Pika Paradise

Pika Paradise is a Storm Dome dream route and the directissima of the wall. We were looking for a direct, difficult line on the steep center-right of the wall, and what unfolded was one of the best routes yet. Every pitch on this route is damn good, but P1 (12+) and P5 (13b) are some of the best pitches on the wall. Except for P5, expect to place more gear than on HoD. Pika Paradise has less traversing and more sustained, burlier crux pitches.

This route took two seasons, and a whole team of friends cleaning, to come to fruition. Weather shut us down in 2023, and weather was a significant challenge in redpointing the route in 2024. La Ñiña years seem to have drier, more stable weather in September than El Ñiño years.

I redpointed the route, leading all pitches clean and placing all trad gear on lead, over the course of two days. We fixed lines to the base of the crux pitch (P5) and jugged the lines the next day to finish the ascent. We had a very short weather window in between storms and battled with wet rock and cold weather. A one-day free ascent of Pika Paradise would be in better style, and is certainly recommend for a fit and determined party. The main challenge comes from redpointing P5 (13b), which is slightly overhanging, stacked with boulder problems, and quite pumpy to climb after the four difficult pitches before.

P0 - Approach Pitch

Climb ledgy terrain placing gear if you desire. Definitely worth roping up for this “pitch”.

P1 - Out of Africa (12+) - The full rack, long pitch

Climb bouldery moves protected by your smallest cams into the only laser-cut splitter on Storm Dome. Continue past a few flared jams into lots of yellow and blue metolius sized crack. Pull around the Cape of Good Hope and continue up the east coast to a burly crux at the Horn of Africa. Continue up a pumpy lieback that protects with a single run of cams to a boulder problem protected by gear. Save a key blue totem for a shallow placement at the end of the pitch. You need at least a 70m or two ropes to rap from this pitch.

Note: Bring whatever cams you like, but I can't guarantee that anything other than totems will be solid in the shallow placements in the top half of the pitch. Don't blame me if you place other cams and they rip.

P2 - The East Indies (12b) - Single rack from black totem to #2

Climb the face up and right off the belay past 3 bolts. Climb moderate flakes past another bolt and some gear placements to an overlap. Clip a bolt an pull a punchy crux past another bolt to the base of the India Flake. Lieback up the east coast of India past two bolts and a gear placement or two to fun, juggy exit moves on flakes.

P3 - The Boulder Problem (13a) - Single rack from 00 to #0.75, double #0.5

Make committing gear-protected moves to a high first bolt, then climb fun but hollow flakes past another bolt to the base of another undercling flake. Lieback up the left side of the flake, past gear, to a bolt. Boulder rightwards (V4ish) following a horizontal seam to a big stand-up move. Clip a bolt and pull a difficult and commiting boulder problem to establish on a lieback flake (V6ish). Make a strenuous (but necessary) clip, and continue up a burly lieback past one more bolt to the anchor. You can link this pitch into the next one if you bring the full rack and and extra #0.5 & #0.75.

P4 - Ethan's "11b" (11+) - Double rack from 0.1 to #0.75, offset wires

Climb face moves up and right from the belay past two bolts, arching back left into a funky crack system. Place gear where it's available and climb past several cruxes with enjoyable, thoughtful, gear-protected climbing.

P5 - Sea of Dreams (13b) - 11 draws

Here’s where your dream of sending the route ends.
Climb up to a high first bolt and sail a sustained, amazing, overhanging sea of granite with poor footholds past many cruxes. This pitch is more like limestone face climbing than granite wall climbing. There are a couple ok rests, but you won't recover if you don't climb efficiently. A bit of a runout at the end keeps you honest. We’re not sport climbing, after all.

Pika Paradise takes a proud directissima up the center-right of the tallest part of Storm Dome.