Climbing up the fist crack on pitch 10, and loving...
Description
This route runs along the edge of the North Gully and frames the top of the Sheriff's Badge. There are lots of ledges and terraces, and moving the belay is quite common.
Begin on a blocky pitch of 5.8 with a pin. Climb up to a large ledge and belay.
Climb the magnificent Angel's Crack, a diagonal hand and finger crack, at 5.10a. Belay on a good ledge at its end.
Next, climb a difficult face, the crux, at 10b past 2 bolts and up into a corner. There is a belay at a large slung boulder on a slab, but I thought it was more comfortable to climb another 15 feet up and belay on the ledge above.
Traverse along the ledge and up some easy slab to the base of the next wall (5.7).
Face climb up to the beginning of a left-facing corner. Step right below this corner and enter a right-facing corner on the other side. This can be tricky to see from below. Climb up the corner (5.10a) and step right again below a roof. Belay on a ledge.
Climb a pitch of 5.7 to a large ledge. This pitch can be successfully linked with the last one to make one long pitch.
Move the belay to the base of the next wall. Climb up a ramp, step right to a second ramp, then step right again into a corner system (5.10a).
Move the belay again. There are two options here. The normal way is to climb up a 5.9 lieback in a corner to another large ledge. The second is a 5.10b 7" offwidth crack. This crack is pretty consistent in size, so you can't get a #5 Camalot in there, even way back (trust me on this one). Bring your Big Bros if you wanna shot at this beast.
Follow the climber's trail up through the trees to the base of the Acrophobe's Traverse. Climb to the top of the first tower (5.7), rap off the back side, then scramble up low 5th class rock to a fixed rope (you can see it from the top of the rappel). Descend the fixed rope to a dirty alcove and climb up to the notch between the highest tower and the ridge (low 5th).
From the notch, climb up to a nice ledge (5.9).
You have a couple options from here. Start at a tree (using the tree to get past the start is permissable) and climb a 5.8+ fist crack up to a blocky corner. Continue up to the Whaleback Arete and belay at the base of the next, steep and somewhat intimidating, wall. Otherwise, traverse right along the ledge and climb a 5.10b/c crack, joining the route at the top of the Whaleback Arete.
Begin this pitch at the large dead tree growing out of the crack. Pull through this opening roof past a pin using the main crack and also a second crack on the left. Continue jamming up steep ground, past several small roofs and a couple trees to the top of the wall (5.10a). This pitch is sustained and somewhat strenuous, so make sure you have some energy left!
Step right into a 5.8 squeeze chimney, which opens up near the top. If you are carrying a pack, bring a double-length sling to drop the pack on, you won't be able to fit in the chimney otherwise.
Congratulations! You are at the top! Enjoy the views from the Chief on the walk back, and then high-tail it down to the Howe Sound Brew Pub to celebrate!
Location
From the Angel's Crest/North Gully Trail, find a dirty 5.7 corner, just past the large roof. The route starts at the top of this corner on a large ledge. This is a fairly popular route, so the best way to find it is to look for signs of wear.
Protection
A normal rack up to about 3". Doubles in the .5 - 1" range could be nice. Bring a Big Bro or 2 for the offwidth variation.
Skip straight to Angel's Crack by climbing a tree for 60ft located not far up the gully from the original start. Be prepared for dirtaineering with a couple pitches of quality crack and face climbing in between.
Good route with a wild position and decent climbing. If the crux section is wet, expect it to be a letter grade harder as you have to skip a key hold- about .10c or so.
Don't expect to link pitches as rope drag makes it difficult, Although some can be linked. Luckily, all cruxes are very short as are the pitches, making the route go by fast despite its length.
Great route. Get there early, it's crowded. Rig the pitches so you get to lead the Angel Crack and the last .10 crack. I remember the latter being the best pitch on the route, great finale. .8 chimney to the top is a squeeze.
You can link p1 and p2, p3 and p4, p5 and p6, and then the 5.7 and 5.8 pitch after the Acraphobes with a 60m rope(different pitch numbers in different guidebooks). The drag would be pretty severe on p.13 to p.14. :)
Also, there is a short-cut that we missed on the hike to the Acraphobes; look for the lovely totem.
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