Canary : Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering : SummitPost

Approach

The route begins on the right (or east) side of Logger's Ledge midway up Castle Rock. Use either the trail (class 1) or Fault/Catapult route to reach the ledge (see main page description as well as route description for F/C). Look for a prominent dihedral capped by a large roof about 80-90 feet above the ledge (see photos).

Route Description

The route reaches the summit of Castle Rock in 2 or 3 pitches (it is described in two pitches below). The rating discrepancy reflects the different ratings in published literature (the more accurate rating - my opinion - of 5.9 comes from Nelson and Potterfield book).

Pitch 1: 5.9, 90 feet. Climb up to a small roof (about 15 feet above ground, see photo) below and just left of the large dihedral capped by the large roof. Traverse right and follow a diagonal crack up to the base of the large dihedral. Some 5.8 moves on this section. Climb the dihedral. Singular 5.8 moves with plenty of good rest stances in between. Directly below the roof, step right and mantle onto Saber Ledge to your right. This is the crux of the route and feels much stiffer than anything else on this route (hence a rating of 5.9 is probably appropriate). Bolt anchors.

Pitch 2: 5.7-5.8, 190 feet. From Saber ledge, move back left and step across onto the face above the roof you below which you came up. Nice exposure, reasonable climbing (5.7). Pro needs to be set before you make the step (put a long runner on it!). Climb up the face past two good bolts (some 5.8 face moves - maybe easier) and additional trad gear placement opportunities. Keep moving till you either reach the top ( you should be able to do so with a 60m rope) or you run out of rope. The going gets progressively easier. The rating is based on feedback from other SP members.

Descent: Hike down the trail from the top of Castle Rock (hike "back" then right skirting the base of Castle).

Essential Gear

Standard rack of cams and nuts. Used one #4 Camalot (largest piece) to protect the step across move at beginning of pitch 2. Helmets.

Additional Route Photos

Additions and Corrections

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baloodh2000

70m rope

Voted 10/10

On essential gear it might be worth taking a 70' rope for the second pitch.

Posted Jun 5, 2008 1:51 pm


	rpc	Re: 70m rope
	Hasn't voted	Thanks for the comment - I do recall being able to do the 2nd/top pitch with a 60 meter line. But it is long (hence my estimate of ~190 feet). So I'm not sure if 70 meter rope is essential.
		Posted Jun 5, 2008 2:30 pm


	baloodh2000	Re: 70m rope
	Voted 10/10	Totally agree. I know I wrapped one of the blocks at the top with a hitch and the spare of the rope and it was nice to have the extra rope instead of sling central.
		Posted Jun 8, 2008 11:25 pm

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Images

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