Page Type:
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Route |
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Route Type:
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Trad Climbing |
Season:
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Spring, Summer, Fall |
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Time Required:
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Most of a day |
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Difficulty:
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A0 |
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Rock Difficulty:
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5.10a (YDS) |
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Number of Pitches:
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4 |
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Grade:
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III |
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Overview
Certainly one of the best multipitch climbs in the Wasatch, located on Middle Bell Tower. It sports an incredible shield of steep granite, which this route tackles. It's pretty incredible that this thing goes at .10a, although a couple of tension traverses are required. It goes totally free at .11c.Getting There
Start at the Bells Canyon Trailhead. Head up into the canyon, after a while you'll see the Bell towers on your left, pick out Middle Bell Tower. Bust left off the trail just before you are even with Middle Bell. Cross the river, with some mild bushwhacking, and scramble up to the base of the climb. You want to scramble up all the way, you'll figure it out, there are couple different ways to get to the start of the climb.Route Description
Pitch 1 (5.7) Climb under the huge roof to the right, pulling around the corner and continuing up chimney sort of thing. Pass a set of anchors on the climbers left, you may want to clip it for pro. There is a bolt on the right side further up, and another one missing a hanger a little further, you might be able to sling it with a small wired nut. There is a bolted belay. Long pitch, 165+ ft.Pitch 2 (5.10a A0) This starts out by lowering the leader off the belay 15 feet or so until they can reach a long tattered sling on the main wall. Hand line up it, clip the bolt (there's both a 3/8 and 1/4" if I remember right). Now the fun, tension traverse left, staying as high on the nearly featureless slab as possible until you can reach a thin crack/groove. Climb this cruxy (10a) sequence, trying not to think about the ripper of a pendulum you'll take if you blow it. Gain the nice ledge, take a breath, and continue up, passing a couple of bolts on the face, until you reach another bolted belay on a nice footledge.
Pitch 3 (5.8 A0) The infamous Zion Curtain Pitch. Do another, easier tension traverse off a bolt over to the insane, hollow, pancake thin flake that extends for 100 or so feet. Climb this, it takes .5-.75 or so camalots, but gear is questionable, since it probably wouldn't hold a whipper. I found the flake to be 5.6ish myself. Clip a bolt at the top of the flake, make a couple nervy (5.8) slab moves left and up to another bolted belay.
Pitch 4 (5.9)- The rock changes here, to the more weathered, ball bearing sort of granite typical to Bells. Climb an awesome flake to handcrack straight up until you reach a roof. Traverse left under the overhang, finding the sequence to get over it on the left. Belay at a tree above the roof.
You can go up further, but you're on your own as far as beta goes.
Descent: 3 Double rope raps. 1 to the top of pitch 3, another to the top of pitch 2. From there you can double rope rap straight down over the huge roof to the base.