Flake n' Bake

Since you're up there anyway...
There's a pretty cool route that follows the arete on the right side corner of the F&B slab. It starts with tricky face climbing proteced with a bolt and then goes into easy and good finger/hand cracks. Then just layback the easy arete to the F&B anchor. Very easy on the arete but with fun movement and great position. And a good TR if you make sure to place some directionals on top.

Climbing in the Flake n' Bake area can be extended both below and above to make a 3 or 4 pitch climb.

Below pitch 1 of the route Flake n' Bake is a run-out lead that starts on a shallow angled slab and initially follows an intermittent crack trending to climber's left and then up and back right (Slab Happy, 5.3). Paralleling that is a straight-up top-rope var (The Slab, 5.7). Both end at the ample ledge with bolted anchor ("Lunch Ledge") at the base of Flake and Bake route.

Above, or rather, splitting off pitch 2 of the route Flake n' Bake are a couple short routes: either finish up a steeper, obvious, slightly right-trending, hand-crack (In A Jam, 5.7); or face climb (top rope, 5.8) just to the left of and paralleling In A Jam.

These additional route names and ratings come from Barry and Rita Loucks' guide. They may warrant separate route pages instead of this comment - feel free if inclined.

I'm not an incredibly seasoned climber and this was my first trad climb, but I'd argue the 5.5 rating on this route. 5.6 sport climbs I've been on give you a million hold options with bomber hands and great feet. Unless we did something terribly wrong this was not a 5.5. Also, we might have started below the actual route, but that would assume that you get to the bolts with the screw links via a 4th class along the right side of the climb (if you can, tons of cacti), and start at the ledge.

The first pitch is pretty easy with good pro to 2 bolts with screw links on a nice ledge (assuming the 2 bolts and screw links are not the actual start of the climb). 2nd pitch starts decent for about 12 feet with a nice little pocket that takes a pink Tri-Cam beautifully. Past this is a small arete, with greasy feet (looks like water flows down it pretty regularly) that, IMO, is not a 5.5. The feet are slick and the hands are marginal for about 10 feet. Once you get past the arete to the actual flake it gets much better. Medium cams and larger nuts will protect the flake. Top of second pitch has 2 bolts with chains, and a third button bolt that is a bit loose. There is another pitch above this one that goes to 2 bolts with chains, but we Rapped from the top of the second pitch (maybe the actual first?). 2 ropes will get you to the bottom with about 5 feet to spare.

My impression is that a certain technique (not lieback) in the section just below the flake makes the route Flake n' Bake about 5.5; even so, 5.5 may be a little "old school".

"The first pitch is pretty easy with good pro to 2 bolts with screw links on a nice ledge (assuming the 2 bolts and screw links are not the actual start of the climb)."

Bryan, the actual start of the route Flake n' Bake is indeed at the 2 bolts with screw links; the ledge there is called Lunch Ledge by at least one guide. There are several other named parallel pitches that start below Lunch Ledge. This is all based on the Loucks' guide "Climbers Guide to the Lower Sandias", 3rd Ed, copyright 1994 (2nd Ed, 1989; 1st Ed, 1986?). Looks like used copies of the guide are still out there being sold (e.g., Amazon.com).