A classic

Little Cottonwood

multi pitch-climb.

Features fun crack- and face-climbing on quality granite. The second plus third and the fourth plus fifth pitches can be easily run together into two pitches if you keep rope drag down with use of long runners.

Descend by numerous rap stations available on right side of route (adjacent to

Sasquatch

). All raps can be done with a single 50 meter rope.

P1. Take the shallow dihedral to the right of the bolted face and corner of

Neuromancer

.  Not the larger dihedral 5 more feet to the right (with bushes).  Fantastic fingers and flakes merge with the right dihedral up to a very shapely pine tree 100' up.  5.6 or 5.7.

P2. More great flakes and fingers straight up the crack from the chains on P1.  Finish slightly left at a tree, or better yet, combine with P3.  5.7.

P3. Easy climbing up a block crack that trends to the right.  Belay at a slung tree.  The least interesting pitch of the climb.  5.5.

P4. Scramble straight up up 3rd class terrain to the base of the large face above you.  You can see a set of chains in the middle of the face and bolts above them.  Start on easy climbing for 15' going slightly left, then back right to a large ledge that is not easily visible from below.  This protects better and is much easier than it appears.  Follow the ramp to the chains you can see from the belay in the middle of the face.  Best to combine this the P5.  5.7.

P5.  The money pitch!  From the chains, make a delicate couple moves almost straight left to gain the finger size crack in the face.  It's sporty, but there's tons of good pro in that crack for nuts or small cams.  When the crack ends, use flakes to go slight right and up to a single bolt.  From there, head up and left (5.7) or right (5.8) to a tree, then find chains on a ledge to the right.  5.8 heady!

Pentapitch

Lesbian Seagulls

Nubbins Direct

Jackalope

Endless Torment

Pentapass

Japanese Terraces

Neuromancer

Flashdance

Littlefoot

Loch Ness Monster

Ginseng

Pearls Before Swine

Sasquatch

Pudgy Gumbies

Nubbins to Nowhere

Dike from Hell

This enjoyable route follows a dihedral system to the left of the standard

Pentapitch

and finishes 30 feet above the last pitch anchor of

Pentapitch

at a large dead tree with slings. (The dead tree is now gone but plenty of options for a gear belay in the same location.)

Pitch 1: First pitch of

Pentapitch

or

Neuromancer

to the big ledge.

Pitch 2: Start on the far left of the big ledge and climb up a left facing dihedral. This pitch can be broken into two. Belay on the giant ledge shared with

Pentapitch

. 160' 5.7.

Pitch 3: From the far left edge of the giant ledge start up a left facing dihedral, pull through a bulge or two and belay at a large pine tree on a ledge strewn with boulders. 100' 5.7.

Pitch 4: Continue up yet another left facing dihedral. This is the best pitch with nice hands jams and laybacks. Very exposed near the top as you make a few moves to the right over a roof. Belay at a large dead tree with slings. This is the same pitch as the last on

Coalpit Connection

. 120' 5.8+.

Descent: Rappel

Pentapitch

.

This is the new route just right (kind of) of Endless Torment.  It starts in the crack, and then works right to the bolt.  It continues up the right side past 2 pitons and 3 more bolts, as it angles left just above the crux of Endless Torment.  Whereas the climbing below has been straightforward low 5.10 climbing, after you cross the crux of Endless Torment, the climbing becomes extremly heady.  The lack of climbers on this great route keep the holds un-chalked, so the sequence may require YOU to think. Although, after my foray up this route this afternoon, there is a lot more chalk than there was.  This is a worthy diversion if Pentapitch/Sasquatch are busy.

Best start is off of the anchors at the base of Sasquatch.  Work left a bit and then climb the thin crack with the tree (small) at the base of it.  Work this crack until you get to the undercling flake, clip a bolt and start slabbing up and a bit left.  Quality slabbing will get you to the top.  A very nice route.

This crack doesn't look like much but it's surprisingly worthy.  Once the crack terminates, follow 3 bolts up the slab to a chain anchor.

This is a direct line to Sasquatch etc, or you can rap with a 60m.

To the left of Pentapitch, the route is rarely occupied.

Getting to the first bolt after slotting a nut or two and sinking a tcu to begin the leftward movement puts you on your toes.  Sidepulls and smears get you to the first-pitch belay.  The second pitch is a bit harder but is protected well with 2 bolts and a old pin.

This is a nice alternate to the 1st pitch of Pentapitch; a good way to pass other parties if you're headed for another route up higher.

Start on the slab just left of the dirt to keep the rubber clean. Follow the obvious low angle crack, traverse left to a left-facing flake that swallows pro. At the flake's terminus, use the next obvious crack that takes you to a small pine tree. Chains are just up and right of the tree.

Neuromancer climbs the slick slabs just left of Pentapitch, and it looks deceivingly easy. It starts hard and eases up a bit after the 2nd bolt.

This is the thin seam that starts below and to the right of Pentapitch's final pitch.  The moves to the crack are fine.  The moves through the 2nd pin are very thin, and the face doesn't help that much.  The tenuos nature of the moves doesn't lend oneself to dallying around and placing gear.  Once to the 2nd pin, the route eases to a 5.9/5.8 difficulty with nice finger cracks and flaky rock.  If climbed more it would be a better upper half.

After you clear the roof on Sasquatch, step right, and I mean STEP.  There is a nice chickenhead there, and your first clip.  Here is where the fun begins.  Very thin moves and minute crystals lead to a tenuous second clip.  A little bit of rightward movement will allow the climbing to easxe up to the flake with the pin.  From here the climbing eases to a hard 9 easy 10, but still holds your attention, with a bit more space between the pin, the bolt, and the anchors.  A very enjoyable route, not intended to be climbed on hot muggy days, like today.

Loch Ness Monster is west of Pentapitch, and consists of an edgy slab and a bouldery roof.  Figuring out the sequence is half the problem.  If a top-rope is desired, the crack system to the left can be climbed or scrambled up, depending on your comfort level.

A fun route if you have done sasquatch a million times! Step right off of the sasquatch ledge, trend right toward  double cracks, straight up offwidth to tree, left out onto  face to top.  reachy 10a move protected with  brass nuts  (maybe an alien), very cool, and a fun alternative. A  touch trickier than sasquatch, but not as sustained.

Direct finish to the last pitch of

Pentapitch

. Tenuous, steep slab moves lead to interesting inverted edges. From the middle anchor on the last pitch of Pentapitch head up and slightly right following the bolts.

High quality single pitch trad line. Fun moves on excellent rock. Thin crack crux above small roof protects well.

A lesson in offset balance! This peculiar testpiece packs maximal climbing into 80 leaning feet. One of my favorite LCC cracks.

Links up a series of left-leaning cracks on a giant orangeish leaning rectangle. Follow the narrow left trending lieback ramp for the first 35 feet (crux) until the awesome jamming begins. The climb has always seemed a little dirty and the lichen can stay moist after a rain- it is not often it is climbed. It is fully worthy of your time. Treat it as a little destination route.

The narrow left trending lieback ramp is very balancey- there is very little in the way of secure stances- and it can be quite hard to blindly fiddle in reliable small gear here. Aside from a few key pods where C3's dominate, micro nuts and micro cams artfully placed will suffice, but nothing really feels super confidence inspiring. Also, due to the leaning nature of the climb, you are never far off the ground- especially the bottom half- it feels like it climbs more sideways than up. Once you gain the upper-half you can relax a bit with ample straight forward gear placements.

I'd suggest a cush cam rack of triples from purple C3 to big fingers(.5 camalot/ orange metolius), and then doubles to a #1 camalot size.  Most of the finger sized pieces will be used on the second half of the climb. Save some tips sizes for the last moves. Bring a usual number of draws and slings.

An improved belay stance now exists with some cord and equalized fixed gear.

This route is difficult and possibly a touch dangerous to attempt to clean while lowering/rappelling so you should just have your second clean it on toprope.

This climb starts at the top of pitch 1 of pentapitch(or other variation you choose). Traverse right towards sasquatch on the big blocky ledges and halfway between the big tree of pentapitch and the big tree of sasquatch is a finger crack that takes you straight up. Hit a bolt, then traverse right over to the dihedral that is just left of sasquatch. Follow this up to the huge tier atop pentapitch 2.

Gear: Standard LCC rack with 70m rope or 2 60m ropes. Rap down sasquatch.

Start at the top of the first pitch of Endless Torment. Diagonal up & left to a sharp edged crack leaning left. Climb this for 8' to it's end. Diagonal back right (TCU's) along a dike to 2 bolts. Follow these to the top. This short route is well worth doing, but not as classic as the second pitch of Endless Torment.

Description

Protection

Routes in Pentapitch Area