| Ruby Wall - Central Route (Ruby Peak) Route |
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| Ruby Wall - Central Route (Ruby Peak)   | 
| Page Type: Route Location: California, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 37.41244°N / 118.78253°W Route Type: Mountaineering Season: Summer Time Required: Most of a day Rock Difficulty: 5.10d (YDS) Difficulty: Hard, sustained crack climb Number of Pitches: 8 Grade: IV
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| Page By: rh Created/Edited: Jul 12, 2007 / Oct 27, 2007 Object ID: 311031 Hits: 956 Loading... Page Score: 89% - 12 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
OverviewThis is a very challenging, strenuous and actually high quality route with sustained hard crack climbing and potentially difficult route finding. The protection and belays are bomber, mostly cams. We placed only a few nuts; large cams are essential. Some of the rock is flaky (e.g., the crux hand crack up the headwall on the sixth pitch), but many sections are very good rock. Previous claims to poor route/rock quality probably resulted from route finding issues. It is probably essential to stay on route in order to enjoy this climb.
First Ascent: Galen Rowell and Mike White, 1982 (upper route); first 4 pitches on Laughlin/Miller variation start, 1985.
Note: the first 4 pitches of the route described below (and the line shown on the marked photo) follow a route most likely first climbed by Stan Miller and Tim Laughlin in Sept. 1985; that line meets the Rowell route at the bottom of the wide corner on the 5th pitch. The unclear descriptions from the Moynier and Secor guides suggest that the Rowell/White line starts further to the right of the route described below.
Getting ThereTake Rock Creek Road west from Highway 395. Park at end of road at Mosquito Flat trailhead (Elev. 10,200 feet). Hike west along Little Lakes Valley trail for 1/2 mile, then take Mono Pass trail for ~1 mile to Ruby Lake. Skirt north edge of Ruby Lake along fisherman's trail, then go up to base of wall first on steep grass and rock slopes, then rock moraine.
2 to 2.5 hours from car.
Route Descriptionphotos showing line of ascent
 somewhat foreshortened view from near base
 view from Mono Pass trail
Start: scramble onto ledge about 30 feet up from base, left of low point of wall and directly below several closely spaced right facing corners and arches. Look closely at the wall; there are two old rappel slings around a small pillar about 100 feet off the ground: start below this.
Pitch 1: Climb the crack leading up to the rap sling pillar, then move slightly left and up onto a small ledge below a hand-fist crack in a right facing corner (small bush in crack ~15 ft. above ledge). Belay on this ledge. ~120 ft.; 5.10a.
Pitch 2: Wide hands/fist/lieback for ~25 ft (5.10c), to stance below nice hand crack in right facing corner. 
start of 2nd pitch |
Continue straight up hand crack (5.9) for ~35 feet to easier ground. Continue by traversing up and right (5.7-5.8), to a good belay ledge just below and left of a prominent, 40-50 ft. high left facing corner. This belay is about 80-100 feet directly below a prominent, approx. 5 foot-wide roof (this roof and the left facing corner are very obvious from the ground). 190 feet; 5.10c.
landmarks: left-facing corner at start of 3rd pitch (upper right side of photo), and roof to left of upper 3rd pitch |
Pitch 3: Climb left facing corner via 40-50 feet of 5.10a thin hand, fingers and stemming. From ledge atop left facing corner (possible belay here), continue up thin cracks and liebacking in crack system just right of left-most possible line. Find a stance when convenient part way up this crack system; probably ~150 ft.+ (depending on where you belay), 5.10a.
[Note; we got off route at top of left facing corner by climbing the left-most crack above ledge, which is mostly thin jamming and liebacking, finishing with 15 feet of offwidth/liebacking to a good ledge; this off-route variation is 5.10c/d, resulted in a full 200-foot pitch, and although it is good hard climbing it dead ends at the ledge, requiring downclimbing or tensioning off of the ledge to reach the correct crack system 10 feet to the right]. 
off-route variation, upper 3rd pitch |
Pitch 4: Finish up thin crack system with mostly thin jamming and liebacking, eventually easing off to belay on ledges just right of and below very big right facing corner (route joins original Rowell/White line around here). 5.10a.
Pitch 5: Up right facing corner via hands, fist and stemming. Shuffle big purple Camalot up along with you in upper corner. Eventually eases off to broken ground and belay ledge on left, at base of outside headwall face out and left from corner system. ~160? feet; 5.9-10a.
Pitch 6: Up very steep, mostly thin hands to hands crack starting near left hand edge of ledge; there are several cracks up this headwall; take the one that looks like it is mostly hand jamming from the start, past several small stance ledges. The hard climbing ends after about 80 ft.; continue on up to ledges on easy ground. ~140 ft; 5.10d.
crux 10d headwall |
Pitches 7, 8, possibly 9: Meander up ledgey 4th class with occasional short 5.7-5.8 cracks, corners, and steps, to the shattered granite summit.
Descent: traverse ridge to the north, descend into notch and climb out northward to sandy flat plateau. 3rd class. Head northeastward along and slightly downward along plateau, then down steeper loose blocks, ledges and sandy slopes and ravines to the Mono Pass trail.
Essential Gear60m rope
one set nuts
two each purple and blue (0 and 1) TCUs
three each yellow and orange (2 and 3) TCUs
three each purple, green, red and gold (.5 through 2) Camalots
two blue (3)Camalots
one gray (3.5) Camalot
one purple (4) Camalot
External LinksAdd External Links text here. Images
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