Routes as top rope in Tunis

1. Begin in the exit of a ravine on the lower east side of the Star Wars Buttress.

2. On solid holds, make your way to the base of a cracked boulder stacked about 11 meters above the belay stance.

3. After a few careful hand placements in the boulder cracks, traverse left and over to an inset foot ledge scratched along the base of a convex face beneath the anchors.

4. Ascending the face, seek jams and small holds hidden along a guiding vertical seam just above.

This has the same starting position and belay stance as X-Wing.

1. The route immediately moves right, up a scrappy ramp and through heinous bushes, to a squatty dihedral under a roof. Just above eye-level, look to the joint where the roof meets the wall and locate a grippy, angled crack.

2. From here, assault the roof directly, or exploit the crack and use alternating underclings to lie-back your way diagonally around the upper left edge.

3. Next, embark on a delicate dance past tiny, rough scoops and finger grabs to where the wall leans slightly beyond vertical.

4. Find a suitably high placement for one hand, then commit-and-go by pulling down, while smearing with feet.

5. A blind reach to a perfect bucket hold hidden just out of view is the ticket past the final crux.

So far, this conspicuous crack has been a great route for falling off of. Even with a top rope, it’s still waiting for a pure ascent. For now, the anchor is the same as for Launch Pad. The belay stance, however, is about eight meters up the scree on the east (left) side of the Middle Buttress. Consequently, you’ll need to watch for dislodged rocks as the top rope drags on the unseen surface up above the climbing zone. In the future, when someone has the chance, permanent anchor bolts should probably be placed above this pitch.

1. The climbing starts out steep and mostly straightforward. After kung·foo·fightin’ your way past an offensive bush, follow a vertical joint that might work for a lie-back higher up.

2. The uppermost section requires unforgiving hand placements in a razor-laced crack behind a flake.

3. Transitioning from the crack onto a ledge above is the crux. Once that’s behind you the route merges with Launch Pad for an easy finish.

This route begins on the east side of the Middle Buttress just below the entrance to the 4th class access passage described earlier. For a top rope anchor, scramble up the same access route as for Launch Pad and place slings around a prominent horn located at the top of the route.

1. The climbing starts out moderate and becomes a bit tricky at an off-balanced face just below the top.