Wicked West of the Witch

The view, the location, the climbable features have all the ingredients for a classic. But for whatever reason, the path taken seems like the FA party was screwing with us. With the right mind frame, Wicked West of the Witch is a worthy distraction between the unexpected pump of

The Pit & The Pendulum

and the mind exploding

Terrorvision

.

To get to the start ascend one of the options to the top of the lower buttress (i.e.

Gorilla Warfare

,

Phosphorescent Flow

, or the

Witch Doctor

/

The Pit & The Pendulum

. Then ascend the 5.0 ramp to "The Sundeck", step across and belay on blocks just before dropping down to the

Terrorvision

approach (the photo on page 98 of the guidebook gives good beta on the start ).

It is almost impossible to see the first bolt unless you get on the route. The second bolt can be found with a discerning eye high and way right. The starting feature to aim for is a roof with gear opportunities up and slightly right from the belay.

Climb up from the belay and shuffle over to gain the roof. From that stance either undercling right then up, or head straight up and then right on positive holds. Both options end up on a rib feature which tends back to the left. The first bolt is now visible 10-15' up on very positive climbing. At the first bolt the second is now quite far right. The most sensible way to get to it is to downclimb the rib until you can stem right to positive holds, then up to the second bolt. The third and last bolt is up and a bit right as well. From the last bolt, climb directly left on large holds until you reach a series of black runnels on the face (25-35'). At that point the anchor is still approximately 25' above you and slightly left.

The climbing never seems like 10+ "Needles Difficulty". The main issue is the age of the bolts, the runouts, and the lack of traffic on solid but largely untravelled flakes/holds.

Wicked West of the Witch

Description

Protection

Routes in The Witch