Page Type:
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Route |
|---|---|
Lat/Lon:
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32.91470°N / 116.8189°W |
Route Type:
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Sport Climbing |
Season:
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Spring, Fall, Winter |
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Time Required:
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Half a day |
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Rock Difficulty:
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5.9 (YDS) |
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Difficulty:
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sustained |
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Number of Pitches:
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3 |
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Grade:
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I |
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Finding it
When you reach the top of the climbers trail, go left a few hundred feet and look for a big flake, about 30 feet tall and 10 feet wide leaning against the face. The route starts on top of the flake, you can belay from the ground or from a dirt ledge just to the left of the top of the flake.
The route starts at the top of the very distinctive flake just to the right of the belayer. There are multiple routes here, you want to angle a little right from the top of the flake. The crux of the first pitch is just above the climber in this photo, a little left facing dihedral, on the rock it is still a little to his right.Overview
3 pitches of fun sustained climbing on a well bolted route.All three pitches are face climbing on very well featured rock. This is one of the most popular moderate routes at El Cajon Mnt and for good reason. It seems easy for a 5.9 but the difficulty is very consistent for the whole climb.
This area is South facing so it is great in the Winter but scorching on a hot day. Even temps in the 70s will be hot here.
The entire route has small but positive edges and lots of bolts.
Starting at the top of the flake climb up and to the right, the route angles right for about 40 feet. There are three routes that all start here so it's easy to get off on to one of the harder routes along side. The crux is about 20 feet above the top of the flake, you have to move right over a little left facing dihedral. 9 bolts bring you to a set of rings and the first hanging belay stance. You can rap to the ground from here.
The second pitch is more of the same well textured rock. Lots of small chicken heads and edges. The crux here is just below the second set of rings. The routes gets more vertical and the holds are thin. But the crux, as well as the rest of the route is well protected.
Second pitch. You can see the start in this shot, where our rope bags are laying in the extreme right of this pic. This photo was right after a fire, now there is lots of tall grass in this area. This climb is in the middle of a huge face, and there are bolted routes everywhere, literally, everywhere you look you will see bolts. There is a local guide for El Cajon Mnt climbs that is available free here (as of November 2007).
Climbing topo of San Diego
OK if you are climbing here you must know a little history. First let me say, I climb with friends, that's it, I stay out of everything else. But you should know that there has been a battle over bolts at this crag. The outcome from these "bolt wars" is that some routes have been removed, you can actually find topos that list the chopped routes. With that being said, go climb, there are tons of routes. Trad and sport, on a busy weekend there may be four of five parties on the crag, you will have all of the room in the world and if you don't want to socialize you don't have too.