Sidewinder 

pretty spooky

If you fell from the low crux just above the first bolt, you'd be fine. The rock there is a little poor but luckily, it's well protected. I sent a small foothold off, and there were other places where the rock had obviously been recently broken (still dropping crystals when blown on). The under-the-roof traverse is not necessarily runout. With a few cams and tricams you can sew it up. Take long slings to avoid drag.

As for the top 5.9+/10- area. You pass the bolt and perhaps some 10 or 15' feet later are on a snakey move with poor feet or poor hands. I traversed the dike as a foot traverse. With powerhouse forearms and dime edging shoes, this might be more secure as a hand-traverse. A few times I bent the left knee deeply and used my left hand to mantle sideways on the moves. If you don't normally use chalk, consider doing this route in cool weather.

At this snakey section, there is a hole in the wall, I presume where someone placed and someone else chopped a retro-bolt. SHAME! SHAME SHAME. If you use this AID hold as a crutch on lead- either that or keep in kind your ascent was 5.10b/A0, not a free ascent. Someone should properly patch the hole with epoxy and flakes of local granite.

A fall from the slithering section would be long and frightening, but not likely really hurt you. None-the-less, if your second is not super solid, consider it an act of kindness to come back to the south a little from the end point to belay so as not to be at such a distance for them if they swing.

Earned the 3-star rating. Would be 4-star if not for the drilled hold and also the loose rock down low.

Can somebody patch the ugly drilled hole at the high crux? So you eliminated the retro-bolt, now there's a retro-hold!

i heard from a reliable source that the second bolt on the traverse isnt a retro bolt, and it was placed by the first acsentionists...... anyone else hear this?

I wouldn't consider your source very "reliable" as the 2nd bolt on the traverse (long ago removed, but the hole is still there) was added LONG after the FA. The hole should be completely filled and camoflauged.

The crux past the 1st bolt has gotten much harder over the years as many small flakes/edges have broken off. For shorter climbers, this move can be quite challenging.

So the two bolts (one at the bottom, one at the start of the traverse) were from the FA, but there used to be another retro-bolt on the traverse, too? It was also mentioned to me that at some time in the past, the bolt at the start of the traverse had been chopped. Any story there?

im sorry i made a mistake, i mixed up some info sorry........

To my knowledge (which is far from complete), the 1st bolt on the upper traverse has never been removed (except to replace it). But then again, someone removed the bolts on Stand and Deliver (who knows why) and apparently Swept Away got chopped once (maybe some sort of comment on foreign film route names?).

It took me a long time to convince my usual partners that I could give them an adequate belay for the traverse. I set it up so I could walk across the top as they moved, always keeping the belay to them vertical. Actually, I wasn't sure I could do it until I was on top. But what the hell, it worked; and I finally got it climbed. It's an excellent route that's rated correctly; though, I feel the traverse is eight not nine.

I feel the move over and above the first bolt should be rated a 10c instead of 10b. A hold or two must have broken off making it more difficult. Any opinions on this crux?

I led it again yesterday; and I would have to agree with Karen: it's gotten more difficult; I'd give it 10c.

We did this couple weeks ago, I think it is definitely a height thing. 10b (one move at that) seemed about right to me. But for shorter people it may very well be 10c.

I better measure myself; I must be shrinking.

The move past the first bolt is the hardest for sure. But I would say still 10b. My wife is 5'3" so she for sure used different holds than I did at 5'9" but didn't say it was that hard for her as a vertically challenged person!

The low crux is definitely height-dependent. Many former footholds have departed the face. At 5'8", I felt the low crux was .10c if not harder....if you're 6' or have a big ape index, it'll feel much easier...you will want a shoe that edges reasonably well...this isn't the place for your blown out "all day shoe". The ramp walk is a little nervy, but by choosing your foot placements carefully, is casual.

Some friends sandbagged me onto this line telling me it was only 5.9. Pretty hard and exciting for that grade! Excellent and engaging pitch.

Great route, I'd recommend protecting the opening move in the flake if there is any chance you'll come out of there as it's a bit awkward. Or not, as the first bolt is not that far up.

Will S. may be right about the crux at the bottom, technical crux, it is a bit flaky getting past that first bolt and heading up toward the large crack. For me, it was the psychological crux walking the ramp up high. Just when I thought it was easy, I looked back at the bolt and well, felt pretty uneasy.

Rumor has it no body's ever fallen from up there. I do believe I said I could be the first - but didn't.

FANTASTICLY FUN ROUTE!

~Susan

Susan - old partner of mine took the fall on the traverse just before the flake. Swung over to about his first piece under the roof, quite a flight. He got back on and sent!

Oh my, I had never heard of someone ACTUALLY falling on the traverse. That would be a fricken' scary fall!

I think this is a classic, it has a compelling line, and the final mental crux traverse still lingers, after 20 years.

Remember to belay the follower so that they don't swing the other direction. See Woody's entry (Nov 1 2003).

Fell at the first bolt. Then pulled the move. Getting up onto the rail from the crack was tricky. Then the traverse had me going. It took me three tries to finally commit to walk across. My heart was pounding, I was sweaty but kept my cool as best as I could. When it was all over, I heard an applause from the audience below TR Candelabra. What a memorable day that was for me. Not in a hurry to do it again. Well maybe.

This climb is all about the traverse. W/ the exception of the face move past the first bolt, everything up to the 2nd bolt is pretty straight forward 5.6 to 5.8.

The traverse is 5.7 to 5.9. The 5.9 move is near the end (about 15' out from the bolt). A fall here would mean a huge pendulum for the leader.

Great climb on great rock (except the start is a little crumbly). I think the grade is good, but the traverse is pretty spooky...definitely heady and a PG13/R I think. Four stars!

A fun and engaging climb throughout. The bolt hole on the upper traverse has since been filled in by caughtinside, although I was too busy trying not to be scared to notice the workmanship. Really though, the traverse is fairly trivial as far as the moves go. They may feel like 5.9 moves waaay off the bolt but I'd say 5.7, max, essentially something only a poncey lil brit would puss off leading ;). Perhaps bringing a #4 instead of burying #2 would have been appreciated by my follower in the lower crack traverse, however.

this is a good route. 3 stars. very exciting traverse at 2nd bolt is 5.8+PG. face move at 1st bolt felt 10- and im tall. crack midway through 5.8/9. gear = small/med nuts and cams for crack and belay. a few shoulder slings and longer Qdraws.