Nocturne is a very fun mixed sport/trad climb on the main December Wall. It begins with a steep, juggy, hand traverse. A perplexing but finally not so hard move leads to a bulge. The crux is a very high step while laybacking a rounded arête. That's the end of the bolted climbing. Nice 5.9 moves up connected cracks a flakes lead to a steep final corner and the P1 anchors. We did not climb P2. The P2 10b crux looks to be a finger/layback crack immediately above the belay with good gear but poor feet. This section is about 15' long. Above that the route angles left and then up and apparently is easier.

Nocturne

Brackets

Climb of the Anonymous Coward (Var)

Door Jam

The Road Goes Ever On

Short Takes

A Long December

Moonstruck

The Telegraph Road Goes Ever On (Variation)

Arborvitae

Cove Trim

Corner Bead

Crown Molding

Ranklands of Perfidy

Caesar's

Mnemonic Plague

Life After James

Unknown Brown Arete

Seams Alright

Red Tag

Great Tree Route

I Promise Not To Cam In Your Mouth

Winter Dreams / Gene and George's Excellent Adventure

Telegraph Road

Wow was I surprised in the quality of this route.

P1. Go up a strenuous crack that quickly ends toward the disconnected roofs. Protect with a yellow Alien at the first roof, followed by a 0 TCU and a bomber nut at the second. Proceed to the dihedral that sports the big crack on the left (which takes a blue Camalot). Stem up dihedral placing good gear as you go, exit at wide crack with medium gear in the back. Set belay at small tree and you can sit down, set belay at big tree and stand.

P2. Go straight up to wall with a right-facing corner and a big crack. Make diffcult move to gain crack and continue to top.

P2's FA was by Mike Endicott and Ross Swanson.

The crux is at the bottom. We stickclipped the bolt and stood in a sling (aid) on the first move to get pro above the bolt, then it was smooth sailing up a nice 5.10 climb. Proceed up the shaft, and exit left to double bolt rap station. I'll update the rating after I hear what others believe the climb goes at.

I was asked about this variation the other day, so I am adding this for the benefit of others. This is not an independent line but merely a combination of P2 of

Life After James

, and P2 of

Telegraph Road

. The purpose of this climb is to toprope the crux pitch of

Telegraph Road

(or the whole thing) if desired. It is a a lot of fun, if you have some time to kill, and is a direct line.

Climb past the crimpy P2 crux of

Life After James

10+/11- (height-dependent) clipping the first three bolts. Keep climbing in a straight line to join

Telegraph Road

just past the crux. This is a little run out but moderate. The bolt on

Telegraph Road

is visible from the belay but can be concealed a little bit when doing this variation. Just remember where it is to avoid fretting.

Finish with the final four bolts of

Telegraph Road

. For me, the crux is the last 15 feet which get your attention at 5.10.

From the anchor, you can rap to either the belay on

Life After James

or the P1 anchors of

Telegraph Road

. This sets up a good TR.

This is a really nice climb that'll break out the sweat before heading over to routes on December Wall.

I have been attempting the second pitch of this route as a link up with

Telegraph Road

and didn't realize it had a first pitch that is basically a variation of

Life After James

. I have taken Bernard Gillett's description from a previous comment on MP (if this is inappropriate use of his comment, please inform me, and I will change the description).

"Excellent climbing, a little squeezed (between

Telegraph Road

and

Winter Dreams

), but worth the bolts in my opinion. The first pitch (5.10b) begins with

Life After James

(clip its first 7 bolts, staying to the right) and then follows the thin cracks (gear) just left of the upper half of pitch 1 on

Telegraph Road

to its belay. The second pitch goes straight up (7 bolts, reachy opening moves that can be avoided on the right, with 5.11 crux at bolt 4, harder than the crux on pitch 2 of

Telegraph Road

-- I rated it 5.11b)."

P1. Start in a very small, left-facing dihedral, then go up a nice finger crack (crux). After the finger crack, traverse to the left, then surmount a wild overhang with laybacks and high steps (good gear at the lip and the difficulty eases quickly so just go for it!). There are two bolts with chains are at the end of the first pitch.

P2. There is a 5.9 bolted second pitch, but you can also rap after the first with a 60m line.

P3. Per

go up the crack directly above the double bolt anchor. 5.9 over initial roof, then easier to top (rappel 70', 98', 95' to ground). Rack to a #4 Friend; not as nice as the first two pitches.

Moonstruck is a decent warmup at the far left of the main December Wall. It's a bit dirty and not visually appealing. The crux move is quite hard. Above that are a few lesser cruxes protected with trad gear.

Start up the first pitch of

Telegraph Road

using the bolt line to the right of the corner on the arete. Once at the top of the first pitch of

Telegraph Road

; clip the anchor, and continue up and right via The Road Goes Ever On through a small bulge to a stance (one could even use the corner on

Winter Dreams

on the right to stem out). Once at the stance, continue up the bolt line directly left of Winter Dreams on the glass-like slab using the diagonal weaknesses to advance. The crux (for me) is deciphering a sequence through the aesthetic, crystal edges where footholds seem to disappear and decent edges are just out of reach. This climbs is slightly contrived. Some bolts on

Telegraph Road

are reachable, however, the climbing is memorable no matter which bolt line is taken.

I'd suggest to have your second follow and do two rappels back to the ground or the leader can do two rappels back to the ground and the partner could lead it and clean on the rappels down.

Portions of this climb can also be TR'ed when rappelling off of climbs like

Life After James

.

This starts just left of

Great Tree Route

near two bolts. The climbing is good and consistent on good rock.

P1. Surmount a small overhang protected by bolts, and move up to a groove. Climb an awkward crux (10, bolts), then cruise up to the right side of a headwall. Pull the headwall at an overhanging flake, clip a bolt, and battle tricky slab moves. The cruxes are tricky and maybe easier for the tall. Go left, clip al bolt, and go up a slab to a ledge with chains, 10.

P2. Move right on the ledge 15 feet, sling a cam long, and then go up to a bolt. Thin cracks lead to crux layback and then a nice ledge with a pine tree (same belay spot as

Great Tree Route

), 10. Alternatively you can skip the layback moving left to the crack finish on ?Nosebleed? (10).

Descent: rap 140' from slings around a tree, or rap 50' and swing left to the chains atop pitch 1 and then rap 90'. Catch your rope to avoid the poison ivy that grows on the hillside at the base. You can avoid the PI by doing an easy 3rd pitch to the top, and walk off left.

The route can be wet due to a water streak that intersects the route. In the winter, snowmelt drains down this route.

Follow 4 bolts up the middle of a recessed slab. A 2 bolt anchor awaits up and right with a 15 foot runout over easy ground. A small to medium cam will calm the nerves if needed.

The left-facing, wide corner just right of

Cove Trim

has a fun layback in the middle. Toprope from

Cove Trim's

anchors or lead with wide cams (unlikely).

TR slab variation: we did a direct slab TR straight up the line of the rope between

Cove Trim

and Corner Bead. The moves are all there with a fun high step on a mica knob as the final crux. We felt it was 10b/c ish.

Crown Molding is a stout warmup for routes on the main December Wall. The initial corner is sustained and treacherous with small gear. A fun bolt-protected hand traverse leads to a bolt-protected ceiling. Above an easier but awkward, right-angling crack leads to the anchors.

Re-reading Gillett's description, we may have missed a final optional finger crack.

It looks like this climb has only been climbed a couple of times. The chain anchors were brand new with no sign of wear from pulling ropes.

From the anchors, you can toprope the first two thirds of Door Jamb, the 5.9 chimney to the right. Because of the rope angle, you get to avoid the upper part of the chimney, which looks like even less fun than the bottom. The slab to the left of the upper part of the chimney is climbable to the anchors at 10 something.

Climb the dirty crack over a roof skipping the first bolt.  This bolt is useless and unnecessary as there is a great cam placement approximately 4 inches from the bolt.  Continue up to the second roof.  Climb this on the left, 10a, or around to the right (easier). Continue up the crack system until another bolt is encountered. Again this bolt is completely unneccesary.  Place an Alien right next to the bolt, and climb a quick crux (9). Exit the crack, and find yourself on the slab.

The first time I led this, I place gear to protect my second and traversed across the slab to the right to the

LAJ

anchor and rappeled. The second time that I led this I went straight up the slab for a few feet, placed marginal gear, did a mantle (10a poor pro), then traversed straight left to the bolt anchor at the top of P1 of

A Long December

.

From there, we climbed out to the left of the

ALD

anchor and climbed the twin seam/cracks up the left margin of the slab (p2 of

Caesar's

crack) to the anchor at the top of p2 of

A Long December

. The twin seam/crack is a very nice trad pitch.  The bolts on p2 of

ALD

are just to the right when climbing this crack system, but wanting to do a trad lead, I ingnored them. Doing Ranklands this way makes for a very enjoyable 2 pitch 10a trad outing.

Ranklands does not have the greatest rock at the base but the holds that look chossy are suprisingly solid.  It is not a destination climb by any means but worth doing once when visiting the December Wall.

This is a good pitch with two well-protected 5.10 cruxes, both involving high-steps to reach good jams. Tape advised. This also makes a good, easier way to reach the fun 5.9 slabbing of

A Long December's

second pitch. There is a second pitch of Caesar's, but we didn't do it.

This is the second farthest route to the left in the Hubbel guide. It is just a few feet left of

I Promise...

and has a dihedral/roof 10 or 15 feet up.

Start up the finger crack, and pull around the roof(5.8). Jam and smear up the thin finger crack (9+ or 10-), until a small overlap is reached where a good meduim cam can be tucked in.

Climb up the slab, stemming between, and placing a few small wires in the opposing 4 inch "dihedrals" . This was grassy and very serious when I climbed it in 2000 (5.9vs). The grass has been cleaned out since, and apparently climbs easier and offers better pro now. Belay at the ledge below the headwall.

Either finish with the second pitch of

I Promise...

or rap of the shiny chains, about 85 feet.

This route is located at the tallest point of December Wall, about 50 feet to the left of

Winter Dreams (Gene and George's Excellent Adventure)

. Locate an overhanging corner beginning at a small pine tree 20 feet up. The line continues straight up the face to a ledge just before the top. There is varied climbing with different rock on every pitch.

P1: 90 feet, 5.10+. Climb up an easy flake system, or the harder slab to the right (directly below the bolt) to gain the overhang (5.6 or 5.9). Climb up and out the strange corner (9+) to reach a good stance on a small ledge. Either climb straight up to a short finger crack on the left (10c) or break right and pull up onto the pillar (10a/b). Finish up nice slab moves to the belay.

P2: 70 feet, 5.10+. Pull up onto the varnished slab, using small edges, and crimp to a horizontal break (10d). Pass another varnished section either to the right (10a) or left (8), and run it out a bit through easy climbing to a bolt and the shining headwall. Move up the slick headwall with fun balancy moves, mantle through the crux (10c) and pull back right into the crack. Easy climbing past a bolt reaches the belay.

P3: 50 feet, 5.11. Slab climb up and right, past 2 bolts, to reach the right-hand corner of the big roof. Clip the third bolt, and pull a strenuous move to good liebacks (11b), clip the fourth bolt and climb easier rock to the anchors. There is a directional bolt for belaying the follower above the ledge. Watch out for loose rock on the ledge. 100 pounds of dirt and rock were removed to make this a safe stance.

Descent: either rap (you and your rope will end up in the small tree above the start. I think throwing ropes to the right at the first belay is best), or escape 10' right past the directional bolt to gain the top. You can walk off to the west. From the top, it is possible to gain the Backstage Wall. It is facing you once you get on the grass around the corner. Just walk 100' around the gully to reach bolts at the top.

Climb up this line at a moderate 5.9+ if you stem back and left to the opposing wall, or make it as hard as you like by eliminating that and going belly to the bolts on your ascent. Once over the bulge, climb up and slightly left on cracks to reach a bolted anchor.

The bottom is well bolted, but a few pieces of gear go in up higher. Take a light set of cams.

This route is near a water course and may be wet for a while after snow or rain.

Still, the climb has good fun movement and climbs better than it looks.

This is a nice climb that is unassuming from the ground.  You can not see the top half of the climbing from the base.  It goes up a short dihedral (a shoulder sling draped over the top of the dihedral offers protection. A purple/blue off-set Metolius cam fits in on the left side with it also.) RPs and a red ball nut offer protection between the last two bolts up high.

Climb begins about 8 feet right of "

I Promise...

". Move up thin holds to the first bolt then move into a section of stemming between shallow corners to a headwall. Undercling left and follow four more bolts on the upper slab (crux), some hollow flakes. Move left at upper headwall and belay from the anchors for ""

I Promise...

."

Climb the crack to its top. About halfway up, pass a small tree. The large crack will take hand jams at its back.

This is on a chossy wall, but it gets direct sunlight.

P1. This sweet crack climb starts up a very prominent hand crack just right of a large overhang with a nice finger crack. The hand crack is easy and low angle for 30 feet to a nice ledge. Continue straight up a vertical, rotten crack with a pin about 10 feet up protecting the rotten section crux (5.9). Continue up a nice hand jam/lieback system that gradually widens to offwidth but gets less steep. The anchor is one bolt and a fixed tricam on a slabby ledge.

Pitch 2 (which I didn't do) goes left on ledge to nice crack/flake system and some roofs to large walk-off ledge.

P1. I believe the first pitch was originally climbed from the bottom of the dihedral, followed rather poor rock until the twin cracks could be reached, and then belayed at the first big ledge. Others have also used the crack in the back of the dihedral that

Telegraph Road

is bolted on, traversed right to the twin cracks, and climbed up to the ledge, 5.8.

I climbed the route using the first pitch of

Telegraph Road

and belayed from the anchors. This adds a fun 10+ pitch to the climb and avoids the belay on the rock strewn ledge. You just need to assure the first piece is directionally good.

P2. The second pitch is a beauty. Lieback and undercling the dihedral with slick feet. The crux is where you pull out left under a small roof. Belay at a large ledge. Watch the loose rocks around the belay. TCUs and Aliens make this a lot less strenuous. .10c

P3. The third pitch follows the dihedral until it is possible to escape right before you reach the rotten rock at the roof. Small wires protect the top very well. Once you escape to the arete, follow easy rock to the top and belay at or near the top of the ridge.

Descent: to escape the ridge you can do a hand traverse to the bushes to the left, or get into the gully by downclimbing the ridge to the right, and then going up the gully (not fun). Rappel off

Life after James'

anchors (30 feet to the left, on a small ledge past the cairn. A protection bolt will get you to the anchors), or walk off to the west.

With

Telegraph Road's

first pitch, this is a 2 star route. Otherwise, it is a 1 star.

This route is named for one of my favorite songs. I guess I just notice the bane of creation as I walk up there.

The route begins just to the right of

Life After James

on the arete of a left-facing dihedral.

P1: 90 feet, 7 bolts, 5.11-, A few nuts can be placed.  Stem out on the arete from the slab, clip a bolt, fire up to the second bolt and pull around (11-). Climb up to the double bulges and mantle through each (10). A longer draw on bolt 3 will reduce drag. Bear hug and sidepull up the slab and seam to the belay (10-).

P2: 65 feet, 6 bolts, 5.11.  Traverse left on the foot ledge to the first bolt, and pull over the bulge on a crimp (10+). The next bolt looks far, but once above the first bolt the moves are easy. work up on the good horizontals to bolt 3. Pull up the blank polished slab to good handholds and work the feet to a decent stance (11). Climb along the margin of the slab with slick balancy moves past a chickenhead to the belay (10).

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in December Wall