Ascents in Pierces Pass East Side as various tick types

Got to be up there with gentlemans drag if not better, grade 25 free. This climb deserves to see more ascents, it's a bluies classic. Took two gear ripping 6m+ falls from the first crux onto the belay bolts. With a 10m walk from the car what more do you want. Small gear, RPs and C3 cams.

P2 - Flash to the crux (last 8m of climbing) then took two big falls figuring out the crux. On the 3rd attempt I figured it out and climbed to the anchors for this pitch. Absolutely brilliant technical climbing. Sustained 21 from the start to the crux 20m up, then 23ish to the anchors. One of the best pitches I've bolted.

P3 - I Broke off a hold I'd always planned to use, and couldn't do the crux between the 2nd and 3rd bolt. There are other holds here out left, but I haven't explored/cleaned them, and was just throwing to them blind (and getting tired of taking big falls trying). I need to rap the route again and clean/tick-up what I need to use before I can get the send. Since I couldn't pull through this move, I ended up backjumping and bailing. Technical and strenuous to the crux moves. Could be great.

Pitch 3 - Still can't do the crux move, even after rapping the route and working out a new sequence. The move is there, and it will go, I just need to actually TRAIN to be able to send it. This one could be a bit of a long haul.

Had a go at this awesome looking thin splitter. First short pitch was very poxy fingerlocking in dirt. Next 20m section is cool gr21 thin crack. Will fell on the crux pitch ripping gear ending below the belay, we bailed soon after

Made it up the first two pitches and fell about 4 moves up the third. A little too shattered to keep going, but man was it good.

Nothing like getting schooled on your own routes (as a warmup, in the sun). Clean lead P1. Bungled the crux at the end of P2 for a single fall. Linked into P3, which involved many falls on all 3 cruxes P2 is a cool slab with a rad finale. P3 is really great climbing up a soaring exposed face, but the rock is rather sharp, and -I hate to admit it- my bolting from 2013 is not great (in terms of bolt positioning). I'll fix this up (and move some bolts) within the next month.

Had a bit of an epic on this, struggling with having no chalk in my chalk bag as well as none on the route. Really great face climbing though once I figured it out, even though I ended up coming down after the first pitch. Pretty keen to get back out and finish and when I give Grasshopper a go!

Didn't want to log it but so friend free solo first pitch then did linked 2nd and 3rd and got stuck smashed on 3rd one so we bailed. Unfortunately we left stuck offset nut...

Really really excellent. Just a single lap working stuff out. All the moves went pretty easily but I’d like to spend some decent time working out where all the gear goes. Psyched!!

definitely not a route to try in summer, with the sun on it...

But this is hands down one of the best routes I've tried in a while. mind you I didn't have the fear instilled by leading it. Fairly straight-forward climbing in the first half with what looks like pretty good gear, before heading up into the thin section. Some shouldery moves getting established in the thin crack which looks like it will be pretty hard to protect/place gear while there on lead.

Will be getting back on this whenever I can!!

checking out the gear on rappel and seeing if they would be feasible to place. pretty happy with how I protected it. Had to figure out a few moves again.

Practice placing all the gear while climbing. Got through the low crux but forgot what to do at the reachy section up high. Happy with the gear.

First lead attempt on the route. Came unstuck at the crux with the sun beating down on me. Took a nice whip onto my nice 0.2 cam, that thing was pretty bomber! Back-cleaned to the anchor and midway and lowered to rest and try again.

Second lead attempt, coming unstuck at the same move as the last attempt. Pulled back on and went to the top from there. Will definitely go soon.

Very glad I can now just approach this route from the base, rather than the 45 mins hike through a million spider webs to reach to top

Toppie solo lap of P3 to remind myself that a recent streak of Janicepts, Echo P4 and Gentlemans does not currently extend to Mother Earth 🤔

An incredible, inspiring line, but I found the cruxes hard (first crux) and confusing (second). Almost like I need to get stronger or something...

Tried ground up, whipped a bunch at what I consider the technical crux just before the top.

Helping Zac out with belays, banter and beta. I can do the top crux reliably now, leaving only the the lower one to unlock.

That top sequence is totally rad! Like... it's rad enough on toprope but I froth hard at the prospect of punching through it on lead while pumped. Gotta be some of the best rock I've climbed.

linked p2 and 3. great features and solid moves. Igor sent 3rd shot

linked p2 and 3. great features and solid moves. Igor sent 3rd shot

In good news I am alive, did everything clean with no dramas, onsighted both lower "pitches" which I had not yet worked, and following that ripped only two wires!

Thats one ripped wire more (better? 🤔) than Jacques did so I guess I should be happy... or something...

In "other" news, I greatly underestimated how downright terrifying this is on lead (especially in send mode). There is truly no room for error once the hard bit starts - clip it or whip it, and the whips will be big.

Onsight attempt. I was really psyched to give it my best shot in one single pitch, armed with my 8.9mmx100m French weaponry. It was quite obvious that the dirty first pitch section wouldn't be the most pleasant but I managed without complaining too much. Shortly after passing the first anchor, I pulled on a crimp and I felt it moving and that was enough to disgruntle me. I sat on my gear inspecting the rock to find out that the crimp was only a part of a flush chockstone, and I didn't even have to use it. I put my shit together and although the true proper onsight was gone, I continued in an onsighting mode. I was too short to reach easily the hold before the mid anchor and really had to pull hard with foot in the crack real high and deadpoint. Went easily through the rooflet but the V hold was so greasy and my gear was so bad (crunchy Z4-0.1) I sat on it and managed to place a good DMM offset nut just before the cam set itself free, pfffff. At that point I was running out of med nuts and stripped the nut in the rooflet as I was very pleased with the DMM crux nut. I brushed a bit the V hold and gave it a better shot which didn't worked out too well, the small fall turned out a bit more epic than expected when the crux nut popped out and I travelled through space and time until the nut + long sling I placed next to the mid anchor held me. Man it was a pretty big fall. I called it a day at that point.

As close as it would be possible to get to the send without getting the send 😟 Breezed through the crux pretty solid but dropped the very very very last move before the rest cave (it's like a gr20 move wtf?).

Anyway, large whip ensued which deposited me well below the mid-anchors. I now own one less ball-nut than I did yesterday.

I have this route frustratingly wired. Like, it's actually uncomfortable that I can render it perfectly in 3D at the most inopportune moments.

working out crux sequences and gear on top rope. lower crux has a very sustained sequence which I stick 50% of the time, it's got good gear. the top crux after rest cave is very powerful but it's just one move really and you can have a great rest before. Found a reasonably good #3 placement in the horizontal break on the right of the cave which I think should protect top crux reasonably well (looks better than all the super thin gear in the main crack)

Usual late start,top approach faff/logistics snafus.

Dogshow lap in the Sun (Sun from 11-12ish).

Beta notes:

P2.1 - First crux - left heel beta worked ok, move off the v grove, left thumb down, right above, high feet to L sloper and up to either L or R jugs.

P2.2 - left crimp, right gluey side-flake, up to left undercling, high feet, left to sneaky crimp rail.

Woah, this would feel full on placing the gear! Still a bit of work to do in the cruxes. Lovely climbing though, so stoked to have finally checked it out

a great OS by JJ. super techie climbing and hard at 23.

led 2,4,6 one less hold on pitch 4

led 1st pitch and couldn't get up 2nd! Hard 23.

awesome. done with a whole load of draw pulling

Got pumped and pulled on some draws on the first pitch, but otherwise clean; bailed out the escape ledge at the end of pitch 5.

Pitch 2 ONLY. A LOT harder than I was expecting. Dyno start, then bouldery moves to a tricky (desparate) mantle, then hard power-slabbing (crux) before finally getting a breather... and only 30m of climbing to go. The rest of the climb is ~21 but still tough. I'm glad to have put together the start sequence, but its gonna be a damn mighty fight for the tick. A pretty awesome pitch, though.

Pitches 1-4 only. Went up off-route at the end of P4 and ended up on an unprotected death-choss-traverse. Neil was called in to add a carrot (by hand) to protect the traverse, but after making the traverse variant P4 we realised we were running out of time and had to bail. On retreat we found where we went wrong on P4. The lower 3 pitches were vegetated and a bit loose/dirty, but were okay adventurous trad climbing. P4 seemed to be turning the dial up a bit. We'll be back for the rematch.

What!!! Well we start from ledge cause we bailed from Grasshopper. Biggest sand bag in BM faaaaar from 23 com on Paul!

Pitch 1 is a solid 22. Be smart and avoid rope drag. Pitch 4 is a beautiful climb! It has 2 massive questionable hollow flakes the bottom one can land on the belayer. Best not to use them at all which is totally doable. The rest of the pitches are soft.

First Pitch Only

Was wet and was raining. Like a waterfall when it's raining so make sure there's a few days of dry.

A nice day out. I learned that I'm not as fit as I once was though.

The best multi at Pierces Pass