Tiptoe Through the 2 Lips 5.10-
| 640 page views
Good page?   |
| Type: | Trad, 3 pitches, 350 feet |
| Consensus: | 5.10a [details] |
| FA: | D. Bloom, M. Ellison |
| Submitted By: | Mike on May 16, 2008 |
| |
John Cannella following the first pitch of Tiptoe ...
Add Photo  Printer View
Please take care on the approach not to stray into the resort.
|
Description A decent climb with outstanding scenery and a clever name. The middle of the climb is a varied slot that looks remarkably like a certain part of the female anatomy. Hs a wilderness climb feel to it despite being in view of a golf course.
Start in the crack system on the right side of the south face, below the obvious slot.
P1: Climb dirty, chossy crack in a right facing corner to stacked chockstones and better rock. Continue up the nice crack to an obvious belay with 2 bolts below a chimney. 5.10-
P2: A shorter pitch. Squeeze up the chimney, then out (don't get stuck) to some nice stem moves up to a belay in an alcove. Belay off chockstones. 5.9
P3: Continue up the crack system using chimney, offwidth, and face moves. Nice huecos on the left make this easier than it appears, and occasional pro can be found in the chimney. After topping out on the lower summit, scramble up to the higher summit and belay off small to medium cams.
The summit has a cool view of a secluded cliff dwelling to the north.
The rappel anchors are located on the back (north) side of the lower summit. Make 2 single rope (60m) raps or one double rope rap to the ground, then scramble down & back around to the start.
Location From the parking area you can walk up the road a short ways and see the tower through the trees.
From the parking area, cross the wash and follow the Long Canyon Trail for a mile or two, then follow a faint trail off to the right that scrambles up and leads just west of the tower.
Protection A standard Sedona rack, including a #4 & #5 Camalot. A second #4 would come in handy if you want to drag it up.
Doug Biber follows the first pitch of Tiptoe.
|
The large and ancient packrat midden at the end of...
|
View of the climb from the approach.
|
This is where you cut off the trail and cross the ...
|
Climbers trail as seen from the wash.
| |
| Comments on Tiptoe Through the 2 Lips |
|
By Kole DeCou
From: Flagstaff, AZ
May 16, 2008
| A quick note on the approach since I'd hate to see someone make the mistake I did the first time. When the Longs Canyon trail looks like it's about as close as you're going to get to the tower, you'll see a wash that goes up the right side of the tower. Do NOT go up this wash. Instead stay on the ridgeline to the left, where you'll find a faint trail that goes to the ruins. This trail will take you all the way to the tower with no bushwacking.
When I first did this the first belay wasn't bolted, and building a belay there was quite an engineering feat. Overall I really liked this climb, more for the atmosphere and the tower than for the climbing itself. |
By Larry Coats
Oct 23, 2010
| I am responsible for adding the two-bolt belay at the top of the first pitch. Like Kole, I felt that the anchor was warranted, but also I returned with some of my scientific colleagues to sample the amazing, large packrat midden that sits on a ledge just above the belay, and I wanted some more security to bring them up and to take some samples. We analyzed the midden and were astonished to find that it is over 30,000 years old (dating to before the last glacial maximum), and contained the remains of a variety of high elevation montane tree and shrub species, such as Doug fir, limber pine, white fir, Rocky Mountain juniper, snowberry, wild rose, and gooseberry. It's a pleasant reminder that archives of Earth's climate history are still to be discovered in a variety of wild places. |
By Dave Spies
From: Sedona, AZ
Feb 26, 2012
| Pitch 2 and 3 can be linked. |
By jayci
From: Flagstaff
Mar 23, 2012
rating: 5.10-
| Cool summit and you can't beat the dwelling behind the tower. The 1st rappel is in a hard to get to spot. |
By Zack S.
From: Prescott, AZ
Mar 24, 2012
| No need to belay off the movable chockstones atop pitch two, as the route description suggests. With a little creativity a nice gear anchor can be built here. Nice summit, great views, fun climb. |
By Ryan Z
Feb 2, 2013
rating: 5.9
| The gear on the first 40 feet or so of the climb is iffy. That's why I think it is rated 10- But all of the movement feels easier than that. The 2nd and 3rd pitch should definitely be linked. It would take a lot of uneccesary time to build an anchor after 40 feet of chimney and belay. Pitch 1 felt like 5.9, 2nd pitch felt like 5.7, third pitch felt like 5.7/8
Awesome summit! |
|
RSS Feed
62 more...
Slideshow
