Surprise Crack  5.10a

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Type:  Trad, 70 feet Consensus:  5.10a [details] FA:  Season:  Faces East Submitted By:  Tony B on Nov 10, 2009 You & This Route  |  Other Opinions (2) Your todo list: Your stars: Your rating: -none- [change] Your ticklist: [add new tick]

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Description 

A fun route with a lot of variety, pretty good pro, and interesting climbing most of the way.
Climb up to the ledge and over a small shrub on it, leading left into a good crack system. Protect overhead and jam up and over a small roof on good handcracks (crux, 5.9 or 5.10 depending on hand size). Continue upon interesting mixed cracks at the 5.8 level to encounter discontinuous cracks. Pro is never lacking, as one can go left or right to join the crack of your next choosing as soon as the one you are in runs out. The climbing up top is fun 5.9 and might feel pumpy to climbers who fail to read the sequences immediately. Finish at a bolted anchor and belay or lower to the ground.

Location 

This climb ascends the left-most crack system on the East Face of the School Gate rock, this is just left of the large left-facing 5.4 corner system called 'Staircase.' From the ground scramble up from the right (as for the beginning of Staircase) and belay on a ledge 10' up, or down below and left to start the route from the ground.

Protection 

A standard rack of cams and stoppers. to a 2-bolt anchor 25 meters up.