Banzai

Banzai is an old aid route which clocked in at a solid A3. However, the difficult aid pitches have been sense freed and retrobolted to facilitate a free ascent. There is also a free variation to pitch 4 which goes around the old blank headwall above the detached pillar.

Banzai starts up a shallow well featured corner and climbs more or less out on the face. The gear is excellent and the climbing sustained and well protected.

Pitch 2 climbs around a wildly exposed roof and onto a large detached pillar to a two bolt anchor.

Pitch 3 climbs a shallow groove with a thin crack at its back which used to be a solid A2. It has sported retro bolts to facilitate a free ascent but still requires an assortment of gear. Mostly thin to 1'.

Pitch 4 climbs a short pillar and up an old reachy aid ladder. This pitch has a free variation which looks to be mostly bolted. I have not climbed the free variation, however, it looks to be some fairly solid face and slab climbing. Perhaps someone can chime in here and fill in the details. Or perhaps I should get my lazy ass up there and find out for myself.

Pitch 5 climbs a stair stepped hand crack to a big ledge. Mostly hands size.

Pitch 6 tiptoe across the face to a crack system and a bunch of rather large dikes. Not a bad pitch.

Pitch 7 has a few variations, there is a short corner strait up from the belay to a ledge and into a thin corner. Or traverse out to the right and climb a short right facing corner to a ledge. Now climb a shallow crack which arches its way up to a ledge. This is a really long pitch which is .10+ or A3

Pitch 8 moves along an easy crack out left to a short block with a ledge on top. Maybe 5.7

Pitch 9 moves up discontinuous cracks trending left to a long corner left facing arch/corner.

Pitch 10 climbs easy slabs to the top.

A fairly obvious crack that goes strait up for several hundred feet about 50 yards to the left of the massive Rainbow Arch.

Cams, double rack from .3" to 4" Nuts 1 set micros, 1 set regular.