Sea of Tranquillity

Approach

Once you have packed up your climbing gear and stuff you'll need for the day, walk around the locked gate and take an almost immediate left (east) in a wide clearing. You'll be paralleling Herring Creek and walking uphill. There should be some faint pink ribbons marking the path. You'll continue up this path with the creek on your left and the dome (eventually) on your right. It's about 1 mile to the base of the dome.

Route Description

Note: this route has been giving an "R" distinction in the Sonora Pass Guide Book. I didn't find the route runout at all so I left off the "R". If you feel this is in error, let me know and I can put the "R" back on if others think so too.


Notes Courtesy of Rhyang: 1. Belays: top of p1 has three bolts now, p2 has two. He belayed below the roof for p3 - cams between 1 and 2.5 inches were handy there. He used a #3 for the roof itself. On the last pitch he slung a horn with a cordelette and belayed off that. 2. Rope length: The p1 belay is 150' up, but you could rap off with a single 60m in two rappels by going down and right (climber's right) to the 2-bolt anchor for Jenn's Hooked, which is 101' off the ground.


Pitch 1: This pitch goes at 5.7. It is slabby, balancy friction and follows a series of 6 bolts and starts at a small flake. (See picture) The last bolt is located off-route and to the right. You can either choose to traverse over and clip it or run it out. There is a set of three bolts at the top of this pitch with rappel rings. (You'll need two ropes to reach the ground.)

Pitch 2: The angle backs off quite a bit on the second pitch. The guidebook says 5.6 but I'd put it at low fifth-class. It is, however, still bolted. The angle is so low and there are so many bulges that you probably won't see the bolts until you're right on top of them. Some of the bolts on this pitch are mank-central!

Pitch 3: This pitch goes over a mini roof (5.6) but is otherwise low fifth class. This "roof" can also be bypassed by going to the right. Pro is thin on this pitch -- small nuts and microcams if needed. Be careful about placing gear in or pulling on loose flakes!

Pitches 4&5: These "pitches" are essentially fourth class. You may want to simul-climb them. You can also bail out to the right and downclimb to the west gully.

Descent: You'll be able to see the descent gully when you look up the dome on climbers' right. Simply walk off and down the gully to return to the base of Herring Creek Dome.

Essential Gear

Suggestions:

• 7-8 quick draws


• a few small nuts


• a few microcams


• a long runner or two if you want to clip the "off route" bolt near the top of the first pitch


• 2 ropes if you want to rap off after the first (and most exciting) pitch

Miscellaneous Info

If you have information about this route that doesn't pertain to any of the other sections, please add it here.

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Images

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