Trevor passing the double-roof on the first ascent...
Description
An aesthetic nail-up on the steepest aspect of the Tower. The line follows the shallow corner between Kirk-Sanders West Face Classic and Blade Runner, surmounting a double-roof down low on the first pitch. P1: Easy free-climbing for about 50' leads into aiding. The initial bit to the double-roof is rather tricky, with cams and assorted pins. The crux section is the roof and the following 20', which requires some tricky, marginal placements. After the crux, the crack opens into an excellent blade seam forever, with some arrow work near the top. The first pitch was strung into one 80m lead, with the belayer scrambling up to the highest possible stance and the leader maxing the 70m rope. Build a pin/cam belay when the rope runs out, about 15' shy of where the crack fades out. 260' 5.6 A3 P2: Clean aid on cams from the belay, tension traverse right into Blade City, nail it a bit, tension traverse right again into Blue Stem Skyway, and follow it on clean aid to a large belay ledge. 50' A2
Location
On the southwest face, the crack between Kirk-Sanders West Face Classic and Blade Runner. Easily identifiable by its double-roof down low.
Protection
Set of cams through #4, set of stoppers, lots and lots of blades, many arrows, angles #1-#4, 6 birdbeaks, tie-offs.
Trevor did a Long and Skillful Lead on this one !! He left out the Best part; inevitably, it was a #1 Beak that was the last piece under the roof, followed by a poor, shallow, downward pointing Bugaboo just over the roof !! Yeah, Trevor !!! The climb is Fun and Exhilarating !!Its location on the SW face makes it warm most times of the year, and its more than steep enough to be "snow-free" all year 'round !! I Highly Recommend this route, (and any of those near it; i.e. Kirk-Sanders, Blade Runner, Blade City) to anyone that aspires to prepare themselves for some Big Wall nail-ups.Great Climb, Great Partner, Great Day. THANK YOU TREVOR !!
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