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Diedre

5.10a, Trad, 350 ft (106 m), 5 pitches,  Avg: 3.5 from 252 votes
FA: J.Cote D. Arey FFA J. Cote B. Read
New Hampshire > Cathedral Ledge > Diedre Area

Description

This route is traditional given a 5.9+ rating, but it could just as easily be a modern 5.10. My vote is not to split hairs because they both mean the same thing at Cathedral.

Diedre is possibly the best climb of the grade on the cliff as it offers well-protected, full-length, and full value, mostly crack climbing. Climb it, enough said...

Pitch 1: (5.7) Up the "Triple Corners." Off width cracks up a series of ledges to a comfortable belay ledge.

Pitch 2: (5.9+ or 5.10a depending on who ya ask) Climb up the main corner until it is possible to move right under the roof(use your feet) past an old pin. Clip it. Then mantel on to a ledge to the right of the roof. That was the crux. Belay at a couple of pins and gear on the ledge.

NOTE Sept 2018 COMMENT from user "plytheman": "Just climbed it today (9/30/18) and wanted to give a heads up on the pin anchor after the crux pitch 2. The left of the two pins seems to have a little bend in it that I only realized when my second got up to me and saw it moving. This was after he hung on the crux a bit too... whoops! So clearly they're still holding but one might not for too long. Pretty easy to back up either way".

Pitch 3: (5.8) Climb the picture perfect corner crack. Jam and stem (strenuous work for a 5.8 pitch) past a birch tree growing out of the crack. Belay from the top on small gear.

Pitch 4: (5.4) Make easy moves right along the wide, hand crack to the blueberry ledge, a cool ledge that could sleep a party of 20.

Pitch 5: (5.9) It won't take you long to find the absolutely perfect, hand crack heading up from the ledge. Follow the crack to a tricky exit move and lower angle climbing up to one more bulge (another 5.9 move) jam up to one last mantel. Belay from a tree and take in the scenery.

Location

Look for the birch tree corner above then locate the triple corner steps below.

Protection

Standard rack to #3.5 Camalot.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

clipping the p2 crux piton
[Hide Photo] clipping the p2 crux piton
Kayte Knower seconds the last pitch of Diedre.
[Hide Photo] Kayte Knower seconds the last pitch of Diedre.
If the pin doesn't catch you, she will
[Hide Photo] If the pin doesn't catch you, she will
S Matz starting P2
[Hide Photo] S Matz starting P2
Tatiana giving the crux a nasty look
[Hide Photo] Tatiana giving the crux a nasty look
Crux roof. Climber: Chris White
[Hide Photo] Crux roof. Climber: Chris White
P1's of Diedre, the "Triple Corners" (aka "Triple Ledges")
[Hide Photo] P1's of Diedre, the "Triple Corners" (aka "Triple Ledges")
Tim Martel on the last pitch after exiting the rad jam crack (seen from above in Brian Post's photo... The route ends at the pine tree seen in the upper left corner of the photo...<br>
<br>
Pardon the butt shot,i thought the picture gave perspective to the route...
[Hide Photo] Tim Martel on the last pitch after exiting the rad jam crack (seen from above in Brian Post's photo... The route ends at the pine tree seen in the upper left corner of the photo... Pardon the bu…
Scan from Websters' book (2nd Edition). It's 5.9!
[Hide Photo] Scan from Websters' book (2nd Edition). It's 5.9!
Richard styling the final hand crack.
[Hide Photo] Richard styling the final hand crack.
Tim on the low crux P4
[Hide Photo] Tim on the low crux P4
S Matz on P3
[Hide Photo] S Matz on P3

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Ladd Raine
Plymouth, NH
  5.10a
[Hide Comment] A must do for the 5.10- Trad climber.
This is my favorite 5.10 by far at Cathedral May 11, 2007
Tim Shea
Fort Lauderdale, FL
[Hide Comment] My first climb at Catherdal. The first pitch is a mossy affair, not to tough. The second pitch, starts off up cracks on the left side of the overhang. Strenuous moves under the roof lead to a stem and good jug to belay ledge (5.9+/10a) There is an old piton under the roof that you don't want to clip but probably will. P3 takes you up a strenuous hand crack past a birch tree (growing right out of crack)up to a nice belay (5.8). P4 is easy 5th class to belay right below the final overhanging crack. This goes easier than it looks at 5.9. A good bit of beta here is the sling off to right to use as a directional to keep the rope out of a vary devious narrowing crack. Great potential for a stuck rope. continue on to the final overhang (5.9) and the top. Walk off North. May 14, 2007
Lee Hansche
Allenstown, NH... and a van…
  5.10a
[Hide Comment] Nice tip with the sling directional... i always placed a nut above the overhang in a crack to the left for the same purpose but either way will keep your rope out of a crack that has claimed a few.... Feb 5, 2009
[Hide Comment] Wasn't Diedre always a 5.9? Funny how the longer you wait, the better the climber you become! Mar 15, 2010
john strand
southern colo
 
[Hide Comment] Ya- classic NH it's 5.9 except for the crux move. Apr 7, 2010
Erik Rieger
Maine
 
[Hide Comment] This can be a very wet route. Leaders should be careful to protect the second on the roof crux as placing gear too far left or high has serious swing potential for the follower. Jul 17, 2010
Andrew Mertens
Fort Collins
  5.9+
[Hide Comment] I'm calling this a 5.9+ cause I thought it was harder than 10a. Nov 1, 2010
dale polen
arivaca, az
[Hide Comment] 5.9 Dec 15, 2011
Steve Moulding
New York
  5.9
[Hide Comment] Very short crux...nothing special...I thought it was 5.9. The last pitch, however is phenomenal and not as hard as it looked from the belay. Jun 7, 2012
Peter Lewis
Bridgton, ME
[Hide Comment] Glad to see the route was downgraded from 9+ to .10a. I never thought it was that hard anyway. (If this doesn't make any sense to you, welcome to North Conway---and if you think this is confusing, go to the Daks...LOL) Dec 16, 2013
john strand
southern colo
 
[Hide Comment] 9+.. perfect. now try Budapest next door...Jimmie Dunn 5.10 "triple plus" Dec 17, 2013
Lee Hansche
Allenstown, NH... and a van…
  5.10a
[Hide Comment] Peter- That might be my favorite comment on mountain project ever :) Dec 22, 2013
Greg DeMatteo
W. Lebanon, NH
 
[Hide Comment] The giant face eating spider, presumably named Diedre, that liked to dangle from the lip of the roof on pitch 2 daring climbers to pass beneath her has been vanquished by a quickdraw, since christened "Sting," and was last seen scurrying to safety amongst the verdant ledges of pitch 1. Though the mosquito count may be higher, long may this route be free from such arachnids of terror. Aug 18, 2014
M Bageant
Los Angeles, CA
[Hide Comment] Really excellent route, with three of the pitches (P2, P3, and P5) being just wonderful. And even the muddy, wet, offwidth-y start had a certain kind of charm.

I linked P2 and P3, but I can't recommend it (unavoidable rope drag). Linking P1 and P2 is possible. If you placed a directional at the top of P3 (e.g. small nut high off the ledge), you could also potentially link P3 and P4.

If your follower falls on the crux traverse after cleaning the pin, he may get stuck in no-man's-land on the right wall, so have a plan on how to deal with that possibility.

My buddy fell on the pin yesterday 5/10/15 and it held. As rusty as it is, it's nice to be able to essentially top rope the crux! May 11, 2015
Gail Blauer
Gardiner, NY
[Hide Comment] What a fun climb. I agree that the last pitch climbed much easier than it looked, although it has a little surprise waiting for you at the top out. I thought the crux pitch was strange and difficult, but, you can practically do it on TR if you place a piece right before you traverse. The birch pitch is fun too; it's steep and requires technique if you don't want to pump out. Good stemming will get you all the way to the tree. Jun 23, 2015
Zak Munro
VT,CO, Bar Harbor ME, SLC
 
[Hide Comment] Definitely place something to keep the rope out of the crack on the last pitch, I got right to the final mantle and couldn't pull the rope up! Had to down climb and placed a blue alien out left and it worked great. Also wouldn't be a bad idea to place a piece high after the crux on pitch 2 so your second doesn't take a big swing if they blow the mantle after unclipping the piton. Aug 31, 2015
Will S
Boston, MA
  5.10b
[Hide Comment] I led a handful of 5.10 pitches in North Conway this weekend and P2 felt harder than the .10a pitches and on par with the .10bs. If it were on a boulder below it would probably get V1. I personally would not clip the pin, its only a matter of time until that thing goes. Its a remnant from the aid climb days and its in the worst orientation for a piton, plus you can get a bomber .75 camalot 2 feet to the left. The "5.8" P3 felt harder than the 5.9 final pitch, which was surprisingly easy with bomber jambs through the steep section and great feet everywhere - one of the most fun hand cracks I've ever done I think and a great way to end the day. Sep 5, 2016
john strand
southern colo
 
[Hide Comment] Man, you must have been having a bad day! The crux was 5.9 forever, then 9+

I can't see V1 unless most of the holds broke off Sep 5, 2016
Nathaniel Chu
Oakland, CA
  5.10a
[Hide Comment] Easily linked P1+P2, P3+P4. Makes for a great 3 pitch climb where each pitch has plenty of value! Jul 10, 2017
Sean M
Victor, MT
 
[Hide Comment] Good climb. Pitches 3 and 5 are the money pitches. P2 is definitely the crux, but it's like a 2/3 move sequence and protects well, just make sure to protect the follower. Just make sure you get to lead the 5th pitch. Aug 10, 2017
Jay Morse
Hooksett, New Hampshire
 
[Hide Comment] Scramble up and belay from the nice ledge for a cleaner belay.

Doubles of #1-#3 were definitely nice, particularly for Pitch 5. There are definitely spots for the #4, but nothing critical other than protecting the first 20 feet of the route. You could have your second climb up the ramp and reach up and clean the #4 and throw it in a backpack at the base of the climb so you don't have to carry it up.

It looked like you could rap this route with 3 single-rope raps on a full 60M. One from the pitch 5 tree anchor back to the giant ledge. Another from the tree on the right edge of the ledge. And a final rap from a pin anchor with rap rings that will be on your right. I wasn't able to look at the pin anchor for integrity though. Aug 17, 2017
Cres Simpson
Cambridge, MA
  5.9+
[Hide Comment] Climbed today after some rain early in the weekend - P1/P3 ended up being very wet. P3 was soaked and honestly seemed harder than the "crux" P2 - it's a 2-3 move wonder albeit pumpy when you're hanging out trying to figure out the sequence. P5 was beautiful and as others have said climbed much easier than it looked. The hardest move on P5 is the final bulge (not the overhang visible from the belay) - practice those handjams! Sep 10, 2017
Andy Casler
Northfield, NH
 
[Hide Comment] I came face to face with a jack-russell-terrier sized, nesting peregrine falcon on pitch 5 of this route today. Horrifying. It's nesting between the top of Diedre and Delightmaker about 25 feet above Blueberry Ledge. No route closure signs were at the base or the approach trail so I made one and left it at the base of the climb. Called the Audubon Society and Forest Service so they can put up an official closure notice. May 23, 2018
[Hide Comment] Just climbed it today (9/30/18) and wanted to give a heads up on the pin anchor after the crux pitch 2. The left of the two pins seems to have a little bend in it that I only realized when my second got up to me and saw it moving. This was after he hung on the crux a bit too... whoops! So clearly they're still holding but one might not for too long. Pretty easy to back up either way.

Otherwise an all out fantastic climb, loved every pitch (even the funky first one) and the cracks on 3 and 5 are stellar. For what it's worth I only used my #4 a little bit below the last crux move on the fifth pitch in easier terrain. Could probably leave it behind and find other options if you don't feel like hauling it. The easy 4th pitch will happily take the 4 if you do bring it though. Sep 30, 2018
Bradley Smith
Glen, NH
 
[Hide Comment] Did a different variation of pitch 2, strait up to the base of the layback crack of the third pitch. Skips the awkward looking down climb under the roof. Our consensus was the variation was 5.10a/b. Only problem is not fantastic pro to make an anchor at the top (this variation requires gear anchor, probably mater cams #1-4 size to work with. Watch for rope drag on pitch 5. Two 70 m ropes tided together reach the bottom from the ledge at the top of pitch 4. Jul 22, 2019
MattH
CO / NM / ME
[Hide Comment] Maybe both my partner and I missed something obvious, but WTF is the beta for the crux? Getting into the photographed position in the dihedral under the roof was fine, but reaching over to that exit jug from there was a mystery move - it felt too far from the obvious holds (the fingerlock at the piton and the crack at the left edge of the roof) but I didn't see any clear intermediate. My partner made it work via a crazy heel hook up onto the finish hold (very much not 10a), but I wasn't willing to pull a hamstring on 10a and wound up taking at the piton while greasing off the fingerlock. Admittedly, technical stemming isn't my forte, but at least I can typically grasp what needs to be done. Nominally this is the easiest climb I've ever fallen off of so I feel like I missed something, and it's been bugging me ever since. Sep 3, 2020
Sam Elander
Salt Lake City, UT
  5.9
[Hide Comment] -The crux pitch is SUPER short, and pretty weird. I had to go up to place gear then down climb and bow into the roof area.
It's all in the feet, and I could see it being harder for shorter people.
-You may be able to link 1 + 2 with slings.
-P3 is not picture perfect, hahaha, but you do get to climb a tree, so that's fun. (I linked P3 and P4).
-P5 was an absolute delight! But not 5.9 compared to Recompense's 5.9 climbing. 5.8 for the first bulge and about 5.8 or + for the last bulge.

Quick descent was nice! Jul 20, 2022
Zach Liebold
Massachusetts
[Hide Comment] On 9/29, a foot long chunk of the birch tree on P3 was knocked off and landed about 3 feet away from me while I was tying my shoes on preparing to follow up P1 of the route. Thankfully the climbers on P3 were loud and shouted it was coming down, but it landed almost exactly where my partner and I had been racking up 15 minutes earlier. Needless to say it could have been really bad. The tree stump is clearly rotting off the side of the cliff - it needs to be trundled before someone gets killed by a tree falling on their head. Oct 1, 2023
William Bell
Boston
 
[Hide Comment] So fun! Also linked P1 + P2 and P3 + P4. I was so focused on P2 before getting on this, but the glorious hand cracks on P5 stand out the most in my memory! Sep 3, 2024