I am posting a topo of the route instead of describing each pitch in detail. This is all I had to send the route, but it was horrible, so I recreated one. This is a Flyin' Brian line. He says we had the first onsight of the line...
It is absolutely amazing. Take the Black Velvet Wall and drop it 1,000 feet above the desert floor. I believe the line is number 12 in George's photo.
The "VI" is a little misleading. I believe it refers to the commitment level. This is the definition of "desert rockaneering".
"Dogma" offers some fantastic climbing on the east face of Mt. Wilson. While I wouldn't describe the route as being a true sport climb, I only placed a total of five pieces on the first eleven pitches so you won't need an extensive rack. I thought the best pitches were #3 and the crux pitch which begins off of the Sherwood Forest ledge. We didn't climb the final four pitches because there was a deep snowbank on the ledge at the base of pitch #12. We climbed the route with a 70 meter rope which enabled us to safely rappel the route.
This is a spectacular route and well worth doing. The Red Rock Canyon guidebook recommends up to a #4 friend, which is unnecessary. A single set of cams up to a #1 camalot is more than enough. The upper pitches require almost no gear, but the route is a lot sportier than Levitation 29, and in my opinion, better. The first two headwall pitches from the last ledge can be linked with a 70 meter rope, giving the follower the opportunity to climb the last four pitches (5.11a, and three 5.8's) in one pitch. The descent can be tricky in the dark. Have fun.
This route is spectacular! However with a 60m rope, we came up short by a LOT (20+ feet) on two of the raps. And on several others, I had to hang from the knots at the end of the rope and reach way below my feet to clip the anchors.
A 70m rope should reach with room to spare, but I think the relatively straightforward First Creek Canyon walkdown descent (which I have done a couple of times) is a much better option than hours of rappelling.
Great route! On 3/17/09, we climbed free to the final ledge before running into a snow bank guarding the upper pitches. The last 2 pitches before the ledge had been very wet. We called it a day and started rapping. Bring a single 70 meter for safe raps.
My rack: 14 quickdraws (4 of these tripled up 24" runners) 5 medium stoppers (maybe BD size 4-8) #0 (purple) tcu #1 (blue) Mastercam Yellow, Red, Gold: Aliens Red Camalot
Pitch 4 is exciting with an opening thin section followed by a great crack and ending with a crazy chimney to a sandy face. The crux is one of the best pitches I have done at the grade. The face above is continually engaging on amazing rock. The entire headwall is perfectly bolted- expect a little space between the shiny silver bolts.
Try to be at the White Riot Gully at first light on the approach- for us this was 6am. It is tricky and a little light is important.
The giant black water streak does not come into play. There are a few tiny water streaks just left of the big one. If these are shiny when viewed in the sun from below, then the last 2 headwall pitches will probably be wet and there will be snow on the ledge possibly barring passage. Give it a few weeks. Good luck.
did Pink Tornado to Dogma last weekend--stellar routes. Would recommend descending by 1st Creek Canyon rather than rapping the route/descending back down via Willy's Coulair, which took us about 4 hrs. It's much faster descending via 1st Creek Canyon.
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