Deserted Cities of the Heart 

This is easily done in one pitch. Fun climb. Yet, the top anchor is only 1 bolt. There is an anchor to the right.

While this climb is pretty mellow, benign 5.5 for the most part, it does have some concerns. Coming off of the ledge of P2 is the crux- and the bolt is clipped only after this. Consider getting a sling up high around the tree nearby and clipping a draw to it to avoid a ledge fall if you are tentative on the 5.9 move there. The single bolt up top is OK, but is still a single bolt. Think that over. Lastly, many of the bolts on this climb were placed on uneven rock and are distanced from the rock by thick washers. This is not good for the bolts or their lifespan. They seem OK, but treat them with suspicion.

On the bright side, the climb is great when done as a single pitch. The alternative descent is to scramble the ridge northward (5.2?) and into the notch between the two summits of the Goose, then down the dihedral, which is mostly 5.2(?) with one 5.6(?) move on huge jugs close to the ground.

I free-soloed this route during 1988 [before] it had any bolts. I don't think it had been climbed previously. I believe the bolts were placed later by Richard Wright who did not know the route had already been climbed. I named the route Deserted Cities of the Heart after a song by Cream on the album Wheels of Fire.

I climbed this route in 1981 with David Brewster (with a rope and gear). I have done it since with the bolts and enjoyed the route again. I don't remember naming the route.

Pretty good route. Easily broken up into two pitches but we did it in one. Expect to feel run-out if you only brought draws (or do the route a la-Rossiter). Not sure if you could find many gear placements anyway. It's mostly slabular. Bring a double length runner to sling the tree before the crux as the clip comes after the hard move.

I belayed from the two bolt anchor down and right of the top. A medium cam or stopper could be used en-route to the anchor. Double rope rap from there or traverse off north then west.

Someone added a fixed nut to the anchor to back up single bolt: good idea and I hope no one "booties" it or the biners and sling attached to it. We were a bit worried about pulling the ropes because of the trees on the ledge(led as one pitch using double ropes), but they pulled fine. Pull from the south a bit. Good route--not great, but solidly good. Glad the first ascenstionists don't seem to mind the retrobolt job--no way would this be climbed by 99% of climbers w/o the bolts.

As of 25-Sept-2009, the anchor is only a single bolt - no nut or sling, though I could see where a very small nut could back up the bolt. This route goes pretty easily without supplemental pro for the bolts, especially as much of the face climbing is very easy, and I didn't notice any places where the route would protect without a lot of fiddling around with pro.

I think most climbers will appreciate having a light rack. I placed a red Camalot on relatively easy ground between the 2nd and 3rd bolt above the ledge and a small nut horizontally higher. You'll see the placements if you want them bad enough. I anchored with Camalots ranging from #1 to #3 in the large horizontal at the top and used the single bolt as a backup and redirect. It's a fun pitch. Can't think of a reason to break into two pitches.

Was planning on climbing this weekend. Think I'll try it fully sport, only QDs, but I'm wondering how many I'll need if I break it into 2 pitches?

A really good climb. Qe were surprised at how sustained the 5.9 climbing was! From this site, we assumed the bulge on P2 was the crux and possibly the only 5.9 move, but that's untrue as the thin 5.9 moves are consistent for the first 4-5 bolts on P2. Also, breaking the climb into 2 pitches is very important to reduce rope drag higher up.

jamie

Climbing straight up to the bolt off the ledge by the little pine seemed contrived to me. Much easier to start off the ledge 10' to the right using a crack to gain a jug ledge and then hand traverse back left to the bolt. Not sure why the climb didn't go straight up from this spot. If the intention is to climb straight up to the bolt, I don't understand why there is no bolt protecting the leader from hitting the ledge. This and only having a single bolt anchor keeps this from being a classic climb.