The Royal Scam, 5.11-, 5 Pitches

Overview/Approach

This is my favorite route on Mt. Chaktar irrelevant of grade as it offers up a variety of features which keep you attention:  plenty of thoughtful slab as always on Charktar; a wide stem across potato chip edges to a left facing corner; dikes all over the place with a final airy traverse on a dike with a crux slab move to the summit shoulder.  Royal is fully bolted sans the short corner on pitch four that can be protected with two cams.  The route raps itself well with a single 70m rope despite MP.com discussing a double rope rap into the gully to the north.

Hike to Chaktar, crossing two cols below Muttonhead.  The climber trail leads you to the base of the center western face toe.  Continue up hill (north) to the left end of the wall where the north side gully starts.  Look for a left facing corner with a bolted line to climbers right.  This happens twice, the first bolted line is Ghosts of the Past.  Continue past this corner and locate the next bolted line just before the next corner, the start of The Royal Scam.

Route Descripton

1^st Pitch- 120’-5.9/ Start up the bolt line just south of the obvious left facing corner at the left end of the wall.  The crux at the grade is off the first bolt, making an awkward and balancey traverse right to a flake.  This pitch offers fairly positive climbing from there on.  Crank through fun steep ground littered with dikes.  Fully bolted.  Fixed rap. 

2^nd Pitch- 120’- Mid 5^th/ Climb large features through two bolts and gain a ledge on your left.   Walk north to the largest (2^nd) tree and belay below a modern (2022) bolt line.  There is an older bolt line (2022) just to the south. 

3^rd Pitch- 80’-5.10+/ Climb the steep finger pocketed corner.  The crux at the grade is the first few meters of pulling on finger pockets, then the angle lays back to a fixed rap.  Fully bolted. 

4^th Pitch- 115’-5.10/ Stem across potato chip edges to the very base of a chossy left facing corner.  Stem up to eventually get a solid hand jam (crux).  Stem your left foot out on features on the face and climb the flaring crack.  It takes smaller gear in slots better than it takes large gear in the actual corner.  One to two pieces of gear and you are at another bolt up and left.  Follow the bolts pulling a few slab moves at the grade to a fixed rap on a dike stance.  One to two pieces of gear. 

5^th Pitch-80’-5.11-/ Traverse the dike left through bolts.  It helps to be smaller, a large person might need to downclimb a move.  Fairly immediate you come to a knob feature you must mantle from the left (crux).  Only a move or two at the grade.  Finish up the slab to the top of the wall and fixed rap. 

Climbing Sequence

Descent

Rap the route with a single 70m.  You have the ledge at the bottom of pitch three where you need to pull the rope and drag it back south to the very end of the ledge to a fixed rap station that was not used enroute.  Two more raps to the ground. Four single 70m rope raps total. 

Essential gear

70m rope.  Dozen mix of draws and slings.  Local guide and MP.com have you hauling medium to large gear up for this route.  There is one short section between bolts on pitch four that you can place #2-#3, but #.2-#.5 fit in the same system just as well via in-cut slots.  Only one or two trad pieces need to be placed for the whole route.  Route catches relative decent morning shade, as the face tilts slightly northward at the left end of the west face.