Western Spaces

Another fun adventure route on the Western Spaces Wall. Western Spaces is one of the shortest routes on the wall and set up for rapping although you could top out after another pitch or so and do the walk off. Like some of the other routes on this wall, the rock quality varies and the climbing always keeps you engaged.

Pitch 1. 10- (120') From the left end of the ledge, climb up a right facing corner, escaping the corner to the left before the corner turns right. Climb upwards and slightly left to an obvious bolted anchor. One old, but fairly good looking bolt, protects some fun climbing on brittle flakes on this pitch.

Pitch 2. 10 (130') Diagonal right across the face passing a bolt to reach a shallow corner crack. Fun climbing up this for 20 or so feet then leads to more diagonal climbing (left this time) to the visible anchors. This pitch wanders a bit.

Pitch 3. 9 (120') Climb straight up the face and cracks angling right some. You have options on how you reach the next anchor, which is to the right and at a shallow left facing corner. The anchor is made up of four nuts.

Pitch 4. 11- (120') Climb the obvious crack passing a bolt and gingerly pulling the sporty crux on less than confidence inspiring flakes. Eventually you reach the last bolted belay and rappel anchor.

Rappel the route with two 60 meter ropes. Pitch length were estimates and I don't think a 70 would get you all the way down.

The Brock and Swain guides have a decent topo for this route.

On the right side of the Western Spaces Wall and on the far left side of a thin ledge that comes in from the right underneath Black Sun and Mr. Natural of the Desert, there is a shallow right facing corner (Start).

We took a good selection of gear including nuts, small cams, BD cams up to a #3, and doubles of .6" to 1.25" as Handren's guide suggested. That seemed to work fine and gear was mostly adequate. First, second, and fourth anchors are bolted and the third is made up of four equalized nuts. All stations were set up for rappel. The webbing is weathered.