Springbok Arete

Stellar, long, committing on mostly impeccable rock with the usual alpine characteristics. The climbing tends more towards the burly than the technical, though there's a little of both.

The original start followed moderate climbing up the prominent, left-trending orange ramp. Since the addition of the raunchier variation with the raunchier name (Sprung C*ck Erect, 5.11), the original start is normally skipped in favor of the excellent first three pitches of SCE, so that's what I'll describe here.

From the talus, you'll see pitch 3's beautiful fists splitter shining in the sun. Look for a right-facing corner about two pitches below - this is pitch 1. In early season, expect the first half of this pitch to be buried in snow. Once it's melted out, a single bolt and boulder problem mark the start.

P1 - 5.10b, 30m. Clip the bolt, bust a few moves and climb the thin, shallow right-facing corner on the right side of a pillar. Sustained 5.9 thin hands take you to a bolted belay on top the pillar.

P2 - 5.10b, 30m. Move out right on quartz holds, clip a bolt and make a few thin moves (crux) to surmount a flake. Ignore the dirty corner far to your right. Make some more face moves above your pro, aiming for the large left-facing flakes above (wet in early season). Belay at bolts on top of the wild jutting flake, past a dead tree.

P3 - 5.10c, 30m. Incredible. Move left up the steep finger-hands crack, pulling the bulge on cupped hands to the long #4 sized splitter up the slab. At the end of the crack, move right past 2 bolts (crux) to another bolted belay. The original start joins from the right here.

P4-5 - 5.6, 110m. Follow the broad ramp to it's end, where the corner steepens again. The cracks on the left offer the best pro past many trees, the climbing is easy, but the rock is kitty litter. At the top of the ramp move right across the unprotected slab to a slung horn belay.

P6 - 5.10-, 30m. Move up the steep, fingery stem corner. Dirty and a little bit of a jenga tower at the top, but fun fun down low. The upper half of SCE breaks right here.

P7 - 5.9, 20m. The token 5.awkward pitch traverses left, more horizontal than vertical, through a weird OW-thing (blind small-medium pro in the back), then past chossy edges and a couple loose flakes. Previous descriptions mention a slung block belay, which wasn't there, but there were signs of recent rockfall... There is a large block to maybe sling at the end of the ramp, but with the nearby choss I didn't quite trust it and climbed about 10 feet higher to the base of the splitter cracks.

P8 - 5.10+, 40m. The burly pitch, and possibly the crux. Climb the great splitters to an OW pod and the orange roof at the base of the intimidating orange headwall. Pull the roof on cupped hands or fists, and continue up steep, awesome and pumpy climbing, past the large ledge, ending in an alcove belay next to a dead tree.

P9 - 5.8, 10m - wild juggy flakes traverse due left below an overhang, ending at a flat ledge with a couple trees.

P10 - 5.11a, 40m. Originally rated .10c. Fun fingercrack in a corner to short, reachy crux. Mostly 5.10- climbing above on juggy flakes, moving right to a 2-bolt belay on a slab.

P11 - 5.9, 40m. Traverse right and follow awesome cracks and shallow corners up the slab to a flat perch out right, with great exposure below.

P12 - 5.9, 60m. This pitch felt stout at the end of the day. Bust a couple steep moves, then follow the low-angle, blocky corner with the bulk of the face dropping to your right. The corner steepens again and takes thin gear before mellowing out in 3rd class terrain. There is an unnecessary belay bolt on the slab, with better belay options just past.

P13 - 5.7, 100m. Unrope or simul the narrow, blocky ridge through mostly 3-4 class terrain for approximately 60m. The ridge narrows again and becomes 5th class. Scoot or hand traverse down the incredibly exposed and airy au cheval/knife edge, ending at the first rap station to the left. Classic finish.

DESCENT - Follows the waterfall gully between Les Cornes and Ibex. 2 60m ropes recommended, though a single 70m is possible. We used a 70, and between early season snow choking the gully and impeding darkness, had to improvise a few stations. Bring tat/cord and a knife.

Beta for rapping with 2 60s, according to Cascade Rock: From the first rap station (slung block and nut/piton), make a 50m rap to anchor of 3 fixed nuts. Make 30m rap to large ledge, and scramble down and left to a small tree. This can be tricky if snow-covered in early season, but other trees are available to facilitate intermediate raps. Make another 30m rap to the large terrace below, and scramble again slightly down and left to a small tree tucked behind a large white block. Make a 50m rap down the waterfall slabs, moving hard skiers right across the stream to a large slung block. In early season, you can make a 30m rap off this block to moderate snow below (plunge-steppable if soft, we rapped off a bollard for the first steep part as it was frozen). In late season, the rap off the block will be a full 60m down to talus, then an optional 10m rap off a pinch point on skiers left.

We generally followed the same rap line with our single 70m, finding intermediate stations on the raps longer than 35m. Often rope stretchers. Don't rap in the dark. 

The first pitch begins uphill and left of the prominent orange ramp (the original start). 

Nuts, doubles from tips to #4 C4. A hefty alpine rack for sure, but we placed both #3s and #4s on P3 and P8.