The Blunt Buttress

The Blunt Buttress is a great new addition to the South Buttress.  It offers a nice multi-pitch 5.11 excursion when climbed as an approach to

The Vaporizer

. The route was approved by ACE and the public review process in the Spring of 2018.  It's still a bit licheny, but the key holds are clean.  Maybe bring a brush.

The one pitch route climbs the face and blunt buttress to the right of

Anthill Direct's

second pitch. We've climbed a direct finish to the route that will not require any bolts, more on that later.

The Blunt Buttress is essentially a trad route with 5 bolts that protect the meat of the route. If you don't like mixed routes, then don't head up here expecting a clip-up. There are solid gear opportunities before and after the bolts. It climbs very similarly to

The Vaporizer

, maybe a letter grade or two easier.

Start from a gear belay (currently 2 large fixed nuts) where P1 of

I Can't Copeland

and The Sidetrack intersect in the large, right-facing corner. Climb up 10 feet, and locate the first bolt on your left. Use a long runner on this bolt to reduce rope drag up higher. Climb up and left onto a stance, and follow the next 4 bolts up the face. The climbing wanders a little bit between the second and third bolts, always staying to the left of the bolts, and then heads straight up to a crux passing the fifth bolt.

After the fifth bolt, you'll reach a nice horizontal crack. Place a yellow or red Alien-sized piece and a small nut if you want to sew it up, and climb more 5.11 to progressively easier terrain. This section feels similar to

The Interceptor

. There will be more gear opportunities - medium nut or yellow Alien in a solid "ear" about 10 feet above the crack. This section is a little spicy.

From here, you have several options to choose from: probably easiest, just step left and belay at the

Anthill Direct

P2 belay. You can also step left, pass that belay, and continue up a 5.7 corner (this is part of

I Can't Copeland

, P3) to a belay directly below

The Vaporizer

. If you climb straight up past some cool knobs there's also a 5.8 crack that goes straight up to

The Vaporizer

. Lastly, you can climb the knobs and then traverse straight right (5.8 R) to the giant ledge called Sidetrack Junction. This last option is nice, because you can set a comfortable belay off a tree, extend the rope, and watch your partner follow the route.

Finish on

The Vaporizer

,

Archer-McLanahan

,

Sidetrack

, or

PA's Variation

, and walk off. If you want to rappel instead of climb off, you can rap off the large tree on Sidetrack Junction down the ramp to the two bolt anchor on

Pilgrim

/

High Noon

and then one more rappel to the ground. A 70m rope is required.

If you're looking for a 12+ project, the seam to the left of

The Vaporizer

is the 4th pitch of

I Can't Copeland

. It will need a few bolts and the normal ACE application process, etc.

Refer to the picture on page 153 of the second edition of the Levin guide. It climbs the empty space between Route 73 (Sidetrack) and 74 (

Anthill Direct

). Also refer to the topo attached.

Approach via

I Can't Copeland

, Sidetrack, or traverse from

Anthill Direct

.

Standard Eldo rack and maybe double yellow Aliens.