Standard Bagel

Posting this rig up as the linkup of the Standard Chimney and Maniacal Bagel routes on the north face of Bastion Towers. (Sorry if it's blasphemous to merge the two!)

Expect forgettable climbing with a memorable tree encounter.

You can climb this in three pitches, but they'd be really short pitches and I can't think of any compelling reason not to link p1-2 for a single ~140' pitch.

P1-2 (5.9): Start up a low angle slab to gain the start of the left slot, the Standard. Easy chimney climbing on exfoliating rock, with occasional opportunities for small/medium/large placements (anywhere from .5 to #2 camalots) as you climb towards and past the first chocked stone. Optionally keep your eyes peeled above the chockstone for a bolt anchor on the rightside face. But at 60 feet you're just getting warmed up, and I recommend continuing with style. I gardened out a bom-ber #1 placement around here before paddling off into the 7" squeeze above. There isn't any pro in here, but if you're worried about sailing, go deeper. A large nose or any helmet may have you cursing through here, but keep gunning for the obvious cleave above, forming a 4" crack. From here, look for easy face climbing to escape to a bolt anchor up and left - dodging a major vegetation zone. These two pitches can easily be linked with a 60m.

P3 (5.8 T2): There's an old saying my pappy once told me that is oddly applicable here: "Come for the chimney... stay for the tree." Make a stout slab/face move that felt way harder than 5.7 (possibly 5.9 or even 5.8) off the belay, and move back into the wide crack just above the vegetation right of your belay. A #6 is nice as you move back into the chimney and head towards the star of this route: a young long supple tree above. I suppose this is spoiling the encounter for yall, but you just won't believe how formidable this tree really is. Wrestling this thing, I felt like a young child all over again. It's pliable enough that you can't really use it for leverage, yet sturdy enough to assert dominance. MOST IMPORTANTLY, be nice to the tree. Seriously, this route probably doesn't get much traffic, and I'd hate to see it get trashed by throngs of budding tradsters. From here, cruise up an easier, low angle wide section to your choice of friendly trees to belay off up-top.

Descent: Easiest option probably the rad mini-labyrinth, which will spit you out right by the start of this climb. No need to carry approach shoes up with you. Note: no rap rings, we replaced some old tat, but you should be prepared to do the same. Three short raps with single 60, or you could probably combine rap 1-2 with a 70 (haven't done it, anybody here know for sure?)

Anti-sandbag disclaimer: Without bros or other xl pro there are some modest runouts on this climb, but it's really straightforward squeeze chimney climbing that usually doesn't warrant any safety ratings. Don't let this scare you off, just don't expect a clip-up. Have fun, it's a cool historical route and relatively easy way up the formation.

Wander (or wonder!) your way up past Bandersnatch on Rockfellow dome, and notice how the landscape contours uphill towards the north face of Bastion Towers. You might start to recognize this as the rap destination for the single rope rap route off Rockfella (cliffhanger rap?). Trudge up this dirt for a short distance (100 feet maybe) until you notice two obvious chimney systems. This page describes starting in Standard Chimney, which is the left offering. The original Maniacal Bagel starts in the rightside chimney.

Single rack: .5 - #6, except no #5. 60m. ~7ish extendo clips.