Monkeyfinger 

Agree with you Joe on Pitch 2. We trusted the guide and followed the right crack, this was totally desperate and protected only by marginal RP's (but with good gear well below your feet). Only on the way down did we realise it is much easier to start left of this and then switch into the right crack when it becomes wide enough to get the fingers into. The last few feet of this pitch is perhaps 4" and seemed 10+.

Yep, that section on pitch 2 almost thwarted us. I started up the right side and wasn't willing to commit to the sketchy free-climbing well above good gear, so I tried to aid it. Anyway, the RP I placed blew as I put my body-weight onto it... very marginal RPs indeed!! We were just about to bail, but decided to give the left side a go which is pretty mellow with the crux coming when you start climbing the right side of the pillar again. I think I used the #4.5 camalot at the top of this pitch.

Lives up to its reputation for quality.

Joe, Where else would you put the 4th belay? It seems to me that a miserable hanging belay is inevitable. It would be nice to have a belay seat for this anchor though it would not be of much use at any other anchor.

A 60 meter rappel just makes it from the third anchor to the ground.

Joe's recommended rack was right on the mark.

Crux of pitch 2 is the traverse to the left crack, probably 11- face climbing with good pro overhead at the base of the right crack.

Dave- I think the anchor would be much better located about 30 feet lower. As it is, the 4th pitch is very long and the 5th pitch is very short. The roof at the start of pitch 4 gave me massive roof drag towards the end of pitch 4. It seems that a shorter pitch 4 would make more sense with a belay not too long after the roof... then pitch 5 could be a long pitch up the corner with no rope drag. Also, if the anchor were lower it would be on the slightly lower angle section where a hanging belay would be more comfortable. Its not like its located at a natural stance right now... it's a full-on hanging belay in the middle of the corner.

That's just this punter's opinion, of course.

heya...

2 #2 ball nuts provide plenty of protection at your feet for the right side of the ultra-cool second pitch...

cheers, aaron

Oh yeah...two pieces of fixed gear, one (what I believe is a SUPER BOMBER NUT) located in the back corner just before pulling out under the roof and another nut about thirty feet below the top of pitch four.

climbed this route on 9.13.2005. I lead the first two pitches, and the fifth pitch.

I totally agree with the idea of lowering the top of the third pitch to the lower angle part. That full blown hanging belay at the top of four just plain SUCKS!!! DOn't forget the buttbag and knee pads.

The pillar of faith was awesome climbing, plugged in the grey and purple Met. FCU to protect when going into right corner...and saw a good foot placement half a body length above and just went for it...climbing only gets easier and easier from there to the belay. Top of pillar can be protected with a 4.5 BD or 5 Wild Country , really good features in back of OW and then just throwing for top is bomber safe...jug and a welcome lip on top to grab onto.

For parties wanting to save weight, you can get away with a double set through #2 Camalot, a single #3 Camalot, and a set of wires. Although having only doubles will demand some run outs or back cleaning on the 5.10 handcrack pitch just above the 5.11 roof, the #4 & #5 Camalot are truly optional. It is nice to have two or three purple TCU-sized pieces for the Black Corner. Also, this route can be rapped with a single 70m rope.

Not sure where the FFA info got off-route, but this route was first freed in 1984 by myself and Roger (Pokey) Amory.
See:
www.bigwalls.net/climb/Ziongen.html
www.rocknclimb.com/zionspeed.html
www.bigwall.com/fainfo.html

To be accurate, we did yo-yo the crux pitch, but this was before micro-cams and those small nuts in soft sandstone were freakin us out a bit. Olevsky should be willing to confirm the facts--he watched us from the parking lot and pumped us for details at the end of each day.

Great Route! Long live Olevsky.

Rap it with just 1 70m rope.

Do the Monkeyfinger pitch! The first move getting into it was quite hard and the gear is slightly wonky but then it's just awesome splitter fingers with tons of air under your feet!

"Enter the sandbox/chimney to the right of the belay. After finding a suitable location to empty the sand out of your shoes, clip a couple of bad bolts and undercling right out under a series of roofs and continue up to the rim. Once on the rim fight up through ropedrag, sand, and manzanita to a flat area where you can sling a couple of branches and belay. "

The beta posted here for the 9th pitch is a little bit screwy. No it's not that sandy, yes the bolts suck, yes there's plenty of bomber gear around the bolts, no there's no need to wrestle 'ropedrag, sand, and manzanita, once on the rim. (unless you screwed up) There's a massive tree with a rap-anchor on it. It's pretty straight-forward.

Onsight soloed by Alex Honnold, April 2012

You can rap the entire route with a single 70 m rope. You can link pitch 4 and 5 to avoid the hanging belay. It's worth going to the very top even though the last chimney pitch is a kitty litter box.

Supertopo shows the last pitch going right at A3 and left as 5.10

I'm pretty sure this is bass-ackwards. I saw the bolts on the right and was thinking why would an A3 pitch have more bolts and better rock...anyway I went left. I've been climbing for about 20 years and have done a lot of choss. But going left was the worst pitch I've ever led...hands down no question. I freeded it if that counts for anything! It was like trying to climb rock being actively poured out of a dump truck in a gypsum quarry...choss treadwall. My partner let out more explatives following it than a david mamet film.

rest of the climb was great! next time I'll rap after pitch 7 :)-

I blew my onsight on that short roof on pitch four. It looks easier then it is so don't rush into it. Those few moves are for sure the hardest on the route imo. The crux pitch and monkeyfinger pitch are amazing! If you're psyched on finger cracks, you must climb the Monkeyfinger crack!