Trial By Fire

This consistent route weaves a line up the middle of the north east face of Ross Peak. Leading through both of the roof features and the prominent headwall at the top make this one of the longest and most sustained routes on the wall with quality stone for its length. Even though gear is not mandatory for this route it is by no means a leisurely sport climb. This route was bolted ground up, drilling from stances so expect some moderate runouts and an adventurous nature. Definitely want to be a proficient 5.11 leader for this one. Topo in photos.

Pitch 1, 5.10-

Start under a large ledge 70 feet or so to the left of the start of The Fellowship. How easy this ledge is to get to is dependent on the snow level, at the lowest snow level it's about 5.8 (There is an old rusty piton that can be clipped, but should be treated as ornamental). Once on the ledge, start to the right of the obvious weakness and follow grooves and runnels past bolts to another ledge. Follow a large right facing corner to a smaller ledge. Bolt belay.

Pitch 2, 5.10-

From the belay, climb right and cross a small slab to a large left facing feature that leads to a short slab crux. After the crux climb up and left through easy 5th class to a belay on a slightly chossy ledge at the base of a right facing flake system. Runner things well, bolt belay.

Pitch 3, 5.10-

Climb up the fun flake system and pull onto a low angle slab at the base of a large roof/overlap. Clip the first bolt on the overlap and traverse right until it is possible to gain a nice flake that cuts back left over the first overlap to a bolt. From here climb the corner

to gain some good holds to pull over onto the face (crux). Follow the broken cracks to a belay stance. Runner things well, bolt belay. (There is an optional .5 Camalot placement at the crux)

Pitch 4, The Traverse, 5.9+

From the belay climb up the broken cracks to the first bolt on the left, then traverse left across the slab by linking features together and using delicate footwork. Climb to a short technical crux at the end of the pitch on amazing stone with a bit of spice. Clip the last bolt and make your way left to a belay to the right of a small bulge. Runner things well, bolt belay.

Pitch 5, The Eye, 5.11

From the belay, follow bolts left across darker stone with some fragile chert in it. Once established on the slab, trend up and left through some small overlaps to a short cruxy section traversing left to gain a crack. Follow this crack/flake system past a few bolts to a stance under the roof (tred a bit lightly). Recharge and perform a tricky and kinda powerful boulder problem over the roof. From here climb up and left on easier ground to a belay to the left of a small tree. A long pitch. Runner things well, bolt belay.

Pitch 6, 5.8

Climb right from the belay onto the featured face and follow bolts up and over a small black bulge. Once over the short bulge follow the small gully up and right until it is possible to squeeze through a gap between a tree and a rock to a nice little ledge. Bolt belay.

Pitch 7, 5.7

Climb up the nice face peppered with awesome chert features eventually trending to the right on easier ground towards a small group of medium sized trees. Before reaching the trees, you run into a small gully running down and to the right. Cross the gully to a short face on the other side with a bolt leading to "The Atrium". Runner things well, tree belay. (Note: It is possible to escape to the summit via the 4th class gully you cross but the last two pitches are not to be missed!)

Pitch 8, 5.8

Climb out the right side of The Atrium behind the trees on great rock through some shallow left facing flake features leading to runnels. From the top of the runnels climb up and right and escape through a gap. From the gap climb a short section of 4th class straight up to a belay below the final headwall. Bolt belay.

Pitch 9, The Headwall, 5.10-

This pitch alone is four stars. From the belay climb the short slab to the base of the headwall. Climb up the steep headwall on amazing flakes, chert features, and runnels past spacy bolts to a belay on a ledge to the left of a small tree. This whole pitch is a bit spicy but the climbing is exceptional. Bolt belay.

To summit, pass the small tree on the right to a short 4th class section to gain a small ridge. Follow the ridge as it curves to the left for 80 feet or so where you will be able to walk down to the top of the 4th class escape gully (towards the descent) or continue right along the back side of the headwall to the summit of Ross. To descend, see the descent beta provided for the Ross Peak page.

Start under a large ledge 70 feet or so to the left of the start of The Fellowship.

Bolts. Bring 10-12 alpine draws, 6-8 quickdraws, a minimum of 8ft of webbing for the tree belay at the top of pitch 7, and a 70m rope (double ropes needed to rap). Optional .5 Camalot placement on pitch 3. A double length sling can come in handy. Wear a helmet. There are usually mountain goats around traversing the ledges above that can cause rockfall. Pitches 1-3 and the belay starting pitch 4 being the most exposed to potential rockfall.