Where the approach trail meets Leviathan is a long, right-facing corner that marks the start of the North Face route. Walk up left along the base of the rock passing a long left-facing corner. Just after you skirt a boulder blocking the base you will come to a small clearing. A small, tilted flat rock at the right end is a good place to start the route. If you can spot 2 dark, half-circles side by side about halfway up the first pitch,(see Beta picture,) you may be able to see the 1st  bolt just up and right. 

  1. Connect small cracks and ledges to get to the thin face with 2 bolts above the two half-circles. Start up short, right-facing corner, step out left and head up to small ledge and make a belay on gear.   (5.9  155')   2. Diagonal left on easy ramps until you can easily traverse right on a small ledge. A bolt protects the move from the ledge into the beautiful, left diagonalling slots. Just past a small bulge is a nice little ledge that is intersected by a diagonalling crack that shoots all the way to the ground. Belay here on gear. (5.8+ 160')   3. Steepening climbing diagonals left toward a small overhang. Follow the best pro a little left of center to pull the roof on big jugs. Up and left to a small ledge with a big green block.  (5.8+  130')   4. Diagonal right past flakes and ledges to an improbable looking, left-facing, left-leaning corner. A hollow flake is just to its left. Layback and jam the corner with great pro, then step left to a 3 bolt anchor.  (5.9  140')   5. A tricky step left off the belay leads to runout but easy climbing, bearing left. The last pitch cuts over the headwall just left of a wide black water streak. Make a gear belay to set the last pitch up, at about 155' to 165'. There's a nice slanting ledge between the streak and the exit moves for a belay. (5.8  165')   6. Cut through headwall at steep jugs and short cracks, left of the wide, black water streak. The wall kicks back afterward so climb to rope's end and belay.  (5.9  200') 

  Easy scrambling to the summit. 

  Descent:  From the summit head back north then around east to find a long gully that drops down to a tall, dead pine tree (old rap anchor). About 30' below that is a 3-bolt rap anchor. This will drop you into the gully between Leviathan and Wilderness Dome. The rap is roughly 33M (with rope stretch.) Attempting to use half of a 60M rope would be dangerous due to the steepness of the face at the base  half of a 70M would just make it.

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North Face

This climb is a serious undertaking with some big runnouts in places.  Most notably the 4th pitch with 60 feet of unprotected 5.7, the fifth pitch which has a 110 foot traverse with widely spaced pro so the second can enjoy it too, and the 8th pitch where falling could lead to a big swing into a corner.   

  The cool thing is that doing this you are following in the footsteps of some inspired and daring people.  In Bob Kerry's Guiedbook Backcounty Rockclimbing in Southern Arizona he writes that the original line was concieved by Merle Wheeler and Joanna McComb but the attempt ended at the top of pitch two.  Wheeler came back with Dave Baker and at the top of pitch five which atempted to go straight up they could go no higher.  In '75 Baker, Rich Thompson, and Gary Hervert returned and worked out the traverse pitch and continued up ending at the end of pitch eight.  A week later Hervert returned with Brett Oxberry and finished the route using aid on three pitches.  In '76 Ray Ringle, Scott Brown, and John Stieger free climbed all but the traverse moves on pitch eight.  Then Baker and Fig Fiola returned in '77 and free climbed the entire route. 

  Hollow and loose rock and a couple of places where you had to climb on it made this a less than totally fun day for me.  In the end I am glad I climbed it but more glad that I was climbing 5.12 sport regularly before I got on this route.  Doing this route at or near your limit would be a great accomplishment.

This is a back country dome.  The Approach is 2-3 hours with less than thirty minutes of that on an established trail.  The NW face is close to 1000 feet tall and streaked with orange on the right side and more whitish on the left.  The climbing is a serious adventure.  The rock at times leaves something to be desired.  Moving over spooky blocks is at times a part of the experience.  Repeating any of the existing routes here gives you a real appreciation of the courage and drive of the people that established them.   

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Protection

Routes in Leviathan Dome