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Peak Mountain 3

Firebird

FA Larry Dalke and Cliff Jennings, 1967
CREATED 
UPDATED 

Description

Firebird is the classic aid line on Lumpy. It is five pitches long, three being airy aid climbing and the other two great freeclimbing.

P1. 5.9- start just left of

The Nose

. Undercling the burly, wide flake and jam the nice hand and finger crack all the way to a stance shared with

The Nose

, 180 feet.

P2. C2+ or C1+ - I skipped the next belay noted in guidebooks and made it to the anchors below the roof crack in 140 feet. Face climb left 5.6 and up the corner leading to the right side of the big roof. I'm not sure which way they went on the 1st ascent, but it seems that there are three ways to reach the anchors below the big roof: 1st choice - start aiding half way up the corner and continue out left under the roof. If you stick with the roof all the way to the anchors, it's around C2+ but only for the last 20 or 30 feet which felt a bit contrived. Var. 1 - it's also possible to traverse and pendulum left to the anchors C1+ without ever reaching the roof. Var. 2 - after the 5.6 traverse go a little higher until its possible to freeclimb out left (not obvious) on a unprotected dike 5.7? to

Precipitation's

thin crack leading straight up to the anchors 5.10- or C1. These anchors need replacement webbing and bring an extra orange TCU and a pink tricam to backup the old pin on the right.

P3. C2+ - make a hook move out right to clip the 1st of several fixed pins that lead out the roof (a clean ascent may rely on these old mank pins). When this crack ends, make a huge reach out right for another crack that shoots out right to the lip of the roof and the anchors. this last section is a tricky crux where a inverted cam hook and a tight 00 TCU came in mighty handy. the old anchors have been replaced with two modern bolts, 70 feet.

P4. C2+ - slab climb up and left to reach

The Nose

just after its crux moves. Continue up left on this nice TCU and RP crack C2 to a cut left and then a traverse back right C2 to the crack though the small roof C1. The Rossiter topo is more accurate for this pitch. Belay at a stance shortly after the roof, 120 feet.

P5. 5.7 - freeclimb up the nice corner to a big ledge system, 200 feet.

Rap

The Nose

rap route to the east or continue for one more pitch to the summit.

Protection

Bring doubles from 00-TCU to #3 Camalot and one #4 Camalot. One set of nuts, RPs, tricams, a #1 Loweball, one hook, two camhooks - one skinny one fat. A 60m rope is also nice.