Just a few feet to the right of (around the corner from)

Mirage

, detached please find the right side of the sharp flake that

Mirage

uses.  Above the right end of that flake, climb a vertical groove/crack system with interesting pro, straight up to the tree at the top of

Catalyst

and

Mirage

.

Yesterday, I gingerly stood on the top of the flake, after initially avoiding it, and made a long reach to place my first pro, a red C3.  Along the way, I placed cams and stoppers that were often less than bombproof and often placed from awkward positions.  A taller leader might have more easily reached placements and holds.

As the crack system began to curve right toward the tree atop "

B-Line

," I stepped left and climbed straight up to the

Mirage

tree.  Numb from the cold, Mike Endicott followed.  We walked off to the right.

Reach for It

Catalyst

SC Face Area

Mirage

Get Over Yourself

It's Just Rock Climbing

Far Left

Hesitation

Short Climb with Intermittent Cracks

B-Line For The Tree Line

The farthest right of 4 cracks on Short Cliff w/ 3 Cracks.  Very fun crux move getting up into the crack. After that, relatively easy but lots of fun face-climbing variations.  I thought this was harder than Hesitation, but they're all around 5.9+.

There are four cracks right next to each other on this rock. Catalyst is just right of "Far Left", making it the second crack from the left. Do some fun laybacking (slick feet), go on to handjams and/or face climbing. Very obvious line.

In the newish white guidebook, page 51, is a route line drawn straight up for this route area. Granted, the word “area” implies that you can choose a variety of possible routes. However, I think that assuming you can climb near this line at 5.6, or with good protection, would be a mistake. That’s why I’m going to the trouble of posting this. The most obvious route is the one I describe below.

This is a climb that might clean up well, given time, effort or travel.

Start just right of '

B-Line For The Tree Line

' in a the left-most of the two right-leaning cracks that side of it.  Climb up into the corner and beyond that in the crack, protecting whenever possible.  There is adequate gear to be found, but not everywhere, so skipping placements would be ill-advised.

Continue upward to the top of the vertical section to a ledge at about 50' up and then work back left, avoiding a cactus on that ledge (not hard to avoid if you are looking) and go left to just below the tree up top.  Climb onto the buttress at a diagonal handcrack, protect that and head up for the tree just left of a bulging section (the bulge is part of '

B-line...

') and set a belay at the big tree.

This is a route that might attract some controversy about the grade.  tall people might call it easier, short people are very likely to say it is harder.

This route is the right-most documented line on the right-hand end of the cliff.  It starts up the second right-leaning crack to the right of the right-facing, right-leaning corner.  Take the crack system up and right all of the way to the ledge, then work back left to join '

Get Over Yourself

or '

B-Line For The Tree Line

.'

There are four cracks right next to each other on this rock. Far Left is... I don't need to say it. This climb goes just to the right of a tree in the middle of the rock.

This is the third crack from the left. I have seen this climb rated 5.9 (Rossiter) and 5.10a (Rolofson). The group I went with couldn't agree, 'cause the start is thinner than Catalyst (5.9), but not as slick on the feet. I would say about the same. Anyhow, straightforward line, fingercrack to start with, then face or crack above that.

Start immediately left of

B-line...

, and climb intermittent cracks basically straight up, staying left of that route as drawn on the pic on the

B-line...

page, left of the route line drawn in the white guidebook, and far right of the route line drawn for SC Face Area in the white guidebook.

This is a somewhat indistinct line at first, but it is actually not hard to follow.  The climbing is on a mix of jugs sidepulls and slopers, and the gear is reasonably plentiful in the carious features found along the way until after the ledge.

Toward the right end of that cliff there is a short, right-leaning, right-facing dihedral.  Start on the face just left of this and head up the wall on horizontals and sidepulls, just left of the arete and dihedral, placing gear where ever and when ever possible. Above that corner, continue up slightly right-leaning cracks, creating a near B-line for the single obvious tree above the cliff.  At 60 feet, you will encounter a ledge with 2 really nice prickly pear cacti on it (currently blooming).  The cacti are back away from the edge on either side of the line and are easily avoided.  Once on the ledge, head up the steepest section of a prow that lies just below and right of the summit tree and run it out slightly to reach the tree.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Short Cliff w/ Three Cracks