Lost Arrow Chimney

Classic route with long approach and descent. Time to climb the route depends of your endurance and skills. It is shorter than Steck -Salathe but harder and takes about the same time. You can link this route with Lost Arrow Spire and end up with glorious Tyrolean traverse, but in this case you need to spend one more day to fix ropes from the Rim to the notch, or ask your friends to do that.

My friends Chad Suchoski and Zander Brennen did this route few years ago and wrote nice reports on ST:

http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=594613

http://www.supertopo.com/tr/Lost-Arrow-Chimney-Trip-Report-9-19-09/t416n.html.

I recently climbed this route with Zander and think that this remarkable route should be added to MP.

We did route in the end of September with temperature mid 80F and it was in the shade almost all day. Still two liters of water each of us had was not enough.

We used second rope for hauling a small bag with food, water and excess gear.

Reid topo has not many details, but the general line of the chimney unmistakably brings you to the notch.

P1. Start route in the right crack than after 70 ft cross to left crack and ascend 70 more feet to belay ledge. 140ft, 5.8

P2. straight forward 140 ft, 5.9. . We linked p1&2 with 70ft of simulclimbing

P3. Main feature of the pitch big wide roof 5.9 [left side in]. This roof can be bypassed on left at 5.9 thin cracks and face moves. 80 ft. Belay on Horseman ledge or link with next pitch

P4. Safety Valve - first long OW stretch, but not the crux of the route. 120' 5.9

P5. Wide chimney pitch with cracks in left and right side of the chimney. You can use both #6s on this pitch. 100 ft, 5.9

P6. Was mental crux for me because I read Chad's TR and his description of this pitch:

"next pitch which was a fun finger tieback on the side of the chimney with a little stem across and onto the face where you're supposed to pass a couple bolts and back into the chimney. There were no bolts, but there was a piton. After making the most awkward move in climbing history to gain access back into the chimney, (picture your right foot in a small corner, your right hand on a knob and leaning over a chimney trying to reach the other side of the wall more than 4ft away. Then just letting go of the knob and falling into the wall bridging the large gap with your body. Now turn and lunge for that suspect chockstone [which rolls a bit] and pulling yourself back into the main part of the chimney…"

I really did not want to do this weird jumping on face and especially back. But there is a way- you just go straight(completely ignoring Reid's topo bypass) in the crack and climb flare/ow at 5.10 with good pro #6 . 100ft

P7. Chimney, wide chimney all the way. Rotten to the top of the pitch and in term of pro- the worst pitch 120 ft, 5.8

P8. Climb increasingly hard chimney to new bolt. Crux - long reach for handhold just after you clip the bolt. 100 ft, 10a

Chad and Zander replaced two old rusty bolts for shining one in 2009, thanks

P9. Start with 5.10a flare/OW (right side in) . Then from the middle of the pitch you have two options

a) follow the crack system to second upper 10a flare climbing mostly outside

b) enter deep into chimney and bypass upper flare inside. You and your partner need to be small for this variation

P10. Have two options (we did not find Harding hole) . See also enclosed Zander's topo of last pitch

a) climb 5.9 crack in the corner (looks like better option), b) but we climbed 5.9 thin hands ( felt harder than 5.9)

Now you are on the notch - find first set of bolts on your right in the base of the Spire and go home. Or continue up...