Separation Anxiety

Separation Anxiety ascends an improbable line of spectacular, in-cut diorite knobs through the center of the Perseverance Wall. The boldness of this ground-up, first ascent cannot be overplayed; having never drilled--ever, Dan, aka "Little," aka "Strong," continued upward, into the unknown, and the uncleaned... Execute big moves between spaced chickenheads, passing two bolts, careful to keep the separation anxiety at bay! Launch into the upper slab, using a few long runners to sling the diorite--hang a few of those big cams from having warmed up on Check the Technique to keep them from lifting! The climbing here eases up significantly but remains fun and engaging the entire way. Clip the third--and last--bolt, pass a shallow, bottoming horizontal near the top of the slab, then trend right--toward the shared sling anchor atop Check the Technique. Rap or lower--beware of rope drag across the slab!

Separation Anxiety starts on a narrow ledge, 20 feet to the left of the obvious flake-pillar of Check the Technique. There is a two-bolt rappel anchor--40 or so feet to the right of the start--that provides an escape into the gully below the ledge.

The first two bolts protect the business, the third is located about 35 feet above, for good measure. In addition to draws, bring a few double-length runners--the skinny Dyneema ones work best--for the chickenhead pro, as they're the only thing keeping you from cratering.