Type: Trad, 1000 ft (303 m), 8 pitches, Grade II
FA: Matt Perkins, David Whitelaw (1999)
Page Views: 11,560 total · 57/month
Shared By: Matt Perkins on Aug 12, 2007 · Updates
Admins: Jon Nelson, Micah Klesick, Zachary Winters

You & This Route


85 Opinions
Your To-Do List: Add To-Do ·
Your Star Rating:
Rating Rating Rating Rating Rating      Clear Rating
Your Difficulty Rating:
-none- Change
Your Ticks:Add New Tick
-none-
Use onX Backcountry to explore the terrain in 3D, view recent satellite imagery, and more. Now available in onX Backcountry Mobile apps! For more information see this post.

Description Suggest change

Total Soul is an eight pitch route on the North Buttress of Three O'Clock Rock. This is slab climbing, though with a remarkable variation to it as the climb follows a dike for two pitches, passes several interesting overlaps along the way, and has the rare distinction of being one of the routes that actually "tops out" on Three O'Clock Rock.

The difficult climbing is mostly bolt protected but the leader must carry and know how to use gear. Gear is particularly helpful for the long crack section on P4 (finger-tip-sized stoppers and up to a wide-hands cam size). It also may be helpful to place a piece or two on P2 and P7. See the attached topo for bolt counts per pitch. Pitch breakdowns below...

  1. 5.6, 30m, ~3 bolts. Climb a low angle short pitch past 3 bolts to a stance above a refrigerator block. 
  2. 5.9, ~45m, 4 bolts. Uses gear. Gear protected climbing past flakes leads you over a small roof to a few bolts and a slippery white dike.
  3. 5.8, 35m, 5 bolts. Step left at the belay and friction climb your way directly past 5 bolts.
  4. 5.9, ~45m, 6 bolts. Uses gear, save your #1 cam till near end of P4. Some friction moves lead to a long featured crack protected by bolts and gear.
  5. 5.10a, 35m, 8 bolts. Undercling and friction climb your way to the second bolt then traverse left (easy ledgey traverse), follow more bolts over a small roof and through some fun flakes to a large and comfy ledge 
  6. 5.10b, 40+m, 8 bolts. Climb a flake to more friction slab! Follow the bolts through a few roofs and a couple bouldery sequences. A very fun pitch. 
  7. 5.8, ~45m, 5 bolts. Uses gear, pretty runout. Climb up and left from the belay to a bolt. Mantle over the roof and continue into the right facing corner. Keep trending up and left following bolts and corners until you reach two bolts connected by old webbing. 
  8. 5.10b, 28m, 6 bolts. A short, tightly bolted pitch. Go left from the belay and battle steep slopey knobs until you find yourself at the summit. Belay from the big tree. 

Location Suggest change

From the base of Silent Running, head left and uphill from the point where the hiking trail reaches the rock. A few hundred yards later, the base of the climb is marked by a bolt on the right wall, maybe fifty feet below where the bushes give way to a rock chimney/gully system that forms the deep cleft between the North Buttress and the South Buttress.

Chains are in place at all the belays so you can rappel the route. The top two pitches are more easily rappelled by an alternate route in the trees on the right (north), for a more vertically oriented rappel.

The first of these two raps is from a set of slings on a medium sized tree, thirty to fifty feet right of where the route tops out. The second, less than a half rope below, has a chain anchor that is often overlooked, so there are slings on a large tree nearby. When you reach the anchor at the top of P2, you can do one rap to the ground with two 60-m ropes if you head towards the gully.

Protection Suggest change

Gear from 0.3" to 2" and ten or eleven draws. Hoard your #1 Camalot until nearing the end of pitch 4 or bring an extra. Most parties don't use nuts. No walkie talkies needed, communications are solid.

Double 60m or double 70m ropes needed for rappel.

Photos

loading