciting but only about 5.8. ...	Laybacking past the second roof is about 5.9. The ...	The rope delineates the first pitch. The Mausoleum...