Page Type:
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Route |
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Lat/Lon:
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36.10920°N / 118.484°W |
Route Type:
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Technical rock climb |
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Time Required:
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Less than two hours |
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Difficulty:
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5.10b |
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Approach
From the Lookout stairs, hike around the north side of the Magician Needle and follow the trail along the north side of the ridge across and down to the notch between the Witch and Sorcerer Needles. From the Witch / Sorcerer notch, scramble down the gully about 400'. There are some oak trees on the right (facing down gully) cut across to the right and scramble up the slab and up to the base of the Sorcerer. Thin Ice goes right up the middle. You'll see it!
Route Description
Pitch 1. ~ Climb the crack straight up then about 100' up traverse to the right across a large flake to reach the bolted belay at the base of the chimney / corner. 5.10b
Pitch 2 ~ Climb up the chimney. Awkward moves off the belay lead up to stemming and finger locks in the corner. Belay on a small stance above the overhang at the top of the chiney. 5.9+
Pitch 3 ~ Climb the crack to the top. 5.9
Alternately you can combine pitches 2 and 3 with a 60 meter rope to do the route in two long pitches.
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Essential Gear
I set of cams 1" - 3.5" (doubles on 1" - 2.5")
nuts - doubles on medium-small.
TCU's or small Aliens. bring extra's
60 meter rope if planning on combining Pitches 2 & 3.
Extra rope for the rappel.
Descent
Rappel to the Charlatan / Sorcerer notch from the chain anchor on the north side of the ledge. Two 50 meter ropes required.
From the notch two more rapples lead down the gully.
Alternately you can scramble up and around the Charlatan to the left.
Some parties climb up "Spooky" ( 5.9) to the top of Charlatan.
One strategy for climbing Thin Ice.....
After climbing Thin Ice, rap down to the notch and finish off by climbing "Spooky" out of the notch. 2 pitches, 5.9.
When hiking in, go up to the top of the Charlatan and rack up. Leave your packs, lunches, etc. there on the nice flat summit. Then hike around and down the Witch / Sorcerer gully to the start of the route. Or better yet, from the top of Charlatan rappel down "Spooky" to the notch. One 165' rap does it. There's a chain anchor. Then from the notch two more raps lead down the gully and put you right near the start of the climb!
You might want to bring a #4 camalot for the OW on the 2nd pitch of Spooky.
Misc. section
If you have information about this route that doesn't pertain to any of the other sections, please add it here.