Question of Balance

Pitch 1: Begin below a short, curving half-moon flake about 20 feet off the ground. Climb up to the flake and then veer a little left across a slab, up, then left again across another steep slab below a flake. Hand traverse back right across the flake and into a corner with a pin under a small roof. Pull over the roof (5.11-) to a thin hands crack then go straight up steep rock past a bolt to a chain anchor. There are various harder variations to this first pitch, as noted in 'Taos Rock' and in comments below.

Pitch 2: Climb straight up the thin crack past a pin and where the crack dies out, make some thin face moves straight up to some seams heading left. Move left following the seams to the prominent diagonalling crack seen from the ground. Follow the flaring finger and hand crack another 80 feet to the bolted belay. (5.10-).

Pitch 3: Drop down and right traversing along a small dike to its end. Delicate friction moves lead up to a thin crack/flake, followed by more friction up and right to a second flake/crack system. Follow the crack and then make a hard move past a 1/4" bolt and up to another dike below the roof system extending across the top of the face. Clip another 1/4" bolt and then traverse left 30 feet under the roof system to a belay below an overhang with a thin crack running through it. (5.10).

Pitch 4: Step a little left to a huge pocket, go straight up over the roof following a crack to where it becomes a seam (5.10+). Climb up the runout seam to awesome chickenheads to a belay at tree (180 feet). An alternate finish traverses 20 feet down and right before the crack becomes a seam and follows a lower crack to the chickenheads (not as runout). There is also a bolted 5.10 slab finish directly up and left, after you turn the roof.

Pitch 5: Climb easy, featured rock on great chickenheads aiming for the tall pines on the summit of the rock.

This climb was originally called A Questa of Balance.

Standard rack up to blue camalots. Bring doubles on gray and green camalots.