International Chimney is the quality easy route on Spire 3. It is very well protected, a rarity for this kind of route in the spires, and the climbing is varied with stemming, face climbing and a few hand jams thrown in for good measure. It is in the shade throughout the day.

Getting There

Walk to the top of the 2/3 gully (see the Cathedral Spires page for directions). On the right you will see Spire 3, it is the tallest spire on the righthand (East) wall of the gully as you face the top. It is separated from the last formation on that side, Obelisk, by a deep chimney. About 30-40 feet up that chimney, a narrower groove splits off and diagonals up from left to right across the face of Spire three, ending in a small notch just before the top of the Spire. This is International Chimney.

Route Description

Move up the lower chimney between Spire 3 and Obelisk until you arrive at a small platform beneath a large chockstone. If you are a 5.6-5.7 leader, you may want to rope up for this short section. Set up the belay here to minimize rope drag and to give yourself some leeway with rope length. Pop over the chockstone and in a couple of feet break left into the steeper confines of International Chimney itself. From there on out there is no specific crux, just sustained 5.6 climbing with plenty of good gear. The route ends at the notch before the top of the spire at a bolt anchor with chains. If you want to go to the top of the formation you will get involved with some climbing that is out of character with the rest of the route (i.e. much harder). There are a couple of ways to go about this. I will describe the most styling (and better protected) way for those intent on bagging the summit. Go up into the notch from the anchors. This widens to a little saddle. Right over the crest of the saddle, look left and you will see a pod capped by a small roof. You can place a couple of nuts in a flake/crack to the left of the pod, then, stemming from the right side of the saddle, make an awkward step over into the pod. Cram a #3 Camalot in the back of the offwidth, then make 3-4 moves up to the roof. Go over the top on jugs and it is in the bag. A short scramble takes you to the top. The Conns did this originally in Keds, with a static rope and swami belt, and - gear?. Suck on that while you are agonizing over that long step into the pod. It should cut down on the audible whining at least. The anchors to get down from the summit are not at the summit, but down at the edge of the West face above the top of International Chimney. Two ropes will get you down into the lower chimney belay at the start of International Chimney. If you made it to the top, the downclimb from there should pose no problem.

Essential Gear

Set of nuts and active or passive camming devices up to #3 Camalot. Two ropes will get you down to the ground from the anchors at the top of International Chimney. Make sure you rap down the face of the Spire and pull ropes to the left.