Le Void

Another in a long line of great Frenchy-named routes in Eldo. I'm a bit hesitant to post this route, since I haven't actually climbed the whole thing, but it's pretty cool, and anyone with more knowledge of the whole route can feel free to add a comment.

Le Void starts off the upper ramp, about 30' right of

The Serpent

, and maybe 100' left of upper

T2

. To find the climb, look for a pair of left-leaning, left-facing dihedrals that lead up about 40' to a big, overhanging, downward-pointed flake. Start in either corner, the left is 5.9+, the right is 5.11. Both corners are well protected, and they merge on a ledge maybe 40' up.

From here, the route gets much harder, as it ascends the overhanging flake. For the first bit you can use cracks on both sides of the flake, as well as stem. The crux (11d) comes when you have to commit to the right side of the flake. A series of thin, powerful, lie-backing moves culminate in a lunge (at least for me) to a much better hold. From here, the pitch is much easier, and again ends at a small stance with rappel slings.

This is as far as I have ever gone on this route, but according to Rossiter, it continues up though a roof with a thin crack (11d/12a), and then merges with

T2

to get to the top of the wall. If anyone has beta about this part, I'd love to hear it.

Edit:

Tried the roof pitch today, wasn't very impressed. Tons of loose junk, nearly every gear placement and handhold relied upon flakes of dubious quality. If one was willing to yard on the loose stuff, the roof might be 11d, but it's definitely harder if you have any concern for your belayer and anyone one else who might be downrange. In my opinion the first two pitches (easily linked into one) deserve 3 stars, but -1 for the choss-fest roof.

The first two pitches of this route are well-protected. A 5.9 leader might want a #2 or #3 Camalot for the first corner, but other than that only small gear (wires, TCUs, and cams to 2", maybe with double in the TCUs) are needed for the 11d flake section.

The P3 roof takes thin gear; RPs, Micro cams, etc. Many of the placements on this pitch rely on poor quality rock. There used to be a fixed pin on this pitch, now my partner has it.