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Peak Mountain 3

Afternoon Nap

FA Tom Slater, Brandon Thau 7/2010
CREATED 
UPDATED 

Description

A fantastic and easy romp up a giant dome. Begin by getting to the rock (20 minutes once you know the trail) -Basically trend up and diagonally left towards left side of the dome. Follow the many cairns. Once at the base, contour up and right about 100 feet. You'll see a bolt about 20 feet up. This is where the route starts.

All pitches are 60 meters, so don't tie in with a long tail, and don't plan on using any of your rope at the belay. This a good place for both you and your second to use a sling or a PAS to anchor in. All pitches end in a pair of solid bolts with chains. There is very little pro except for the bolts on a couple of pitches, but all difficulties are well protected and there are adequate bolts even at the easy parts to prevent catastrophe, But some 30’ run outs over easy terrain exist. Both places where roofs must be surmounted can be protected with 1”-3” cams, and other than slings and a few smaller pieces, this is really all the pro you need. The route pretty much goes straight up, so it'd be a pretty noteworthy day if you managed to get lost. It would also be a noteworthy day if you managed to not get lost on the approach and descent, so be alert.

P1 - 2 bolts to the anchor. Follow the bolts. Very easy slab climbing with fantastic friction. A prominent roof protects well and is easiest to pass just right of the spot where it tapers down. Belay under a little left-facing roof

P2 - 5 bolts. Follow the water chute using the bolts as your guide to the anchors. First indications of the dikes above appear on this pitch.

P3 - 5 bolts. You follow the water runnel a little further, then follow a pair of really cool, understated dikes to the next anchor. Again, you can follow the bolts.

P4 - This is the business. 4 bolts. Easy 5.7 for besting the roof and for the friction step-across stemming the water runnel, both of which can probably (but shouldn't) be avoided on easier terrain. Leave the belay heading for the "stepladder" in the roof. A balancey no-hand two-step gets you over the roof here, with a bomber cam right beneath you. You can get over the roof to the left more steeply (but with some hands) or to the right at a lower weakness, but for my money, I'd head up the steps. It's a lot of fun. Above here, head for the left-facing crescent/arch and climb this to a spot with a somewhat delicate stem across the water runnel. If you use protection in this arch, place it as far left as possible or you’ll add a lot of drag. Do the crux traverse, clip a bolt and run up to the route's only semi-unpleasant, semi-hanging belay.

P5 - From the belay, climb up a few feet and clip a bolt (just one on this pitch), then run up the rest of the pitch on the left side of a giant "bellybutton" to some well-positioned chains at the end of the route. The angle eases off just as the rock becomes incredibly featured. Tie a couple of slipknots around the runnels for pro to impress your friends. You'll not fall on this pitch. Your grandmother would not fall on this pitch.

From here either rap the route or scramble straight up third class boulders to increasingly low-angle rock that leads to the dome's summit.

Unlimited thanks to the author(s) of this route for putting up a reasonable and fun, easy outing. It will do much to get folks out to experience this fantastic setting.

Location

See the approach and descent descriptions for Big Sleep.

Protection

Five single-length runners, two doubles, and a #1 Camalot-sized cam, and whatever you use to build anchors at two-bolt belays will be plenty for this route if you're familiar with even easy slab-climbing techniques. The runouts are, at times, tremendous (in excess of 40 feet) but they will seem trivial in light of the easy climbing and the rock quality, which is so nice and grippy that even an apprentice slab-master should feel confident at the end of the longest runouts.