Red River Face

Fun movement, mostly juggy holds, steep up top. An excellent climb that will clean up to be truly classic with more regular traffic.

Start at the base of the slab and shimmy up some small footholds and a bouldery move to get started, then cruise up into the obvious seam/fracture taking you up the middle of the face, finding pro and good holds in horizontals, and some bomber water-groove possibilities, too.

The first crux comes as you move up through a blank looking bulge (very Gunks-like) at about 35 feet to some big horizontals. Diagonal slightly right from here, taking the least lichenous path, then head up and slightly left to exit though the overhanging V-slot in darker colored rock at a fun and exposed mantle onto a big ledge. The pump crux is getting good gear (lots of good choices) in the last 10 feet where the route steepens.

On the right side of the ledge look for a standard North End nuts-and-biners anchor. Top roping not recommended due to sharp edges. The belay is 10' right of the topout, but the wall directly above the topout offers good placements for directionals to bring up your second. Rap from fixed biners, single 60M will get you down no problem.

Approximately 200 feet West of the Nevermore chimney, before you get to most of the documented N.End routes there is a spot where the trail pinches in close to the cliff because of a tree on the left. You will be facing a dirty buttress with a wide chimney / crack where it meets the cliff forming a large right facing corner. This chimney / corner is about 50 feet past the start of Red River Face. Immediately past the spot where the trail pinches off at the tree, look up and right, and you will see a chunky crack / corner system directly above you, and a gray face 10' or so to the left of that, water stained at the bottom.

Looking East on the trail at FA Sean Barb.

Route starts directly in front of the orange helmet center-right of the photo.

Chimney described above visible in background.

Camalots to #2, small TCU's or Aliens, tricams and nuts. You can sew it up, but some of the placements are a little quartzite-creative. Protects MUCH better than it looks from the ground.