Type: Trad, 80 ft (24 m)
FA: T. Bubb, K Chen, 11/1/09
Page Views: 1,501 total · 9/month
Shared By: Tony B on Nov 11, 2009
Admins: Nate Ball

You & This Route


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Description Suggest change

Start up as for String Bikini, climbing perhaps 30 feet to an undercling flake on the right with a 2" crack. Protect the crack and add a long sling and look left into a corner system with a thin crack in it. Stem out and go up and left, placing some very small cams for protection. Pass the somewhat insecure crux (tips) to reach better locks and jams (sharp) and place a larger camming unit at a sharp jam. This jam is the one for which the route is named, as there are quartz points in it and one must position carefully to avoid cuts... or wear a Kevlar Vest.
Continue up the corner for 30' and onto a sloping ledge, where you can reach out right to place gear in a horizontal under a roof, then undercling out under that roof (psychological if pumped, but not actually difficult) into another crack and corner system, and up to the higher anchors on String Bikini. There are some final moves worth noting that are protected by a hand-sized cam, so save one.
To note- this route is not easily Top-roped due to a very sharp flake below the anchor, so belaying up top is a good idea. Alternately, do as I did on the FA and put a piece of clothing over the flake and clip it in to "pad" the flake so you don't chew on the rope if the second has a hard time of it..

The grade assigned is questionable. I believe the climb to be a bit harder than String Bikini, but that is hand size dependant... both routes might be somewhere between 10c and 11a depending on the grading scale used.

Location Suggest change

This route starts as for String Bikini, but diverges left early on, perhaps 30' up to the more direct and thinner line. Refer to String Bikini Route page for starting location.

Protection Suggest change

NOTE: While it may be disputed if this was climbed first by myself, or first by some other party in the 1990's, what is not disputed is that it was climbed without any bolts and protected JUST FINE that way prior to someone adding the bolts.

The route is climbed on Gear to 2"

Added bolts came later, and sadly instead of pulled were apparently replaced with Titanium ones in 2017.
That's the wrong kind of maintenance, IMO.

Photos

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