New Routes at Eagle Creek Cliff in South Lake Tahoe
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Chris McNamara

SuperTopo staff member
Topic Author's Original Post - Jun 22, 2007 - 02:34pm PT
I put up these routes a few summers ago. About an hour approach but puts you in an amazing location. Morning shade the sun all afternoon (can be really hot in summer...)

Approach:
See approach for Eagle Creek Cliff on page 159 of "South Lake Tahoe Climbing"
http://www.supertopo.com/packs/southlaketahoe.html

These routes are described left to right starting just right of Bad Perception (route C in the guidebook)

The ratings are just guesses at this point. I need to climb these routes with more people before I can confirm them.

All of the following routes can be toproped with a 60m rope.

1. (not shown on photo). 5.9. Starts behind a giant block/flake. Climbs about 10 feet right of Bad Perception. Has its own two bolt anchor. Might be a little dirty, especially at the start.

2. (not shown on photo). 5.10+. Same anchor as route 1. Starts just right of 1. Some tricky bouldery cruxes. A little contrived because at some points you could just reach left to route 1 to get around cruxes.

To the right of route 2 is a vegetated wide crack

3. 5.8. Start in a chimney and stem up a little until you can get in crack on the left. Maybe a 5.9 move to get in the crack depending on how you climb it. Some fun climbing and a fun adventurous lead. Two bolt anchor. bring long slings to toprope.

3.b direct start is 10a. start 10 feet left of regular start. first 30 feet take 4-6 inch gear to protect. 10a bulge then you put in a piece with a long runner and make a blind traverse out right to join with the regular route.

4. 5.10 Not the greatest route. Bouldery short cruxes. Can either start on the right or left. You need long slings in order to toprope.

5. 5.7. Great hand crack. Good first lead. Two-bolt anchor.

6. 5.7 A bunch of different toprope options. All 5.7ish. The start is tricky to protect on lead. Two-bolt anchor.

7. 5.8. A fun toprope. Not a good lead for 5.8 leader because some sections at the start and end are hard to protect. Two-bolt anchor.

8. 5.9 Bouldery and wandery toprope. Sling tree for anchor.

9. 5.9 Crack with fun and steep face moves. Two-bolt anchor on right.

10. 5.7 Great hand crack. Great first lead. Two-bolt anchor.

11. 5.10c Steep hand crack right and stemming about 60 feet right of 10. two bolt anchor on the left after 100' is hard to see.
Chris McNamara

SuperTopo staff member
Topic Author's Reply - Jun 22, 2007 - 02:38pm PT
oh, and feel free to suggest route names. Eagle/bird them names are preferred...
David

Trad climber
San Rafael, CA
Jun 22, 2007 - 02:43pm PT
We climbed a few 5.10's(10.a, 10.b and 10.c in the book) on the far left side of this cliff last weekend. It doesn't look super inspiring from deck level but we were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the climbing. Nice stuff! Going back tomorrow.
Tahoe climber

Trad climber
a dark-green forester out west
Jun 22, 2007 - 05:52pm PT
Need for Speed
Spread your wings and crap
Old Eagle Eye
Flippin' the Bird
Madder than a wet hen
Shake your tail feather
Endangered Species
Gone Fishin'
Skinny Dippin'
Claw your eyes out
Eagles do it higher
Mr. D

Trad climber
West Coast
Jun 22, 2007 - 07:07pm PT
The Falconer

Chickenhawk

Baby Eaglets

Sh*t in the Nest

Pecking Order

Talons

Eagle Droppings

The Colbert Report
Joe Metz

Trad climber
Bay Area
Jun 22, 2007 - 08:22pm PT
Fly like an Eagle
Tahoe climber

Trad climber
a dark-green forester out west
Jun 22, 2007 - 08:28pm PT
Wind beneath my wings
Gnarly-bird
Wish I was light as a feather
Feather tickle
French tickler
Eating Nemo
Sharp Eyed Nemesis
Can't See Sh#t
I wish I was a bird, so I could fly, far, far away
Feathered Fart
Tether of Feathers



Coiler
(I'll admit that one has nothing to do with eagles if you admit that it's still funny as hell)
wack-N-dangle

Gym climber
the ground up
Jun 23, 2007 - 10:41am PT
Might be a little obscure in terms of eagles or feathers,
but how about "The Gift". I'd recommend a natural line no bolts.
Still, I wouldn't want to offend anyone or cause access issues. Todd Gordon have any insight?

Kind of reminded me of a video I saw of Ben Moon, an eagle, a
photographer and another climber.
coiler

Trad climber
yosemite
Jun 24, 2007 - 07:11pm PT
How about, "all these routes were climbed in the 80's"
David

Trad climber
San Rafael, CA
Jun 24, 2007 - 10:58pm PT
Just did all of these yesterday. They're fun.

re."How about, "all these routes were climbed in the 80's"

Doubt it. Looked to dirty, overgrown and untouched. Could be wrong. Your saying you did them in the 80s?
rhyang

Ice climber
SJC
Jun 27, 2007 - 12:20pm PT
Do these routes look like they are to the left of this ?


(also from Eagle Creek Canyon, last Jan - bolts up at the top)
David

Trad climber
San Rafael, CA
Jun 27, 2007 - 05:11pm PT
"left"? Sort of. They're south/east of that flow and farther down the creek towards the main Eagle Lake crag. You would have walked past them on the way to that ice and yes they would have been on your left.
Andrew

Trad climber
Marin
Jun 27, 2007 - 11:25pm PT
I just want to add that those routes are pretty fun. Of the group, Route 9 (5.9), Route 7 (5.8) and Route 10 (5.7) seem to be the best out of the ones we did. We didn't get on 3 and 4.

Route 9 has great face moves off of an arching finger crack. I'd name it "Out on a Limb", kind of a bird name and is fairly descriptive of the route.

Route 7 needs to be cleaned a bit and the gear could be better. There is a move where you have to lunge to a horizontal crack off of a nut or small cam. It'd be tricky but very satisfying for a 5.8 leader. I'd dub the route "Out of Reach".

Route 10 would be a great first lead. The gear is perfect and it's hands all the way up on broken cracks. I'd call it "Tweety bird".
DavisGunkie

Trad climber
Davis, CA
Jun 28, 2007 - 01:05am PT
what about phoenix type names for the fire
Tahoe climber

Trad climber
a dark-green forester out west
Jun 28, 2007 - 11:29am PT
bird on a fire

hot wings

burning beak
Chris McNamara

SuperTopo staff member
Topic Author's Reply - Jun 29, 2007 - 11:18am PT
thanks for all those route name ideas!

coiler, if you know any of the names of the fa's of those routes let me know so i can find out the names of the climbs.

the ice route photo above is Bird Turd (route g) in the south lake tahoe climbing guide. not a great route. and this route was for sure climbed before I did it. the route to the right will be a mega classic once it gets climbed more. 5.11 overhanging hand crack with a roof... first document ascent (so far) by eric volz http://friendsofericvolz.com/
Chris McNamara

SuperTopo staff member
Topic Author's Reply - Jun 29, 2007 - 12:54pm PT
oh, and i just realized, i bolted a face route to the right of the climber. I bet you could rap dow, remove the ice around the bolts...then have a really wild but well protected thin ice climb
aldude

climber
Monument Manor
Jun 29, 2007 - 12:59pm PT
Where's Shyboy? Blitzo......?
rhyang

Ice climber
SJC
Jun 29, 2007 - 01:08pm PT
Thanks for the info Chris. My partner led the route after those guys tr'd it. Some locals we talked to at Sunny Falls said it was about WI4+ ... it was a fun, though pumpy climb, especially with the free-hanging pillar at the bottom -


(click for hi-res version)

He lassoed the pillar at the bottom, placed two cams, then screws and I recall cleaning another lassoed ice feature. The one to the right does look like fun (probably a hang-fest for me though) ...
Brian Biega

climber
Truckee, CA
Jul 3, 2007 - 01:49am PT
The routes noted, most of them anyway, are not new routes. Cutty Sark is the name of the route (ice route/rock route) in the two pictures above. Cutty Sark like most of the routes on the "Whiskey Cliffs" has many variations and can be climbed with ice and/or without ice.

Freequently, climbers have referred to these routes

Route 1: Patron (starts behind a giant block/flake)
Route 5 - 8: Kentucky Moonshine (climb to ledge, rap from tree or continue to top and walk off left)
Route 9 - 10: Hyrum Walker (rap from tree or continue to top and walk off left)

Going right (not pictured above)

Herradura
Blue Ribbon
Cutty Sark
Crown Royal
Etc.

*Note: not all whiskey but the theme has always been a constant whether "on the rocks" or "no ice"

To give a new name to a cliff with routes that people have climbed for years would be in bad taste. Unlike the Whiskey.

Edit: as noted by the coiler "How about, "all these routes were climbed in the 80's""
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