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Honeymoon Chimney
5.11a YDS 6c French 22 Ewbanks VII+ UIAA 22 ZA E3 5c British A0
Avg: 3.7 from 208
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Routes in The Priest
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Excommunication T,S 5.13a 7c+ 29 IX+ 29 E6 6c |
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Honeymoon Chimney T 5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c A0 |
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Late for Prom T 5.11d 7a 24 VIII 25 E5 6a |
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| Type: | Trad, Aid, 4 pitches, Grade III |
| FA: | Layton Kor, Fred Beckey, Harvey Carter, Annie Carter 1961. |
| Page Views: | 36,151 total · 126/month |
| Shared By: | Orphaned User on Mar 31, 2001 |
| Admins: | slim, Perin Blanchard, GRK, David Crane |
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Use onX Backcountry to explore the terrain in 3D, view recent satellite imagery, and more. Now available in onX Backcountry Mobile apps! For more information see this post.
Access Issue: RAIN, WET ROCK and RAPTOR CLOSURES: The sandstone around Moab is fragile and is very easily damaged when it is wet. Also please ask and be aware of Raptor Closures in areas such as CAT WALL and RESERVOIR WALL in Indian Creek
Details
WET ROCK: Holds rip off and climbs have been and will continue to be permanently damaged due to climbers not respecting this phenomenon. After a heavy storm the rock will remain wet, sometimes for several days. PLEASE DO NOT CLIMB IN MOAB during or after rain.
RAPTOR CLOSURES: please be aware of seasonal raptor closures. They occur annually in the spring.
RAPTOR CLOSURES: please be aware of seasonal raptor closures. They occur annually in the spring.
Description
If you are as fortunate as I was, this route begins at Lumpy Ridge near Estes Park, Colorado. Here, you can bury a nice granite sample in the rope at the bottom of your partner's pack, which can be hauled up to the base of The Priest the following weekend.
P1: This is the most serious and rewarding pitch on the route. Squirm your way up the fatter-than-fat dihedral. The amount of squeezing you can do is inversely proportional to your size. The crux has a 1/4" bolt nearby, which in even Wingate sandstone, should inspire confidence—right?
Find your own way through the crux, after which you can get a rest on a small ledge and clip drilled angle that will be in the back of your mind for the next thirty or forty feet of 5.9. After this, you will occasionally get pro by slinging chock stones in the crack and/or placing stoppers between them.
As you near the end of this pitch, you will be able to chimney inside the crack. Belay just behind a large boulder wedged in the chimney. You can build an anchor by threading a large stopper in between the boulder and the chimney and sticking a #3 Camalot near your feet.
Don't belay at the rap anchors 20' behind you or you will have hell to pay for rope drag. After grunting up this pitch, I was rewarded with the following high-pitched whines from my second that made it all worthwhile: "I hate this! This sucks! I can't get in the crack! Take!!!" If I could have recorded all this... Maybe add a camcorder to the gear list. 5.9, really...
P2: This is the most fun pitch on the route. You'll see. I think it went around 5.7.
You basically chimney the whole thing. There is a fixed pin on this pitch. Towards the top, you can get a couple of cams. It ends on a nice ledge with two of those nice and fat Metolius rap anchors.
P3: This pitch is either about 5.7 A0 or 5.11-.
Head up and right from the belay. There are some fixed pro and cam placements as you do the first part of this pitch. You get a nice body stem to access the arete/face that takes you upward toward the summit.
The face/arete (11- or A0) is basically a bolt ladder where some bolts are relics and others are decent-looking. This accesses a ledge, which you traverse to the left before gaining the belay. You are totally uncool to your second if you don't put a #2 Camalot in the crack at the back of this ledge after doing the bolt ladder.
P4: This is a relatively short dihedral crack system that goes at 5.8. This nice little pitch puts you on the summit.
Summit - while on the summit, read the summit register notebook COVER to COVER and be sure to view the creative artwork within its bindings. You will thank me.
P1: This is the most serious and rewarding pitch on the route. Squirm your way up the fatter-than-fat dihedral. The amount of squeezing you can do is inversely proportional to your size. The crux has a 1/4" bolt nearby, which in even Wingate sandstone, should inspire confidence—right?
Find your own way through the crux, after which you can get a rest on a small ledge and clip drilled angle that will be in the back of your mind for the next thirty or forty feet of 5.9. After this, you will occasionally get pro by slinging chock stones in the crack and/or placing stoppers between them.
As you near the end of this pitch, you will be able to chimney inside the crack. Belay just behind a large boulder wedged in the chimney. You can build an anchor by threading a large stopper in between the boulder and the chimney and sticking a #3 Camalot near your feet.
Don't belay at the rap anchors 20' behind you or you will have hell to pay for rope drag. After grunting up this pitch, I was rewarded with the following high-pitched whines from my second that made it all worthwhile: "I hate this! This sucks! I can't get in the crack! Take!!!" If I could have recorded all this... Maybe add a camcorder to the gear list. 5.9, really...
P2: This is the most fun pitch on the route. You'll see. I think it went around 5.7.
You basically chimney the whole thing. There is a fixed pin on this pitch. Towards the top, you can get a couple of cams. It ends on a nice ledge with two of those nice and fat Metolius rap anchors.
P3: This pitch is either about 5.7 A0 or 5.11-.
Head up and right from the belay. There are some fixed pro and cam placements as you do the first part of this pitch. You get a nice body stem to access the arete/face that takes you upward toward the summit.
The face/arete (11- or A0) is basically a bolt ladder where some bolts are relics and others are decent-looking. This accesses a ledge, which you traverse to the left before gaining the belay. You are totally uncool to your second if you don't put a #2 Camalot in the crack at the back of this ledge after doing the bolt ladder.
P4: This is a relatively short dihedral crack system that goes at 5.8. This nice little pitch puts you on the summit.
Summit - while on the summit, read the summit register notebook COVER to COVER and be sure to view the creative artwork within its bindings. You will thank me.
Descent
Rappelling. You could do this in two raps with two 60 m ropes if you were as stupid as we were. Do it in three. For the first rap, go to the end of P2 to the ledge with the Metolius rap bolts.
Your next rap is to the anchors behind the first belay.
The last rap takes you to the opposite side of The Priest from where you started, but the amount of time you spend walking is trivial compared to the amount of time and effort you will spend pulling your ropes if you don't do as you're told.
Alternatively, and much easier: Four or five raps with a single 60m down Excommunication on the north face of The Priest. Rap with one 60 or 70m down Excommunication, look for anchors on NW corner of summit near edge - easy raps, vertical, no snags, good anchors.
Your next rap is to the anchors behind the first belay.
The last rap takes you to the opposite side of The Priest from where you started, but the amount of time you spend walking is trivial compared to the amount of time and effort you will spend pulling your ropes if you don't do as you're told.
Alternatively, and much easier: Four or five raps with a single 60m down Excommunication on the north face of The Priest. Rap with one 60 or 70m down Excommunication, look for anchors on NW corner of summit near edge - easy raps, vertical, no snags, good anchors.
Protection
Just as in my description of the Kor-Ingalls Route you can bring an arsenal of 2x4s and Big Bros, but why bother? This stuff will just get in your way, piss you off, and lower your adrenaline levels.
Bring a #5 Camalot/#6 Friend. Use this as the belay anchor for the first pitch as the climb starts on a large ledge, and leave it there.
All you really need is several long runners, cams from around a #2 TCU to a #3 Camalot, and some stoppers.
Bring a #5 Camalot/#6 Friend. Use this as the belay anchor for the first pitch as the climb starts on a large ledge, and leave it there.
All you really need is several long runners, cams from around a #2 TCU to a #3 Camalot, and some stoppers.
Location
To reach Honeymoon Chimney, take the approach to Castleton Tower and head left when you reach the short cliff band near its top. You will next head upwards toward The Rectory, and continue left slightly below its base, thereby traversing its length. The Priest is the lone tower, just at the north end of The Rectory.
Honeymoon Chimney is located on the west side of The Priest on a sizable ledge. It starts in the fat crack that you can't help but admire.
Honeymoon Chimney is located on the west side of The Priest on a sizable ledge. It starts in the fat crack that you can't help but admire.
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