Virga

Lemme get this out of the way: holy SHIT that thing is rad!!

Virga

takes a stunning line straight up the underbelly of

Tower 3

, launching you into a relentless pitch of super sustained and technical climbing on a dead vertical to slightly overhanging wall. Although the crux comes early and there's a decent rest after you've dispatched the first third, expect no mercy through the stacked boulder problems that guard the anchors.

Start in a featureless shallow dihedral and make your way to the 2nd bolt where good pockets appear. The route veers hard right into sculpted holes below the crux bulge, a technical boulder problem with long moves and a poor clipping hold (think pinch). Make the clip, boulder your way to the 5th bolt and take a rest, it will be your last chance.

From there, launch up and left into a faint dihedral system, the main theme being a couple of tough moves on poor feet and weird sidepulls to an OK hold you clip from. Repeat, repeat, repeat until a grey band of blocky holds appear along with the first loose rock of the route. Don't tunnel vision and notice the bolt a ways to your left. The holds get better at that point but exploding footholds will keep your attention.

If the pump hasn't dropped you by then the last steep awkward moves to clip the anchors certainly will.

Virga is tucked a ways up the Gully of Eternal Peril (gulp) on the west side of Tower 3. Walk toward Main Hellgate, around the imposing prow of Tower 3 and scramble up a narrow gully (4th class, secure) for about 100' to a small alcove blocked by a huge dead stump. A #1 or #2 cam could go in a pocket to anchor the belayer.

14 bolts, alternating scary rusty SMC hangers and bomber looking Kongs to a glue-in + bolt anchor. The tat on the anchor was fresh and equalized, lowering is OK (60m rope, a few feet to spare).

Back clean the 1st draw, clip bolt 2, 3 and 4 with long runners and bolts 9, 11 and 12 with long draws if you don't want the rope to make a series of Zs and pull your ass off the top.

HELMETS! The Gully of Eternal Peril behaved like a moody hag during the hour we were in there and pitched a fair amount of choss at us.