550m, 13 pitches.
The free version of the famous aid line, now a hard test piece of big wall free climbing and one of the most iconic routes in the canyon.
Roughly 13 pitches, depending how you split them. Bolts have been added/moved around over the years to make the route more logical for free climbing. Madeleine Sorkin has created another topo that reflects this, and recommends linking pitches 6 and 7 to create a mega pitch of sustained 5.12 climbing that goes from ledge to ledge and avoids a hanging stance.
The Zeilman guide has a very good topo, but recommends contacting a previous ascensionist for first hand info. Hayden Kennedy’s info in The Mountain Project is great for this. Much of the difficulty in this route is in getting the conditions right and not climbing in the sun.
The route takes three or four pitches of easier cracky climbing, then a harder traverse/down climb pitch to reach the Fantasy Island bivi ledge. From here a 5.12 boulder problem and runout 5.11 climbing on fixed heads reaches a smaller stance. From here a mega pitch with many runout 5.12/+ moves (with quite a few bolts too) reaches another stance. Another hard boulder in the next pitch and further 5.11R climbing reaches the Happy Trails cactus ledge. Next is the pre-crux pitch with an unlikely roof traverse and .12+/.13- mostly bolted headwall. A short pitch through a short boulder reaches a more comfortable belay on the right. The next pitch is the 5.13b/c crux, with several hard moves higher up where there are plenty of bolts. After this is a 5.12 purely trad pitch that could be much easier than it’s graded. Finally a 5.10 grovel that never really feels fun takes you to the rim near one of the tourist lookouts.
Roughly 13 pitches, depending how you split them. Bolts have been added/moved around over the years to make the route more logical for free climbing. Madeleine Sorkin has created another topo that reflects this, and recommends linking pitches 6 and 7 to create a mega pitch of sustained 5.12 climbing that goes from ledge to ledge and avoids a hanging stance.
The Zeilman guide has a very good topo, but recommends contacting a previous ascensionist for first hand info. Hayden Kennedy’s info in The Mountain Project is great for this. Much of the difficulty in this route is in getting the conditions right and not climbing in the sun.
The route takes three or four pitches of easier cracky climbing, then a harder traverse/down climb pitch to reach the Fantasy Island bivi ledge. From here a 5.12 boulder problem and runout 5.11 climbing on fixed heads reaches a smaller stance. From here a mega pitch with many runout 5.12/+ moves (with quite a few bolts too) reaches another stance. Another hard boulder in the next pitch and further 5.11R climbing reaches the Happy Trails cactus ledge. Next is the pre-crux pitch with an unlikely roof traverse and .12+/.13- mostly bolted headwall. A short pitch through a short boulder reaches a more comfortable belay on the right. The next pitch is the 5.13b/c crux, with several hard moves higher up where there are plenty of bolts. After this is a 5.12 purely trad pitch that could be much easier than it’s graded. Finally a 5.10 grovel that never really feels fun takes you to the rim near one of the tourist lookouts.
Hans Jörg Auer.
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