rpc - Apr 21, 2006 6:37 pm - Voted 10/10

Hi Eric,

I know it's kinda late but if you still want additional info. for the page on the variation we took, here it is:

Starting with this photo: http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/plab/data/500/1280Minuteman.JPG from http://www.cascadeclimbers.com (shot of upper pitches of East Face on Minuteman from one of east face routes on Liberty Bell - not my photo).

Getting to the point shown roughly in the lower right hand corner of that photo is the goal - from what I recall, many options and variations are possible to get to that point (there's a small bush in the photo = "starting bush").

From here, seems as though there are two options of reaching the nice splitter in the shield ending on a ledge with some bushes (center and midway up the photo):

Option 1: This is what we did. From the starting bush in lower right hand corner, we did a sketchy traverse to reach the hand (splitter) crack below the roof in yellow rock. We then climbed the splitter (probably 5.10-; some loose stuff down low but overall nice hand size), stepped left around the roof and followed a short, wide hands crack (not visible in photo) to the ledge below and slightly right of the wide crack going thru. what looks like the upper roof. Belayed there (uncomfortable, sloping ledge). We then moved up the wide crack thru. the roof - it's not that dramatic when you get there (Nelson and Potterfield call it 5.8 - I'd give it a 5.8+). We then reached the nice splitter in the shield. The two options (I think join at the base of the splitter).

Option 2: Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is what you might have done Eric. From the starting bush, move up to reach the dark chimney above and slightly right of bush in the photo. Up the chimney to reach the base of the nice splitter crack in the shield.

From top of this splitter, we traversed right and up on ledges eventually reaching the summit which is "way in the back" out of the shot.

Radek