Voies artif dans Pierces Pass

Test your nerve and skill on this little big wall in the Grose Valley.

Gear: Double rack of cams from #0.3 to #4. You could probably do it with a single #4, but two is nice. Small cams including #0.1. Wide cam hooks. Wires from tiny to thin-hands size. Pitons from 5mm to 7mm (for the time being). Hammer. Aid ladders and daisys. Jumars. It is possible to bail from the top of pitch 3 if you have two 60m ropes.

1. As for P1 of Samarkand

2. (23) Do the Samarkand "boulder problem" but turn left when you reach the break. After traversing a few metres, go upwards to reach the base of a 3m high block of choss (Dave Tower). Climb up the corner on the left side of the block to get on top of it. Be careful: you will stand on a detached stone slab which could overbalance and go over the edge. Do not put too much weight on the outside edge of the slab! Belay from gear in corner crack and one carrot.

3. (21) Climb up the corner crack for about 8m, then clip a carrot and move up-and-left onto the face. After climbing upwards another ~8m you will reach a layback flake with a small finger-size space behind it. Climb this to reach a horizontal break with a ring bolt. Belay here. Several traumatic experiences were had on this pitch before it was cleaned up. Death blocks have now been removed and one carrot added.

4. (A2+) The Great Roof. Aid carefully up the corner with gear behind thin flakes before getting some good cams in. It's worth taking a #4 if you have one to spare. Do some cam hook moves to get up to and around the rooflet to reach a carrot under the big roof. Aid through the roof crack on knifeblade pitons (which may or may not be there already, and may or may not blow) until you can start to use clean gear. The FA was done with 3 pitons, so please do try to use clean gear as soon as it is available rather than continuing to nail. Continue to the end of the roof crack, then proceed upwards a few metres in the crack to reach a ledge ~1m wide (Camp IV). Make an anchor using a carrot backed up onto two fixed pitons in the corner. The second will need to re-aid to clean the roof. If you're hauling, it's best to haul from the ground to here. A 60m rope is too short for that, but a 70 might make it.

5. (24) Changing Corners. Beware of rope drag. Climb left and up a couple of metres from the belay to reach a break. Traverse left in the break using big cams as pro and mantle onto the ledge at the corner. Climb the corner crack and then on jugs for a few metres, then reach right onto the face and clip a carrot. Traverse right, then climb upwards and clip a RB. Climb up the corner and arete (crux). A #3 cam can be used as pro above the crux. Continue upwards onto the face and climb fairly easily up to the ledge and belay from two RBs.

6. (23) Move right to the hanging arete, then climb upwards (two RBs) to a ledge. Put gear in, then climb another couple of metres up (tricky). Now climb the crack to the top. There is a crux about 2/3 of the way up where the crack is fused. Above that the rock quality and gear is not A+. Belay from two RBs in the rooflet.

It's not really a pitch, but you will have to belay a leader as they traverse left on the ledge (2RBs) to reach the cave. Belay the second from a big rock in the cave. If you're hauling, you'll need to manhandle the gear across this ledge too, possibly in multiple trips.

Pull thru on gear on first pitch and go up escape gully to avoid choss at the end of pitch 8.