Lichen Delight

Wow. What a climb. First I'll say this: Climb it because it rules!

Lichen Delight is Cathedral 5.11 crack climbing at its best. This is a great way to break in to 5.11 climbing at Cathedral. Though its not soft in the grade, it is well protected and as moderate as 5.11s get at this cliff. Lichen Delight is also much longer than the other classic 5.11a: Airation. As you might guess, this one is a test of endurance rather than a few hard moves.

There is an obscure 2nd pitch, but most people will rap off from a tree with slings. You can also traverse right to the finish of Retaliation (5.9, however, the finish is 5.6).

Right from Nomad Crack (5.10b) find the left facing corner with a small tree growing out of it low down and a handcrack splitting it. Start from a ledge and do a boulder problem to get up in to the corner. Climb the corner utilizing the hand crack. This part is moderate and really fun but not to be taken lightly. Conserve energy for the crux. The corner ends at a roof. Protect and exit right around the roof/corner to gain a finger crack. Follow discontinuing wide finger cracks and not-too-good jams up and left to a final awkward crack at the top. Throughout this section, finding the right feet is important to convince your hands that the jams are good. At the top move right to belay from a tree ledge.

Writing this description just made me want to run out and climb it again...

Walk right from Nomad Crack (5.10b) on the big tree covered ledge. Look for the sweet hand crack in the left facing corner. Start from the ledge below the corner.

Standard rack... maybe bring extra hand sized cams for the first half. The top takes nuts and small cams.