The Wicked, V, 5.11a

Overview/Approach

Sam Boyce and friends established this route in 2017 with no recorded 2^nd ascent as of 2023.  Although I rarely “fly to climb”, when Danny Urioste invited me to climb the Wicked in mid-April of 2023, it was hard to say no to such an interesting looking route.  Both Danny and I like wide as well as both of us had done most of the routes on Mount Wilson, therefore it was a pretty easy consideration to fly up to Vegas for a short trip.

Wicked offers a different option than Inti Watana, 5.10c, to connect to Resolution Arete’s, 5.11d, finishing pitches.  Many climb Inti Watana to Resolution and think they somehow have climbed Resolution, when it reality the full Resolution Arete is much more difficult than these optional starts.  It starts much lower and its crux pitches are all located before another route intersects it.  However, when doing Wicked to Resolution, you at least get to do the spectacular exposed 5.9 traverse pitch of Resolution, meaning you tie into it lower down than Inti Watana does. 

You start just up and south from Inti Watana, therefore the exact same approach.  The first two pitches can easily be combined with an 80m rope and possibly even with a 70m rope despite the FA calling the combination 270’.  Follow relatively easy climbing up the main corner system at the dead end of the Inti Watana gully.  You land at the base of an “improbable looking right facing corner”.  The FA references the fact that the corner looks  improbable at 5.10+ because it is a tips-crack right facing corner.  However, once on it, you are aided by features out right just when you need them. One of the few, if not only, contrived movements on the route is that you have to escape this corner by traversing out right and down climb through the lone fixed protection on the entire route, a piton, and make an exposed move over an arete out right and into a wide weakness which serves as your heading for most of the rest of the route.  The next pitch is the crux of the route at 5.11-.  You pull an off-width roof (crux of the day) and find more 5.11- climbing continuing up another wide corner.  The final four pitches from there all have some sort of squeeze involved, meaning any packs you brought will be your enemy.  However, the only one that was run out is the 5^th pitch.  The climbing gets gradually worse from the top of pitch four in terms of sustained interesting movement and rock quality.  At the top of the 8^th pitch you intersect Resolution Arete at the start of its incredulous 5.9+ traverse hand rail pitch.  From there, easy climbing up the the remaining of that route until you unrope to finish to the top of Wilson. 

The approach is as for Inti Watana which is located on a ledge a third of the way up Mt. Wilson's east face.  Park at the “old” Oak Creek camp ground trailhead off of Hwy 159. Follow the Oak Creek road bed all the way to the col between the Wilson Pimple and Mount Wilson. Descend slightly from that col and look for a trail off to your left that runs through the old camp spot. The trail continues through the camp and meanders its way up the hill side towards Mount Wilson. There are plenty of cairns, but they could be difficult to follow in the dark. As you break through a short rock band on the right side of a gully, turn left and follow the trail for a short distance looking to gain an angled trail that circumvents the tall red pillar to its left. Continue circumventing left at the base of the cliff above, passing up the first gully and taking the next one, right before a main drainage. Scramble up the gully a short distance to its end. Turn left and start the 4th class ascent of this cliff. Be careful of the large boulders you are jugging on here as they are based in sand. Eventually you crawl through a small cave to the other end and climb up and above a huge chock stone (hand line in 2023). Continue to the short ridge above, turn right and descend into a much larger treed and bushy gully that leads upward.

Follow this broad gully up hill.  Stay left when in question as you scramble and bushwhack your way up to a large pine tree and gully coming in from the left. Head up that gully and look for the bolt line on your right that makes up the first pitch of Inti Watana.  Continue to the dead end of this gully with a wide corner weakness on your right that makes up the first two pitches of the Wicked. The approach takes fit partners who know where they are going 1.5 hrs.

Route Description

1^st - 2^nd  Pitches- 250’-5.8/ Climb the wide corner to below an obvious tips right facing corner.  Can combine these pitches with an 80m rope for sure and come close with a 70m rope despite the FAer logging it at 270’.

3^rd Pitch- 110’-5.10c/ One of the better if not best pitch on the route.  Climb the “improbable” corner which gives up features on the right wall when the corner bites down.  Small to micro cams feel solid in the corner.  You come to an opportunity to traverse right on features.  Climb up another meter and then down climb a move rightward as you manage a hand rail of sorts, pass a hidden #.3 placement and then piton, continuing to the arete out right.  Make a crux move over the arete into the gully out right which requires an awkward move with rope drag.  Belay in the gully. 

4^th Pitch- 120’-5.11a/ By far the crux pitch and longer than the FA suggests.  Climb the easy OW up to the roof.  Pull the roof, crux one, at the grade, mantling into additional wide (#6) above (awkward hanging chimney/off-width, crux two).  Continue up the wide crack to a squeeze finish and tree belay.  A considerable amount of squeeze chimneys from here on out.

5^th Pitch- 160’-5.10aR/ The only run out pitch of the climb.  Start in a squeeze and reverse stem out to a short hand section and then back to chimney/squeeze.  For the most part you are running it out with a single #6.  Belay at a stance and slung rap anchor with more squeeze above. 

6^th Pitch- 150’-5.10a/ We broke this pitch up.  Climb more squeeze for 90’ through a roof to a small tree and ledge.  Then climb 60’ through a roof and then circumvent a chossy roof to the left on suspect rock protecting in a horizontal before traversing back right to a much larger slung tree above. 

7^th Pitch- 130’-5.10a/ Leave the main weakness you have been climbing by traversing up and right to the right edge of a water streak.  Find a chossy steep seam that can be protected with suspect wires and climb it to reach a vagina shaped opening to a small cave.  Scramble into the darkness for the belay. 

8^th Pitch- 80’-5.10a/ Climb the tightest squeeze on this route next to precarious blocks and pop out to a cool low angled hand corner above.  Climb up it and traverse to the left wall to make a few steep face moves at the grade to mantle up and onto a ledge that joins Resolution Arete at the start of its 14^th pitch as outlined in my beta on summitpost.

9^th-10th Pitches- 230’- 5.9+/ Follow the hand crack out left on the big wall into the base of a chimney. This pitch is spectacularly exposed and pumpy. Despite being a fairly aggressive traverse, you can protect it fairly well with medium to large gear and the rock quality being what it is, you probably should.  Move up the chimney about 30’ and exit left. Follow easy ground up and right through some bushes and up another short chimney to belay on a large ledge. This is an exit option but requires quite a few double rope rappels down Inti Watana whereas the climbing to the summit from this point forward is quite tame.

11th Pitch- 140’- 5.9/ Descend and climb up the easy left slanting crack/chimney in front of you to its end and then swing out on face moves left to reach another small ledge. The next move is a dramatic 5.9 heel hook (decking opportunity), but is the only 5.9 move on the pitch. Hook your right heel and jug on up the left face. Continue up and over onto another significant ledge and belay close to the next wall. 

12th Pitch- 80’- 5.8/ Traverse along a narrow ledge left while avoiding placing gear until below the 2nd (wider) of two cracks. Climb a bit before you place a 3” to avoid bad rope drag. Continue up the off-width crack with plenty of facial features to assist until you pass through a tree and onto a large ledge system. A #4 protects higher on this pitch. Traverse right over to a tree and belay off of it.

Walk left on an exposed, but flat, ledge to the base of a gully.

13th Pitch- 120’- 5.8/ Climb up the left (right facing) slightly off-width corner crack. It is easy at first and easier at the end, but in the middle it is a little tougher than it looks. The top third is somewhat run out (#5 or more). You come to the base of a chimney with a crack running out left through a roof. Belay on a ledge.

14th Pitch- 90’- 5.8/ Follow that left crack up and through the loose yellow roof and belay on top at tree and big ledge.

400’+/- 5th/ Most competent teams are comfortable soloing at this point.  Move left down about 30’ to another tree. Climb up through a groove and follow a corner to the right, continue up at a slightly right angle until eventually you reach a large ledge system. There is a chock stone chimney to your left and a crack-chimney to your right. We took the right option, but that required a hard move to get in that chimney and then we had to climb run out 5.8 face edges for about 30’ before we landed the broad area in which you can un rope. I imagine that chock stone chimney to the left is quite a bit easier. Continue up another 200’ or so to a notch left and right below the true summit of Mount Wilson. Another short scramble, maybe 50’, leads to the summit.

Climbing Sequence

Descent

There are always two descent options from the top of Wilson.  The Oak Creek drainage to the north is the shortest, but more technical (few hand lines and short raps on slab), whereas First Creek (drainage to the south) is a true walk off, but longer.  If First Creek, angle south from where you top out to intersect a well-trodden trail that heads southwest.  Hikers use this trail to summit Wilson, so it is well used and cairned.  Oak Creek, from the top out, is essentially straight down to the west to the junction of the sandstone with the limestone, it is the very last northern drainage.  Oak Creek’s start is approximately 700’ lower than where you would angle into the First Creek Trail.  If it is raining or RR has had a heavy snow year, it is best to use First Creek.   These descent descriptions by detail are well recorded on the many other routes I have climbed to the top of Mt. Wilson and submitted on Summitpost.  I will make the assumption that anyone climbing the Wicked has more than likely already been to the summit of Wilson and utilized both descents at some point.

Essential Gear

The FAer’s gear call of single to #4, doubles #.3 to #3 plus a #6 was spot on in my opinion.  Micro cams or a set of rps are helpful on pitches 3 and 7.  The #6 is helpful on the crux moves of the route as well as the many squeezes.  A dozen shoulder length slings.  70m rope is helpful to combine those first two pitches as well as the Resolution Arete pitches higher up.  Route receives am sun, but not too much in April.  Climbing the wide corners, with most of the route east to northeast facing, we rarely were in the sun until we topped out.  Either descent option will offer you running water in the spring, I drink it raw, most would rather not.   Climbing packs, despite the big day, are not advisable.  If I did it again, I would go off of my harness with no pack despite the long approach and descent.  There were too many squeezes.