Tokopah Reality

Pitch 1: 5.10a 180 ft. Start up a shallow corner that leads up to a roof. Place a few small widgets into the roof and get over this obstacle (crux). Traverse left and up towards the crack above. Clip a bolt (added on third ascent to make the section less runout). Make several more committing slabby moves and get into a crack/groove. BD Camalot #3 protects the bottom of the crack. Climb up and right and traverse towards the prominent OW. Make a few short down-climbs along the traverse. Bolted anchor. Fun pitch. As an alternative you can also take the OW which is tough and has a fun chimney above. Small gear protects the chimney.

Pitch 2: 40ft 5.9+. Continue up an obvious OW. You can protect it very well with Camalots # 2, 3, 4 and 5. Belay at a bolted anchor below the giant overhanging flake.

Pitch 3: 80 ft 5.11. There are a few pitches in CA that majority of climbers from the whole US know. The Narrows, Harding Slot, The Great Roof, Thank God Ledge, Separate Reality along with a few more. Difficulty of these pitches have little to do with their popularity. The Reach Around Flake pitch deserves to be included in the list. It is clean, has enjoyable climbing, spectacular setting and it is WILD. Take a right leaning hand crack/hand rail up and continue traversing towards a large overhang. As you traverse higher you get closer to the right edge of the giant roof that looked impossible from the ground. It will get overhanging and involve a few monkey swings. Great opportunity for hero-shots and clean whippers. Two bolts protect the leader and the follower. This pitch is almost equally intimidating for both. Pull around the flake and a bolted belay is waiting for you. Enjoy the pump, it will not go away fast. :)

Pitch 4: 5.10b 150 ft. Make a few strenuous moves and get to the top of a flake left of the anchor. Clip a few bolts and traverse up and left slinging chicken heads for protection. Slipknot works well on these. Climb up and traverse left towards another bulge. You can protect it with cams and than sling a few more knobs once you are over the bulge. Belay from a bolt and a big chicken head below a beautiful knobby headwall.

Pitch 5: 5.6-8 200ft. Difficulty of this pitch depends on path you take. Whole pitch offers solid knobs, chicken heads and jugs. Sling them for protection and continue climbing straight up. Once you are 50 or so meters up from the belay traverse to the left side of the water groove. Belay station is one bolt and a slung chicken head and this pitch is exactly 60 meters.

From this belay station you can do a final roped pitch of low 5th class for another 100 feet or un-rope and scramble to the top. Continue to the top of the dome and scramble down the gulley on the west side of the formation for the more direct way back to the base.

The climb starts under a giant triangular roof on the south face of Lower Tokopah Dome. The first pitch can be found more towards the right side of the roof in between several large boulders. If you see a tricky OW with a chimney above it, you went a little too far right (east). This OW is an alternative start to the first pitch and will go at about 5.11ish. If you take this variation you can link it with pitch two. Back cleaning your #5 would be a good idea if you decide to do so.

Double rack of cams from green alien to #2 camalot. Single #3, 4 and 5 BD camalots. 12 alpine draws.