- Edit (TBD)
Description
A fully traditional work out,
Mothers Day
is an adventure of yesteryear. . . today! True value, this route comes full circle with a variety of climbing styles and techniques. With three wandering pitches, good route finding skills are a must as well as a balanced knowledge of building anchors.
P1:
Begin on the north, front face with a hand sized crack that climbs about 15 feet before it turns into a bushy, tree filled section, climb past this to a large, clean belay ledge. Build an anchor. Dirty, vegetated, and barely worth it, protection here is decent and the climbing is mellow. 50' (5.6)
P1-a:
Alternatively, a better way to begin is up and around the north side corner on a clean face where three more obvious variations exist.
P2:
Move up and right to a small stance and continue straight up to a broken left-facing corner. Climb this until it "empties out" and cross right, back onto the face to a hand sized crack that ends at another obvious and clean ledge. Exciting climbing up a clean line with good and spacious gear. Build an anchor. 55' (5.7)
P3:
Continue up and right through a short corner (more direct) or traverse immediately right off the belay onto the face and gain a large groove or "birth canal", being it
Mothers Day
and all? Make a straight shot following the crack towards a flake on a small bulge (crux). Fire the roof, top out, and fashion a belay. Grunting and groveling on this pitch are not uncommon. Good rock, good line, good fun. 65' (5.9)
Descent:
Descend via a long walk-off to the left or right of the buttress or just walk 15' to the south and rappel using
The Watchtower's Standard Route
anchors if they aren't occupied.
Location
Mothers Day
begins on the north most front face of the lower
Watchtower
. Its the farthest most route on the front face and sits on the lookers left of the large "elevator shaft".
Protection
Bring a handful of slings, a cordelette, and a set of stoppers and cams to three inches- two #2 camalots or equivalent are nice for pitch three. A 60 meter rope is adequate.