This route is a good warm up if you are after harder climbs in the Spires, or a good objective in itself if you are a 5.8 leader. The climbing is consistent and the rating is not a sandbag. Like many Needles routes, it has a little bit of everything from stemming, to face climbing, to crack climbing.

Getting There

This route is on Khayyam Spire which stands at the South end of the Spire One group. Since the climb is on the West side of the formation, it can be reached by walking up the main Cathedral Spires trail and then breaking right and uphill when even with the base of Khayyam. Alternatively, you can take the right branch trail as if you were headed for one of the gullies. When the branch trail reaches the mouth of the 2/3 gully, a faint path leads East and West across the length of the Cathedral Spires. Go left (West) and contour up the West side of the Spire One group. The climb follows a distinctive corner where Khayyam Spire attaches to the rest of the ridge on the uphill (North) side. You can't get too lost; you will see Khayyam's two horns and yellow face looming over you throughout the approach.

Route Description

Start up the left side of an odd pyramid stuck in the base of the otherwise perfect dihedral. The first protection is about 15' up but the climbing is secure up to that point. A pink tricam works well in the second available placement. Toward the top of the pyramid, the wall bulges out and the climbing gets difficult. At this point, swing around the corner and onto the right face and corner of the feature. This is the lower crux.

A few hard moves lead to a good rest on the apex. Crack climbing and stemming lead to the upper crux. Here the crack widens into a pod capped by a bulge. Jam and stem your way through this obstacle. When you are established above the bulge, start looking for a way to break right. This is feasible just one or two moves above the upper crux. Blocky ground at the start of the rightward traverse becomes a proper ledge in about 10' and the two bolt anchor lies about six more feet along the ledge, though it is hidden from sight by a large block until you are practically on top of it.

Follow the crack that goes directly up from the anchor. This looks straight forward, but don't worry, it's every bit as difficult as anything you did below. The first few feet are pretty easy, but the main crack above yields classic Needles climbing. One foot jammed in the crack, the other on a rounded edge, one hand pinching a crystal while the other works a Gaston, you'll wonder - with all this to work with how can it still be so hard? At the end of the crack, you have a bit of a runout to overcome. Fortunately, the steep moves are at the start where good protection is still nearby and the difficulty quickly eases. The anchor is a slung horn at the top. A single rope rappel gets you back to the pitch 1 anchor (knots at the rope ends mandatory). A double rope rappel takes you back to the base.

Essential Gear

As much as you want. It is protectable with chocks and cams up to #2 camalot. Again, tricams come in very handy. Two rope to get down.