Zen-ith is a great route with just enough spice to make it amazing. Head up the arete to the first bolt of "Breaking Through the Layers", and continue up and right into a nice fingers/thin hands crack. Continue up to where the crack gets wide and then ends. Place a final piece of gear in the crack, and make a move to a jug up on the right, where you can then clip a bolt on the upper face. The business starts here.  Make a sustained series of slow and calculated moves (hence the "Zen(-ith)" on crimps and sidepulls, with heady foot smears, up and left towards the arete. The exposure is fun, and makes for a heady crux. Once established on the arete, clip the last bolt and head up to the anchors. Shares the anchor with Supernova, 5.9 trad, in the dihedral on the right.

The enjoyable Zen-ith crux can be climbed all sport by going up the first 4 bolts of Breaking Through the Layers, and then cutting up and over to the first bolt of Zen-ith. It doesn't really add any rope drag (though long slings won't hurt), and the fall is still safe.

Zen-ith

Licorice Line

Updraft from Hell

Supernova

Breaking Through the Layers

Indian Summer

Rainy Day Surprise

Edge of the World

Shooting Star

Pillar of Destiny

Bad Makeup (5.11c/5.9)

This is the first completely bolted route you come to once you reach the main wall. Easily distinguished by its three small roofs near the top. Climb easy 5.8 moves to below the first roof. From there, clip the bolt on the right roof, and then pull a tricky and surprisingly powerful crux move straight up into the roofs. Finish the remaining pumpy 5.10 moves through the roofs to the anchors. (it is possible to move into the far left side of the dihedral at the crux and reduce the grade)

Licorice Line is the shady off-width on the left side of the wall.  The 25 foot crack starts at about 5" wide and expands to about 10" at the top.  Edges and jugs pepper the sides of the crack making for simple off-width experience.

Amy and I cleaned a large amount of the loose blocks out of the crack.  There's still quite a bit of loose rock though it's deeper in the crack and smaller stuff.  Your belayer will still want to wear a helmet.

This fun trad line starts at the base of a blocky dihedral, and then turns into a good fingers crack, and goes under a decent sized roof, and out along the left edge, and then up around the left side of the roof to chain anchors on the top. Getting on top of the roof can be a little spicy, as your last cam is under the roof, so a fall would long, but clean. You could also place a .75 cam into the slot before making the move if you wanted to. There are a few crux moves in a couple locations, but nothing too difficult.

Supernova climbs a deep dihedral between "Zenith" and "Rainy Day Surprise." Stem up to a zero TCU placement, then continue up the dihedral to a midway ledge below two tightly wedged blocks. Above the blocks the only placement is a two inch gold camelot for the obvious constriction in the otherwise wide (5-7 inch) crack leading to the anchor. The burly crux comes in the steep wideness above this placement, and this gold cam is the only piece that can protect the run to the anchor on the left (shared with Zenith).

This fun climb starts just downhill from "Rainy Day Surprise" at a seam splitting a smooth vertical face. Two bolts are visible on the upper half of the climb. Boulder up the seam and mantle onto a ledge, then follow a moderate crack system to reach the first bolt. Crank past this bolt (crux) up to a ledge. Be careful on the easy mantel up, as a fall here could result in a hit on the ledge below. Once on the ledge, clip the next bolt and finish on reachy but positive moves to reach the anchor.

This fun route starts up slightly balanced moves along a shallow arete/column, up and right into a ledge and dihedral. Follow it up to another stance, and clip the first bolt. Sustained and steep 5.10- climbing to the anchors from there.

Fun, dynamic movement up the overhung left face. Has a fixed draw on the 3rd bolt.

Start up easy face moves to a high first bolt, then navigate two bulges to a ledge. Crack was not used due to massive amounts of poison oak in it.

Once on the ledge, either run it out easy moves to the fixed draw, or place a 1

or 2" cam (either works), and then clip the draw. Then strike up the face, to the roof, and over the left half of the roof (left half was FA route, roof can be navigated either way, slightly better holds on the left.)

The right face and arete is a 5.11+ project. Needs bolting (open).

Climb fifteen or twenty feet up easy terrain, then place a 3 or 4 inch cam in an obvious pod just left of some chossy looking flakes. Tiptoe through those flakes to a good stance below a sloping bulge. Place a couple medium sized cams, then crank through the reachy bulge (crux) on solid rock. Continue on good rock with fun stemming, exposure, and decent gear all the way to the anchor.

This is the bolt line just to the left of the big OW. Climb the line using the left arete and holds on the main face. Direct line going straight up the bolts is much, much harder. Anchor is on top of the ledge, on the right face. Stellar views from the top!

Anchor can be used to TR the OW crack.

This route has two variations. If you go straight up the wall, following the bolts, it is a very dynamic 5.11c (read crimps to a dyno crux). If you clip the first bolt, then follow the curving finger crack up to the right, you can place two cams in the crack, and follow it up until you can move onto the face to finish out the top 3 bolts. That goes at 5.9. (refer to topo for visual reference).

The lower part of the face has a slightly crumbly texture in parts that is about 1/3" deep, which will clean up with use. Good crimpers are in there though.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Stratosphere