Page Type:
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Route |
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Lat/Lon:
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44.16000°N / 71.7°W |
Route Type:
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Trad Climbing |
Season:
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Summer, Fall |
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Time Required:
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Half a day |
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Rock Difficulty:
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5.10 (YDS) |
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Number of Pitches:
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2 |
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Overview
A variation to the more moderate Duet (5.7), this climb is good if you want to climb something hard but only have a few hours. The first pitch warms you up nicely for the long, tough climbing on the second pitch.Getting There
Follow the directions for the approach to Moby Grape. From there, walk left along the base of the cliff, past the start to VMC Direct, until you reach a slightly off-angle buttress with a prominent, arching finger crack; this is Slow and Easy (5.8). Duet starts in the huge corner which forms the left edge of this buttress; to reach the start you have to continue through bushes for a bit more until you reach some nice boulders at the base of the corner.Route Description
Pitch 1 (same as for Duet): Climb up the crack/chimney system on the outer side of the huge corner (5.7) to a fixed anchor consisting of a nut and a hex. All sorts of pro can be placed, and there are a few fixed pins as well. Although there are no particularly hard moves, steep and somewhat sustained climbing can make this pitch feel a bit stiff for the grade. 120 feet.Pitch 2: Climb easily up the corner to a stance with a fixed pin. From here, it quickly becomes harder, and eventually the lack of footholds forces you into a burly, sustained layback (hard 5.10) for about 20 feet. After some semblance of a rest, more laybacking (5.9+) eventually leads to easier climbing in the upper corner. Top out on a nice ledge and belay off a 2-bolt anchor. Protection is abundant - so long as you can hold on long enough to place it! 160 feet.
From the top of Pitch 2, it is possible to continue up the rest of Duet all the way to the top of Cannon and walk off, but loose rock and uninteresting climbing, not to mention the long descent, make this a less than appealing option. Instead, most parties make two 2-rope rappels back to the ground.