For better or for worse... a long 5.11+ slab.  Sustained. 

  Delta has several excellent routes in the 5.11+ range.  The others are steeper with more positive holds, so I think they are more fun.  This one is more slabby, and after 50 feet I'm wishing it's over.  But that's just me, you may love it.  It is certainly sustained and aesthetic.

East Face Slab

Crystal Meth

Fin -- S. Face

The Eagle's Gift

Summit access

East Crack

Southwest Rib

Book of the Dead

Dave Jones Memorial (AKA The Nose)

Petty Tyrant

Over Under Sideways Down

West Face Direct

Fin Arete

Hobo Sapien

Journey to Ixtlan

A very pretty route. Based on looks alone I might give it 3 stars.A harder-than-it-looks slabby arete/stem trough....followed by a cool, easier-than-it-looks overhang....then a delicate, vertical, bear-hugging arete with a hard-to-read crux bulge at the end.

Excellent movement on chossy crystals.  I am probably the only person who would give this route 3 stars.  But it is exactly the kind of roped bouldering I like.  It reminds me of the Beach at Milagrosa, pretty steep and action packed from first move to last. 

  It's pretty chossy, but getting better. 

  Longer version (Breaking Bad ?) JB, TM

Mostly low-angle but with a faintly old-school, alpine-ish feel.  Some people won't like it at all.  But my partner and I thought it was reasonably fun. 

  Start by chimneying up to a high bolt.  Stem across the chimney and start heading up.  Sometimes you are fully on the Fin, sometimes you are stemmed across to the main crag.  Mostly easy but fun, but has a couple of cruxy sections that may surprise you. 

  It's a bit grainy yet. I snapped a foothold that almost pitched me.  And I'd like to test a couple of the features with a hammer.  The bolting is just a touch sparse and there are a couple of places where a fall would not be pretty.  It's fun, but be careful.

Complicated, devious, and pretty pumpy. You could call it knob climbing, but there's much more to it... seams, pinches, underclings, side-pulls, thumbs... they just keep coming.

 Drilled by Tony Lusk but never redpointed.

Just a way to get on top. But kind of entertaining.Free solo up the surprisingly exposed NW corner of the crag for 25 feet. As you are about to commit to an insecure, gravelly move, notice that there is a bolt. Probably best to clip it.I suppose I have to give it an "R" or "X" even though it's easy. You'd be messed up if you fell before clipping the bolt.

Interesting delicate face climbing for 40 feet to a ledge. Hard crux off the ledge to gain the awesome rib feature. 105 feet so use a 70 !!

The main feature of the east face of Delta Dome is a huge, mostly-detached fin.  The right edge (north side) of the fin leans against the dome to form a steep open book with an offwidth/jam-crack/chimney at the intersection.  Tony bolted this feature even  though half of it could be protected by traditional means.  Whatever.  It's pretty fun, and is not your typical slabby Mt Lemmon 5.10.

Easy but fun climbing up to a ledge.  Steeper and harder from there to anchor.  I can't give it 2 stars, but 1.5 is more like it.

A great route.  Very sustained, lots of cool side-pulls, pinches and underclings.  Keeps you thinking all the way.

This route begins by doing the direct start to get to the ledge on the west face.  Then it continues up to take in the crux of Journey To Ixtlan, but instead of hand-railing left on the chickenheads, you clip the cable-draw and then stand on the chickenheads and head straight up to the top of the crag. 

  There are 14 bolts and then Mussys.  One of the bolts has a cable-draw, so the route could be done with only 13 QDs.   But... you'll want to use LONG draws on this route or you will probably have rope-drag.  And it's probably best to DOUBLE-DRAW the cold-shut on the ledge, the bolt after the cold-shut, and the cable-draw. So taking 18 or so long quick-draws is about right. 

  USE A 70 METER ROPE FOR THIS ROUTE !

About as fun as a route can be.  Pretty airy.  I was laughing out loud while climbing this.  A bit grainy yet, but it will clean up.

A long-ish, fun, knobby face climb.  Shares 1st bolt with East Crack route.  Uses some of the holds in the crack before branching right towards the NE corner.

The pretty west face of Delta has an obvious stemming trough way up high.  But how to get to it ? 

  Start from the south end of the ledge in the middle of the west face (2 old cold shuts there), or do the direct start to reach the ledge from the ground near the South Rib.   

  From the ledge, move up and right on progressively harder ground to a cool side-pulling, under-clinging crux.  Continue up to a line of bizarre chicken-heads that take you on a rising, leftwards traverse towards the stemming trough.  Big reach around a corner gets you into the trough.  Great palming/stemming up the trough, past some giant heads, takes you to the Mussys.   

  THE DIRECT START ADDS 30-35 FEET TO THE ROUTE LENGTH SO KEEP AN EYE ON THE END OF THE ROPE.  And, if you do the direct, read the description of West Face Direct for info on lessening rope drag. 

  The direct start (leading to the cold shuts on the ledge) can be done as a decent, 4 bolt, 5.9/5.10 in its own right.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Delta Dome