Farquhar route on Middle Pal

The start of the Farquhar Route on the west side of Middle Palisade. Picture taken in late September. I haven't climbed the Farquhar route, but the author of the route page doesn't recommend it. Below is another account, taken from wallspeck's "Cal 14ers, record by Jack" trip report (he doesn't refer to the Farquhar, but there aren't many other feasible chutes he could be talking about). As he says: "The climb up the West Face in NOT RECOMMENDED. "The rock here is rotten to the core. Starting up the couloir you pass a couple of blockages and come to fork. Take the left fork. Then after a bit, as the gully begins to curve upwards, there is an opportunity to climb out to the left onto a large open ridge. It looks way off route, but that's the way to go. Leave the gully. From here follow the path of least resistance, weaving left and right and slowly curving upwards towards the crest. There are several sections of "4th Class" that anywhere else would be called 5.2. Test every hold as many will break loose. Rocks will be falling constantly beneath your feet and your partners will be killed if they don't have hardhats and stay right next to you. I summited at about 5:00pm and was back down alive by about 6:00. Secor's 3rd edition says the following: "This route is exposed and has much loose rock, and it is easy to get off-route. Only experienced climbers should attempt it. When viewing Middle Palisade and Disappointment Peak from the Palisade Lakes, you see a chute leading to the notch between Disappointment Peak and Balcony Peak. There is another chute north of this one, followed by yet another, which leads to Middle Palisade. If the wrong chute is chosen, then this will result in ... Disappointment. "Ascend this steep, loose chute to about three-quarters of the way up, where it becomes more difficult. Traverse left and climb an exposed, broken face, then move slightly to the right to climb a class 4 chimney, meeting the summit ridge just south of the top.