300m, 8 pitches.
One of the finest crack climbs in the valley. 8 pitches of sustained jamming of all sizes on flawless rock.
Pitch 1. 5.9. Layback flake to chimney.
Pitch 2, Left Variation. 5.11a. Step down and left to the thin crack and follow it to the upper, easier crack.
Pitch 2, Centre Variation. 5.10a. Lieback the flake (unprotected without large cams) above the belay eventually joining the left variation. Best choice if you want to link first two pitches.
Pitch 2, Right Variation. 5.10d. Climb the flare through a brief crux before traversing left into the upper crack of the first two variations.
Pitch 3. 5.10c. A polished lieback of the belay leads to varied jamming / liebacking for almost a full rope length. Finishes on a broad ledge.
Pitch 4. 5.11c. The obvious finger crack is one of the cruxes of the route. Follow this for 20m to a bolted belay, but don't stop here. Traverse left, and follow the right facing corner to another bolted belay.
Pitch 5. 5.10d. A long clean thin hands crack in a corner leads to a roof. Lieback around the roof and step left to gain a sloping ledge and a belay.
Pitch 6. 5.10a. Make a traverse rightwards off the belay to gain a good crack. Follow this as it widens to an off width. At the top of the off width gain a ledge, (usually caked in bird droppings) on the right.
Pitch 7. 5.11b. Up a hands/big hands crack with a difficult crux. This leads eventually to a ledge under a large roof. Belay here.
Pitch 8. 5.9. Traverse the ledge rightwards (probably through more bird droppings) to the base of a wide crack. A difficult entry move leads to easier climbing. This pitch can be protected with a #6 BD camalot, but it is easy to lose this cam deep in the crack. Alternatively finish directly through the roof (Alien).
Pitch 1. 5.9. Layback flake to chimney.
Pitch 2, Left Variation. 5.11a. Step down and left to the thin crack and follow it to the upper, easier crack.
Pitch 2, Centre Variation. 5.10a. Lieback the flake (unprotected without large cams) above the belay eventually joining the left variation. Best choice if you want to link first two pitches.
Pitch 2, Right Variation. 5.10d. Climb the flare through a brief crux before traversing left into the upper crack of the first two variations.
Pitch 3. 5.10c. A polished lieback of the belay leads to varied jamming / liebacking for almost a full rope length. Finishes on a broad ledge.
Pitch 4. 5.11c. The obvious finger crack is one of the cruxes of the route. Follow this for 20m to a bolted belay, but don't stop here. Traverse left, and follow the right facing corner to another bolted belay.
Pitch 5. 5.10d. A long clean thin hands crack in a corner leads to a roof. Lieback around the roof and step left to gain a sloping ledge and a belay.
Pitch 6. 5.10a. Make a traverse rightwards off the belay to gain a good crack. Follow this as it widens to an off width. At the top of the off width gain a ledge, (usually caked in bird droppings) on the right.
Pitch 7. 5.11b. Up a hands/big hands crack with a difficult crux. This leads eventually to a ledge under a large roof. Belay here.
Pitch 8. 5.9. Traverse the ledge rightwards (probably through more bird droppings) to the base of a wide crack. A difficult entry move leads to easier climbing. This pitch can be protected with a #6 BD camalot, but it is easy to lose this cam deep in the crack. Alternatively finish directly through the roof (Alien).
Glen Denny, Warren Harding (FA 7/62). Ron Kauk, John Yablonski (FFA to last pitch). Kim Carrigan et al. (FFA, all pitches) 1985.
Ticklists
Tom Randalls Classic Finger Cracks , The Astral Highway
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Route of Interest
Voyager
Grade: 5.11c ***
(Fifi Buttress)