Ascent of Sweet Nightmare (Link-Up) by Kurt Doherty

Was a beautiful day with incredible conditions. Just over 10°C with a slight breeze. Started climbing just after 10am and were finished within two hours, just as the sun was starting to touch the lower section of slab. I linked P1 and P2, then did P3, while Matt linked P4 and P5. Turns out the carrot bolts used throughout the whole route are the broad-head type, so my bolt plates didn't fit. Plus, the flake on pitch two was much wider than the suggested .3–1 cam size, so pretty much all my cams were useless. Meant I had pretty sparse protection on the first two pitches—1 cam low on P1, two trees and the P1 anchor, then one cam for P2—all of which were extended with slings, so rope drag wasn't really an issue when bringing Matt up. The climbing was obviously very easy too, so felt quite solid and safe despite the runouts. To protect the traverse, in lieu of having any wires, I clove hitched slings to the carrot bolts. P4 is definitely the standout pitch, covering a great amount of climbing with jugs galore and a nice gentle steepness. Fantastic morning.