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Divided Sky

5.10c/d, Sport, 80 ft (24 m),  Avg: 3.8 from 19 votes
FA: Ryan Stefiuk, Kristin Dolcimascolo
Vermont > 1. Northern Ver… > Black Mountain > Main Cliff
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Description

Stunning sustained face climbing on a classic Black Mountain face. Ultimately Black Mountain will likely have a dozen or more stunning face routes like this one, on the large and exposed NW aspect of each large buttress.

Start at the toe of the buttress uphill of Black Dreams, just before the gully begins. Follow the bolts past some loose rock (staying truer to the bolt line has better rock). Follow the seam until it's end and gain the horizontal (big move). Traverse left along the horizontal and move up at an invisible sawtooth crack. More brilliant wandering past several cruxes leads to lower off anchors.

Location

Uphill and left of Black Dreams, begin at the toe of the buttress below some blocky ledges.

Protection

12 bolts

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

[Hide Comment] An absolutely stellar bit of face climbing! It looks blank from the ground, but there are a surprising number of good holds. While I have to admit to being a bit of a sandbagger, I found the 11b grade very soft. 10c would be pretty generous, IMO. I'd be curious what other people think. Go jump on this rig, it's very safely bolted and much easier than it looks from the ground. Sep 5, 2020
Ira OMC
Hardwick, VT
  5.10c
[Hide Comment] Amazing face climbing. Always hidden, in cut holds seem to appear when you need them. Instant classic. Nice job on the FA party- that face mist have taken a lot of scrubbing to uncover this gem. Agree with Travis above, I'd say mid .10 range. Although I do recall one long reach to a great hold that would be a tad harder for a short person. Sep 13, 2020
Ryan Stefiuk
Northampton, MA
  5.11a
[Hide Comment] Glad to hear people are liking the route. I'll adjust the grade after hearing what shorter climbers think. There are two moves that may prove much more problematic for people that are under 5'5" or so. For climbers that are tall I think the moves are much easier to just blast through. Sep 16, 2020
june m
elmore, vt
  5.10c/d
[Hide Comment] There is one move,that was a stopper at 4'10 ". Every thing else is mid 10. I was able to do it A0 from the draw. Great route Jul 11, 2021
J S
5.10c/d
[Hide Comment] At 5'4" I didn't find any stopper moves. Footwork is certainly key as well as finding edges and hidden bits through the lichen. Sep 21, 2021
David Chamberland
Québec city
 
[Hide Comment] Awesome route! The holds are just where you need them to be. Good quality. Jul 2, 2023
Grant Simmons
North Conway, NH
 
[Hide Comment] The wind blows high! Excellent movement on this one. Oct 3, 2024