This route is an "adventure climb", so much loose rock is to be encountered, amongst other outdoorsy things. It is not a good route for those who like a "clean" experience. If you like getting beat up, dirty, bloody, coughing up dirt, moving up an exposed ridge with awesome views, this is the one.
Wall on P4 with 5.8 crack
This route is rated X due to loose rock, and some large loose blocks. Most of the blocks aren't there anymore. :-) It is runout on the first pitch, but possibilities for protection open up after that.
Big Meat Pizza starts down below the Sheep Canyon Headwall, moving west to gain part of the west ridge bordering Sheep Canyon (this ridge is split into several sub-ridges). One of these sub-ridges (spurs?) is Magical Kimchi.
Getting There
About a mile up Icehouse Canyon trail, one can see Sheep Canyon open up to the south. The trail goes from the north to the south side of the canyon. At this point, hike up onto the scree slope and head southwest towards the mouth of Sheep Canyon. Once inside Sheep Canyon, head upcanyon until you meet the headwall itself. There is a series of dead gullies (they don't go anywhere, really) that head off to your right/west up a scree slope. Heading up this scree slope brings you to the base of the route.
Bringing Brian up P1
Route Description
Pitch 1
Route starts up a large, loose crack about 4ft wide, ending on a fin with a good (compact) belay ledge with a small Oak tree south.
Pitch 2
Kept lead's belay ledge for P1, with lead then bushwhacking through Oak and up onto the ridgetop. Large tree on easy terrain used as belay stance.
Pitch 3
Moved up from tree, runout hard for a long distance without much rope left to new belay ledge (also a tree). Pitch starts with a "chimney" of sorts (5.6-ish, tight, hauled packs up), stemmed, onto easier terrain. Placed slung hex in left wall, moved right, headed up gully to tree up top left, which was used as belay stance.
Pitch 4
Move up onto north-facing mossy wall (lots of lichen), up to fun crack with few holds (damn lichen and moss), about 5.8. Placed #4 Metolius Curve Nut after surmounting first section of wall. Placement later blew. Moved up and put a sling around the bush up top. Moved down and right after a battle with the bush, took easy 6in wide ledge over to dead tree (while fighting bad rope drag due to zigzag placements), over dead tree and up gully on right to group of Firs, used as belay stance (bad idea, loads of large loose rocks). Most-solid stance in the immediate area.
Pitch 5
Brian wanted to 4th-class the rest, so we packed up and carefully moved up, so as not to hit each other with rockfall. Rest of route is low 5th class, or 4th class, depending on how you approach it.
Route meets up with final 25m or so of Magical Kimchi, with fun 4th-5th class scrambling to the "summit block", and the drastically different easy terrain above the route (class 1 to optional summit of Ontario).
Essential Gear
-Helmet
-60m+ rope preferred. We ran it with a 50m, but some of the pitches get runout, and the extra 10m would be appreciated.
-Typical rack plus slings, sewn to 48+, some longer for slinging large trees.
-Tricams (very useful in the San Gabriels)
Brian 4th classing the 5th "pitch"
Video
Images
"It is the final proof of God's omnipotence that he need not exist in order to save us."
Icehouse Canyon Rock Climbing
