The Cathedral Spires are closed from March 1 to July 31 for raptor nesting.
BETA PHOTO: Bout time someone got a picture posted of this bea...
Description
To approach this route, drive east on the Cathedral Spires dirt road past the Pinnacle. Pull off at the gate closing an old dirt road (on the left side of the road, park on the right), looking up hill you'll see some obviously quarried rock.
From here walk up and gradually left keeping your eyes open for every huge roof you pass. It's about a 25 minute walk, depending how lost you get. It's easy to miss because of the offset of the roof. The right side of the roof is a foot or so lower than the left. It's easy to glance at the roof and think there isn't a crack if viewed from the east of the route.
The route starts with mildly spicy (or I'm a wimp) slab climbing past a bolt. Then you get 30 feet of sweet hands that gradually get wider. It's neat, with the offset it's like climbing a horizontal dihedral, even cooler, at times you can't see the crack you are jamming. It's as rad a roof I've ever seen. At the lip it gets stackable and is the crux. Due to the clean sharp break of the crack it can be laybacked, it's easier to to pull inverted Leavittation moves if you know that style. Above the lip, go to the 2 bolt anchor. It's wide, bro's would be useful, but it's 5.8 here.
I imagine a walk is possible as there are no rap rings. I don't know though. My partner was unable to climb this so I down-aided to the bolt on the slab and rapped off a link.
This is a must do route, officially it's 5.12a, but it's as easy as 11c if you are tuned on this style.
Protection
Hand size pieces up to #5 Friend. A #6 could be used past the lip, but if you are strong enough to pull the lip, you probably don't care.
"Bad Ju-Ju" is a severely overhanging crack that Noel Childs and Mike Bearzi(sp found. After a day of climbing, Noel and I were hiking down from Cynical Pinnacle and asked me if I minded making a detour because he wanted to show me something he had found. I couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw it! I wanted to jump on it that very moment but Noel said that he and Bearzi found it together and they were planning to do it together soon.I told him Cool but I intended to do the second assent of it. I couldn't get it off my mind! I even had a name for it! Bad Ju-Ju! Noel had it filed away into his "to do someday" stash and had he been just sitting on it waiting on Bearzi. I called Bearzi on the phone and he told me that he wasn't in good free climbing shape at that moment and he really didn't have any intention of jumping on the climb any time soon.I expressed how important the route was to me and Mike understood. He gave me his blessing to go for it. I guess that I was being a real jerk when I told Noel that he had two weeks to find a partner and climb it, or else I was going to. To make this long story shorter, Noel and I teamed up and did "Bad Ju-Ju" two weeks later. The Bad Ju Ju Roof/Crack is one of the single best pitches that I have ever done. I will accept that Noel should get the credit for the first assent of this beautiful route. He did find the climb and he placed the bolt on the face section the day before we did it. The truth is, I was the one that led it. I did take a fall near the lip. I wanted the first ascent real bad so I didn't lower to the ground after my fall(like I should have)! If I had lowered Noel would have had a chance to make a continuous lead through my high point. Noel did seconded the pitch in good style! He had trouble getting one of the pieces out near the lip and climbed past it leaving it in. As Ken mentioned in his comment it was tricky down aiding to retrieve it. I agree with the 5.12 rating and the**** as well! Good on you, Noel, my old friend!
Olaf and Noel really amazed their friends with this roof.
Too steep to clean via lowering and hideous to second, the best cleaning strategy is down-aiding to the bolt. Once committed to the idea of down-aiding, it's fun to just do the hand crack roof out to the crux. A back-up to the initial bolt would make sense!
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