The Lost World

The Lost World is the continous gash that splits the west face of the Primitive Buttress. Doing it in 5 pitches makes every pitch memorable and challenging. The Lost World is fully equipped and cleaned for an enjoyable ascent, as long as you don't mind a little suffering.

P1: 45m. 5.11. Hands to fingers to a burly, wide roof. Cruise past the first anchor up a wide flare to a tree. With good rope management, it is easy to link into the next guidebook-pitch by moving right to a nice hand crack. At the roof, there are two options: continue along that crack system as it widens to a 6 inch offwidth (5.10+) or traverse right to a hand and finger crack (5.8). Belay on the beautiful hanging tree.

P2: 38m. 5.10. Climb through a small tree into the gash that is the Lost World. There is a register to sign on the ledge. Climb the flaring chimney with amazing fossilized holds and the perplexing three-finger pocket native holes. Six lead bolts.

P3: 45m. 5.9. Classic and clean splitter squeeze chimney. There is one bolt that offers little in terms of protection. Climb to a two bolt anchor on a comfortable ledge (there is a lower anchor that's best skipped). To make this pitch as enjoyable as possible climb without gear: the leader should climb with just a couple slings, then the follower can untie and the leader can pull up the rope and throw it down the face using the anchor on the face as a directional and haul the rack and everything else.

P4: 47m. 5.11+. Crux pitch starts in the chimney, tackles two roofs and continues with glory fists slowly tapering down to tips. When the crack ends, move right and up to the anchor for the summit pitch that's shared with Back to the Primitive.

P5: 25m. 5.9. Turtles in Space climbs the beautiful turtle back formations Lao Jun Shan is known for.

Walk-off: From the top of the wall, contour around to the right to the top of the ridge. Keep trending right staying above the steep slope and dense vegetation to a well-worn trail that descends down the spearhead gully. Stay on the trail down to the boardwalk. Expect a one hour descent.

Start on I Don't Like Chickens, the obvious wide roof between The Raven and Through the Looking Glass.

Single rack from .1 to #6. Optional second#4. Stoppers useful. Minimum of 10 slings and draws.

The Lost World may have been the world's longest standing unfinished route, as evidenced by the native holes pecked into the flaring chimney of P2. These holes not only boggle the mind, they also provide a nice reprieve from continuous chimneying and stemming. Inquiry suggests these holes date back over one hundred years! More recently, in 2012, Eben Farnworth and Sarah Rasmussen established the majority of the climb in a more conventional style, equipping and cleaning through pitch 3. Thanks to their hard work, we only had to equip and clean P4. The Lost World was truely a collaborative effort.