Route in The Garden of Eden

This route starts near the top of the canyon, and tops out on a prominent summit with epic views of everything from Potrero to Hidalgo to La Popa. The bulk of the route is in shade all day. During early or late season when the sun is higher, parts of pitches 4-6 get sun briefly in late morning, then go back into the shade for the rest of the day. The climbing is varied, including pitches where crack climbing skills are useful/required.

A note on the pitch count and the route length listed here: it's about 1000 feet (300 meters) from the base of the route to the summit, according to GPS readings. This includes the elevation gained scrambling the upper fixed line section, which is not included in the pitch count. When you include the approach, your total pitch count for the day will be 10 and you'll gain 2000+ feet of elevation. Plan your start time accordingly.

P1: 5.8, 9 bolts Cruise up the low-angle slab, then pull a couple 5.8 moves just before the anchor.

P2: 5.10d, 9 bolts Continue up as the wall steepens, with techy/crimpy crux sequences in between good jug rests.

P3: 5.10b, 9 bolts Make a couple 5.10 moves low, then enjoy some jug hauling before a slab finish.

Pitches 1-3 can be linked as a single rope-stretcher 70 meter pitch. With a few key bolts extended, the rope drag isn't too bad.

P4: 5.10c, 18 bolts Climb up the corner on surprisingly solid orange rock. Find the path of least resistance through the lower section, following good holds out onto the left face then returning to the corner a couple times. When it gets steep, go spelunking in the chimney pods on the left and/or climb the steep hand and fist crack on the right. At the top of the corner, there's a rap anchor to the left of the bolt line. Continue up the easy corner/gully to the right for three more bolts to a more spacious belay ledge.

NOTE: if you climb straight up past the rap anchor rather than branching right, you're following the rap line. There are bolts there, in case you get your rope stuck on the way down and have to go back up and get it, but this area is chossy and ledgy and generally not recommended for going up.

P5: 5.10b, 13 bolts Head up the ridge / shallow corner system, scramble up some blocky ledges, then make a sharp traverse left around the corner (easier than it looks). By extending one bolt and back-cleaning another, you should be able to minimize drag while still adequately protecting your second.

P6: 5.10c, 11 bolts Clip the first bolt from the ledge on the left, then use some combination of stemming and offwidth technique to reach a good hold near the third bolt. Then pull inside the chimney and scooch your way up, until you reach the top of the shorter of the two pillars. Step across onto good holds, then make a few more moves to top out on the taller pillar.

There has been much discussion on the grade of this pitch among those who have climbed it so far. I will say that if you commit to offwidthing too early, and/or are facing the wrong way, you will likely find this quite a bit more difficult than 10c. If, on the other hand, you're an offwidth aficionado, perhaps you will find 10c to be rather soft.

P7: 5.10b, 13 bolts From where the pillar meets the wall, head up and right to the finger/tips crack, then follow the crack up to the palm tree ledge. Pull a couple steep moves up the hand crack on the right, then trend back left and finish on the arete, with big moves between good holds.

If you brought your approach shoes up with you (recommended), now is the time to change back into those. Follow fixed lines for about 250 meters of 3rd and 4th class to the summit. There is a summit register tucked in a little hole near the cairn.

Getting down: Reverse the fixed line section, then rap the top two pitches. Heads up, pulling your rope is difficult on these top two raps, especially pitch 6. Don't assume your rope is stuck before giving it a good body weight pull.

From the anchor at the base of the chimney, do two raps straight down to reach the rap anchor you passed on pitch 4. Be careful here; there's a lot of rotten rock, and despite much hammering and crowbar-ing, there will probably always be more stuff coming loose over time. Watch your step, and if you encounter something loose please try to relocate it safely.

From here, rap the route to the ground. A 70 meter rope is required.