South Pillar 5.7
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| Type: | Trad, 4 pitches, 600 feet |
| Consensus: | 5.8- [details] |
| FA: | Blaine Neeley, Randy Miller (July 1985) |
| Submitted By: | Bryan G on Nov 1, 2011 |
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BETA PHOTO: Looking up at the first two pitches from base of t...
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Description The South Pillar is the obvious buttress which divides the South Face and the West Face. It offers one of longest climbs on the formation. With lots of easy terrain and good belay ledges, it makes for a fun romp. My brief description only details the path that we took, but many variations exist. Really this climb is best as a "choose your own path" sort of adventure.
P1. Near the toe of the pillar are a couple bolts on steep knobby terrain. We began here. I did a 5.10 boulder problem to get up to the first bolt, but my partner said she traversed in from the right and found that to be much easier. Either way though, the first 10 feet could very well be the crux of the climb. Anyway, climb up past a couple more bolts onto the ridge. Lots of easy scrambling on ledgy terrain leads up the ridge. Take your pick of comfy belay ledges before you hit the end of the rope.
P2. Another pitch of similar terrain will lead to the top of the pillar. Belay among the boulders. You might want to move the belay towards the main wall after you bring your second up.
P3. Start by downclimbing into the notch between the pillar and the rest of the main wall. Then climb up a crack to the right of a 'bulbous' looking feature on the wall. Follow this up and belay on the slab below the overhang near the end.
P4. I traversed to the left of the overhang and finished up a left facing corner, but this required some runout 5.7 moves beneath the roof. Alternatively, climb to the right of the overhang and finish on the steep juggy knobs. Either way you will arrive at a 2 bolt anchor atop the buttress.
The top of the climb is detached from the main dome. Downclimb a short section of easy crack (there's an old buttonhead here) and then scramble over to the top of the dome.
Protection Most of your pro will either be slung chicken-heads or cracks from 2-4".
BETA PHOTO: Looking up at the second pitch from the first pitc...
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A close-up of the minefield of chickenheads on the...
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The upper pillar as seen from the top of the first...
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BETA PHOTO: The third and fourth pitch with the line we took s...
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Close-up of the third pitch. After traversing left...
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Starting up the third pitch. Huge chickenheads are...
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By J. Albers
From: Colorado
Nov 30, 2012
rating: 5.7
| Bryan's description is good and more or less describes the way we climbed the route. I would agree that starting directly below the first bolt on the first pitch is probably 9+/10a, while it is probably around 5.7/5.8 if you start up and to the right of the bolt line and traverse in on the good holds.
Also, I did not stop at the top of the first pillar at the end of the second pitch as Bryan suggests. Instead, I put in a piece of gear at the top of the pillar with a 4 foot sling attached and then downclimbed into the notch (I placed a couple of pieces of gear as I downclimbed to protect my second). Surprisingly, there was very little rope drag and it saved us from having to move the belay from the top of the pillar to the notch where the third pitch starts. |
By Dave Daly
From: Temecula, CA
Jan 9, 2013
rating: 5.8
| When Blaine and Randy FA'd the route, it was a direct start below the bolt. Moves to the bolt are 5.9 and most locals will agree. 5.7? Sure, even 5.6....in the remaining pitches. Lets be a little realistic here. Pull it down for sandbagging. Good idea.... |
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