Spirited Away 

Many of the best climbs in JT are guarded by an arduous approach. These approaches dissuade those that haven't discovered that distance from the road isn't just an obstacle to overcome. The experience of true desert solitude, away from roads and their travelers is hidden out there.

Spirited Away integrates all the diverse qualities of Joshua Tree climbing into a coherent whole. The ability to edge, smear, jam, and the savvy to know when *not* to fall allow you to enjoy one of the best routes in the park. Days, weeks, many routes later, you’ll still be able to visualize key moves and stances.

You may never climb Spirited Away; it may be too difficult to reach, too hard, sound scary, or just be too easy for you to bother. Regardless of whether you ever do it, it or something like it should be on the tick list of true JT Locals. Locals who understand that aspiring to difficulty or numbers of ascents doesn't necessarily translate into a true appreciation of the Joshua Tree experience.

Aside from the exquisite position encountered on the second pitch, another appealing aspect is its sustained nature. "There aren't any annoyingly easy sections" was Randy's assessment after the FA.

One question, 1992? The movie didn't come out until 2001!

Unless the movie was named for the climb, it must be one of those serendipitous events of them having the same name.

It is a true J-TREE Experience, long fun hike to get to it.The description in the new book is perfect, the climbing was fun.Shade mid day.
There is a loose shitty flake that takes the only really good pro before the first bolt, it will blow off if you whip before the first bolt, why not another bolt?No one will call you a chicken, maybe just me for wanting it,It could use it. The route was great nice job!

Tony, Actually, there are a several decent small pieces of gear that you can get before the 1st bolt (tcus, small brass, stoppers, etc.) [2008 Edit: see photo of 2nd pitch posted for location of pieces before 1st bolt]. We and everyone we know has avoided putting gear behind the black flake/small roof before the 1st bolt as it is probably not solid. Glad to see you did it.

Recently repeated this route and found it to be as good as I remembered. It has been 2 years since we lost our dear friend Vern. He is still in our thoughts and sorely missed by his friends.