Mounty 

I thought that this was not an easily protected 5.7!

We didn't think so either, hence the pro description. -first ascensionists

With permission from the FA, I added a pin to protect the cruxy insecure step left on to the slab. It is now well protected for the entire pitch, even though the gear is small, it is still bomber. Without the pin your feet were well above your last piece of small pro when you pull the insecure moves. Now the protection is consistent.

The route has cleaned up nicely and it has very enjoyable climbing that provides an excellent warm-up and approach pitch to Contra.

Casey and I put in a Fixe 2 bolt rap anchor at the top of Mounty. Is easily accessible from the base of Contra. 90 feet to the ledge where Mounty starts (by a lone small juniper). Consider a belay anchor on the exposed ledge at the start -- large cam (#3 Camalot) / med hex.

The route seemed stiff for 5.7, especially for shorter folks. There is one slopey move early where a #3.5 Camalot or #4 Friend is nice. Otherwise, nothing bigger than a #0.75 Camalot is needed.

A fun pitch. I used pro from a green Alien to a #3 Camalot. The steep crack in the middle of the pitch protects with a #.5 and a #.75 Camalot.

After the slab move by the pin, I angled left to a corner with four bolts on the right wall. I clipped the first two bolts (these are actually on the route Aries), then went left to the anchor shared with Vitamin N.

There is a good ledge at this anchor, so it is easy to belay here, bring up your partner, then rappel.

I think I missed a critical hold through the crux. Nevertheless, I managed to smear the feet a little higher and escaped the barn door action, just barely. I had at least a 20’ run out through the crux and opted to clip the bolt just 3’-4’ right of the pin for my next piece. When I go back to climb this again, I will opt to use the pin and slot the bomber #7 nut up high instead of the bolt before the finish.

I was glad to see that fixed pin! Just like the FA said the pro is hard to find, but pretty good. I'm pretty sure that crux was protected with a really good #3 Camalot, and there's a couple good stoppers in that dihedral near the top. Worth it to bring the gear considering the short approach!

8 years later, and I still think it is hard to protect the crux crack. I used a #1 cam up high, but it felt insecure. The good news is that there are bomber handholds once one makes the insecure move.
A #3 or 4 cam at 10 feet works well, too.

For the grade and being a gear route in CCC, this is a really good route. Very good rock quality, adequate protection but fairly engaging, fairly consistent at the grade throughout the length. Really fun. The added pin up high seemed like a pretty good addition. Nice find.

The pro is there but tricky to place and a little funky. The leader should be solid at the grade. Lots of slings help.