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Peak Mountain 3

True North

FA Dave Furman et al circa 2001
CREATED 
UPDATED 

Description

This climb would be a classic multi-pitch sport route with 3-4 more bolts and  a healthy  scrubbing. As it currently stands the first pitch is quite fun mostly clean climbing, the second pitch has a chossy and bold start leading to some excellent climbing and an amazing belay, and the third pitch is hard and extremely dirty with a healthy bit of bad rock as well. The crux of the third pitch is quite likely to break with more traffic, and will likely get a bit harder. 

P1: (5.10b) Start in the same spot as Elephant's Head Crack. Climb up and right clipping a bolt, and follow the bolt line up and to the right around an arete to more face climbing, leading back to the arete to a rusty two bolt anchor, or step 1 foot right and use the shiny new 3 bolt anchor for Ganesh. This pitch is super fun and a great warm up for the next pitches. It gets harder as you get higher, but there are plenty of rest positions if you can find them.\

P2: (5.11c) Off the belay climb up and left onto the massive chockstone over some delicate and quite spooky rock (my partner removed a significant portion of it) to a bolt, continue up some more kind of spooky rock past a mystery knife blade to the top of the chockstone block. Run it out or place a big cam at the top of this chockstone and head left around the roof to more bolts. Follow the bolts past a steep overhang. and up to an awesome little ledge and a two bolt anchor.

P3: (5.11c) Step Right off the belay over some solid looking but actually rotten rock and clip a bolt and power up the face on crimpy weird quartz knobs. Pass a small overhang with a tricky and chossy mantle to some cool looking quartz pockets that are filled with dirt and lichen. It is possible at this point (after clipping the 5th bolt) to traverse off left (finger sized cams) to the big ledge and rap Arivata. If you haven't gotten enough lichen in your eye, pull through the quartz pockets and continue up a cool looking face to the summit of True North.

Enjoy!

Location

Up on Elephant's Head, find the big crack and follow the bolts just to the right of it.

Protection

Mostly Quickdraws, 12 was sufficient. A #3 can be useful for the end of the 1st pitch to protect the second for the crux. A #4 or #5 could be useful in protecting the large horizontal after the knife blade on P2, or a green alien and a #.5 can be used just before the moves to the next bolt. Finger sized cams are useful if you're traversing off the third pitch half way up. Sunglasses recommended. Pretty sure you can rap with a 70m. 


Routes in Elephant's Head Buttress