- Edit (TBD)
Description
A great alternative to the gully or Johnny Vegas. Probably done before, but never found a piece of tat or broken branch to let us know. (Edit* There's a pin at P2 belay!) Regardless, a fun romp up the lower level. Great rock, easy route finding, and comfy belays.Start by getting to the base of the Gully, then scrambling up and right onto a ledge behind the clump of trees.P1. 5.6 140' Climb up the chimney/flake/crack feature, mostly using the holds on the left wall. This brings you to the varnished chimney. Get in, and climb the black rock face on the left, until the rock quality suddenly deteriorates. Conveniently this is on a ledge, so move left to the best stance and belay from cams in the crack.P2. 5.6 110' Go straight up into the solid crack (5.6) and follow the obvious feature above. Climb parallel to the wide, deep crack until you arrive at the nice ledge to belay by the tree.P3. 5.7 200'+ Straight up to the bulge. Protect with a small cam, then move left, pull up, and perform a balancey move over the cam. This is certainly the crux. A cam could be blindly placed in the crack mid crux. Sneaky sidepulls and holds exist in the black rock to make this move possible at the grade. From here it's a straight forward run to the top, with optional pro in the right hand crack. You won't be placing much as the rock quality is so good and the climbing so easy. At the end, move 20' left to a cleft for the path of least resistance. We belayed off a #4 in a pod, but other gear may exist to the right. A body belay would suffice.You are now level with the top of Solar Slab Gully and have access to the upper tier routes.
Location
Immediately right and parallel to Solar Slab Gully
Protection
Single rack to 3" or 4" (Nuts very useful)
Routes in Solar Slab - Lower Tier
- 13Tan Line5.7+Trad