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Blood of the Monkey
5.12 YDS 7b+ French 27 Ewbanks VIII+ UIAA 26 ZA E6 6b British
Avg: 3.7 from 3
votes
Routes in Keeler Needle
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Blood of the Monkey T 5.12 7b+ 27 VIII+ 26 E6 6b |
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Harding Route T 5.10+ 6b+ 21 VII+ 20 E3 5b |
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Keel Haul T 5.13c 8a+ 30 X- 31 E7 7a |
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WNW Edge T 3rd 1- 1 I 1 M 1a |
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| Type: | Trad, Alpine, 2000 ft (606 m), 16 pitches, Grade VI |
| FA: | Myles Moser & Amy Ness (2012) |
| Page Views: | 3,241 total · 50/month |
| Shared By: | Fan Y on Aug 19, 2019 · Updates |
| Admins: | Chris Owen, Lurk Er, Mike Morley, Adam Stackhouse, Salamanizer Ski, Justin Johnsen, Vicki Schwantes |
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Access Issue: Certain Peaks: Access limited from May to October every year
Details
Some of the peaks in this area are restricted (not all). See the Inyo National Forest's Mount Whitney Zone regulations webpage fs.usda.gov/detail/inyo/pas… for current information. Access is usually limited from May to October of every year from the highest elevations of most of the Lone Pine Creek watershed.
Description
A fantastic and highly involving route that ascends the full east face of the Needle. There are fantastic rope-stretching crack pitches intermixed with delicate face climbing, and sometimes very gymnastic/sporty sections too. Rock quality varies between "very good" and "very alpine" but we didn't pull off any big chunks on our ascent. I hesitate to rate it "R" as the majority of the route is reasonably protected, but at times anchor set-up requires *extra* attention and some 5.10-5.11 sections can be dangerous to fall from, especially considering the scale, altitude and remoteness of the face.
Through my correspondence with Myles after our ascent (being the 5th, according to him), I learned that the route was intended to be "bold" and I have to agree that it is certainly not just another alpine route. My personal opinion would be that if you are not regularly onsighting 5.12- trad routes, this would be a big cake to slice (especially in one day). Some 5.11 sections would require lots of creativity and tolerance for spice to aid through.
There is one 2-bolt anchor and one 1-bolt anchor on the entire route; there are a few hangerless button heads along the way that you could bring hangers for, but we managed just fine without. Retreating would certainly mean leaving gear. This is a serious and demanding outing on one of the very highest faces in the whole Sierra Nevada, therefore before you contemplate getting on the route, you should read the FA's trip report (link below).
For topo, read Amy's trip report here:
http://www.supertopo.com/tr/Keeler-Needle-Blood-of-the-Monkey-VI-5-12-16-pitches-F-A-Moser-Ness-May-28-2012-June-6-2012/t11495n.html
The AAJ has some more info: http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/13201212195/Day-Needle-BCB-On-The-Prow-Keeler-Needle-Blood-of-the-Monkey
Watch their video compilation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjADK8zIwEc
Our trip report here (Aug 2019):
https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/117613712/blood-of-the-monkey-512-16-pitches-2000-on-the-keeler-needle-14260-trip-report
Through my correspondence with Myles after our ascent (being the 5th, according to him), I learned that the route was intended to be "bold" and I have to agree that it is certainly not just another alpine route. My personal opinion would be that if you are not regularly onsighting 5.12- trad routes, this would be a big cake to slice (especially in one day). Some 5.11 sections would require lots of creativity and tolerance for spice to aid through.
There is one 2-bolt anchor and one 1-bolt anchor on the entire route; there are a few hangerless button heads along the way that you could bring hangers for, but we managed just fine without. Retreating would certainly mean leaving gear. This is a serious and demanding outing on one of the very highest faces in the whole Sierra Nevada, therefore before you contemplate getting on the route, you should read the FA's trip report (link below).
For topo, read Amy's trip report here:
http://www.supertopo.com/tr/Keeler-Needle-Blood-of-the-Monkey-VI-5-12-16-pitches-F-A-Moser-Ness-May-28-2012-June-6-2012/t11495n.html
The AAJ has some more info: http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/13201212195/Day-Needle-BCB-On-The-Prow-Keeler-Needle-Blood-of-the-Monkey
Watch their video compilation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjADK8zIwEc
Our trip report here (Aug 2019):
https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/117613712/blood-of-the-monkey-512-16-pitches-2000-on-the-keeler-needle-14260-trip-report
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