Soft Moth

From Brandon Pullan's Facebook post on TABVAR:

I have added a number of protection bolts to Soft Moth 5.9, 500 metres on Ha Ling to make the route more reasonable.

Gear: 60-metre rope and rack from .3 to number 2 camalot. If you are going to climb Moth Crack, bring some small cams for the finger crack to number 3. Bring 10 sport draws and runners for pitches 8 and 9.

Approach: As for all Ha Ling routes. It is the first right facing corner beneath the large black wall right of Quick Release. It is marked with cairns at the base of the short corner, look up and right to find the first bolt.

Pitch 1, 50m, 5.5: Angle up and right on easy ground passed a bolt, follow a ledge right and up passed another bolt to a grovel gully. Up to old sling around boulder and stay below it and up scree ledge to anchor. 3 bolts

Pitch 2, 35m, 3rd class: Up and right over easy broken ground to base of corner ramp and anchor. 1 bolt

Pitch 3, 35m, 5.5: Up left into the crack to a ledge. Up to another corner to the anchor. 3 bolts

Pitch 4, 35m, 5.10a: Up the face right of the Slayer chimney passed 6 bolts. This is good value, crux at the top before ledge to anchor. Technical face climbing. 6 bolts

Pitch 4 (alt), 50m, 5.4: Head right to a traversing ledge/flake and up around corner past two bolts. Continue on ledge to anchor in corner. 2 bolts

Pitch 5, 60m, 5.7: Up right facing corner to the right. Good gear and fun climbing to a bolt. Layback the hidden crack on the left. Continue up easy ground to a bolt, head right beneath the boulder and up to anchor. 2 bolts

Pith 5 (alt), 70m, 5.7: Up good flakes to a ledge. Traverse up and left on excellent rock to join the top of pitch five. 5 bolts

Pitch 6, 50 m, 5.9: Straight up to a bolt and steep face climbing. Commit to hidden side pulls to the next bolt. Up fun rock passed three more bolts to the anchor. 4 bolts

Pitch 7, 50 m, 5.7: Up and left to a bolt, up and left on good stone to another bolt. Up to another bolt on good rock and then up left to a right facing shallow corner and up to an anchor behind a large boulder. 5 bolts

Pitch 8, 55m, 5.5: Step left and up to a bolt on a slab. Continue directly up to another bolt. Don’t get sucked into the ledges or you will get off route. Straight up to another bolt and eventually a right sloping scree ledge with some grass. The anchor is up and right below a notch. 3 bolts

Pitch 9, 60m, 5.9: Up through the notch and up a right facing corner/slab. Spot the bolt and head up to it. Clip the bolt off a ledge and commit to hard moves, passed another bolt to easy climbing. Up and left around a corner. Up the ledge right to a steep wall with a bolt. Fun, steep climbing an anchor. 7 bolts

Pitch 10, 55m, 5.9: Climb up and right to a bolt, pull steep moves on hallow rock and step left. Rock flakes that are more solid than they look lead to another bolt below solid rock. A few moves gains a finger crack (fixed nut). Pull a few hard moves up to another ledge. Up the ledge to a corner and up and right to an anchor. 2 bolts+gear

Pitch 10 (Alternative): Moth Crack, 55m, 5.10b: From the pitch 9 anchor, climb up and right following a crack until you’re below a surprisingly splitter crack. Steep stems and holds out right and a sharp finger crack (small cams) lead to side pulls and better holds. Continue up the crack, staying right on good holds. At the top, head left up the scree slope to the anchor. NOTE: A large rock on the scree at the top of the crack seems suspicious, but after many attempts to trundle it, the rock never moved.

Pitch 11, 20m, 5.5: Up the crack/face to the right. The climbing is easy and you can avoid the loose stuff. Find the stud in the rock to belay, good cams. From the top, scramble or lead another pitch across the gully to the right up fourth class terrain.

Descent: Continue right to the forest and eventually find the Ha Ling hiking trail. Down to car. The route is NOT fixed for rappelling or bailing

It is the first right facing corner beneath the large black wall right of Quick Release. It is marked with cairns at the base of the short corner, look up and right to find the first bolt.

Standard rack to number 2-3", 10 sport or alpine draws, 8 runners