Castle Crags TR

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Lambone

Ice climber

Ashland, Or

May 20, 2009 - 12:31pm PT

tuolumne_tradster,

The classic route on Castle Dome is the East Face, known as the Dyke Route. Many people say it's the best quality route in Castle Crags, albeit a bit run-out in places above old bolts. Solid 5.10 leader required. I haven't done it yet.

There are other routes on Castle, one goes up the shady North Face. And there are shorter routes adjacent to the Dyke route.

There is a Falcon Guide to Castle, but it is pretty minimal and only has the old routes, there is much more out there, and the Shastafari crew has been establishhing lots of new stuff in the last few years.

Check out this website by Ian, one of the formost route developers in the crags. He puts up hard and bold lines:
http://www.alpineaddict.com/

Also the guys at Shasta Bascamp Gear shop are a good source of beta. Stop by or give them a call.

ontheedgeandscaredtodeath

Trad climber

San Francisco, Ca

May 20, 2009 - 01:55pm PT

I helped out on a route that went up the East Face. I wasn't there when it was finished but the lower pitches were good- mid .11ish as I recall. Dunno about the upper half, but it's supposedly good as well. I think I have a topo if anyone is interested.

tuolumne_tradster

Trad climber

concord, california

Topic Author's Reply - May 20, 2009 - 02:10pm PT

Lambone: thanks for the info...Dyke route looks interesting although looks a bit run out. Are there opportunities for creative gear placement between the fixed pieces?

I'm gettin' too old to be onthedgeandscaredtodeath....I'd rather be inthegrooveanlovinit

Jingy

Social climber

Flatland, Ca

May 20, 2009 - 03:37pm PT

Cool post

Lambone

Ice climber

Ashland, Or

May 20, 2009 - 03:51pm PT

t_t, I haven't done it, but from what I hear there is an occasional piece, but mostly face climbing.

martygarrison

Trad climber

The Great North these days......

May 20, 2009 - 06:32pm PT

great tr. I always wondered about this place. drove by it many times on the trek up north. are there hard long routes up there?

tuolumne_tradster

Trad climber

concord, california

Topic Author's Reply - May 20, 2009 - 08:39pm PT

martygarrison: there's a 1990's vintage Falcon guide that has some 10s & 11s...Solar Wind is a 5-pitch 10d just left of cosmic wall. Check out the link that Lambone posted above that has topos for some very stout routes.

Dr.Sprock

Boulder climber

Sprocketville

May 20, 2009 - 09:10pm PT

that place is perfect for shrooms, soft velvet pine needle cushion on the trails for barefoot hiking at night, 90 degrees, full moon, fern forests, and absolutely no people.
I think the whole park will accomadate 3 1/2 campers.
And the rangers are pretty laid back.
It's those crags, everybody i know says they look spooky and hold mysterious powers. Total Carlos Castenada country. Ask Bill if Bob owns a yak.

tuolumne_tradster

Trad climber

concord, california

Topic Author's Reply - May 20, 2009 - 11:44pm PT

found plentiful shrooms growing wildly near Castle Dome...ingested 3 caps and began trippin' like crazy...granite spires started swaying in the wind and morphing into all kinds of weird shapes and some of them took on human-like forms...eventually some biker babes showed up in leather hot pants and bikini tops and offered to carry out our packs...just then Largo and Bridwell appear out of no where and the biker babes dropped our packs and decided to hang out with them.

yes Bill has a brother named Bob that lives near Hangtown

brett

climber

oregon

May 21, 2009 - 12:35am PT

The Dike Route is outstanding. It follows the amazing quartz feature for 7 quality pitches, maybe 900 feet. My memory is of 20+ foot runouts on sustained 5.8 ground with bolts near the odd 5.9/5.10 move.

Here's someone else's impression

BMcC

Trad climber

Livermore

May 21, 2009 - 02:51pm PT

Tradster - nice write-up. Those routes are so much fun! Had a fantastic time there with Frank and you.

Lambone: "I see you avoided the squeeze. Good call!"

Right. Was kind of out of large gear.

Wasn't thinking about much of anything but saving weight when I inspected the rack back at the parking lot. We took our light Cosmic Wall rack and doubled up on some of the smaller cams. I think the large end of the rack was 2 #2 camalots and 1 #3. When I saw the route through the trees from the tail, I suddenly remembered that I had read that the 2nd pitch included a stretch of offwidth. Oops!

I had some excellent luck in that Tradster did not make the #3 camalot an integral part of the 1st-pitch belay - excellent because I used the #3 at least 2x before leaving it low in the offwidth -- I had placed it to protect some moves, did the moves, placed smaller gear, and then downclimbed to retrieve the #3 for use in the subsequent wide sections looming overhead. Once in the offwidth, I found myself imagining the peace of mind that might have come with more gear (say: another #3, a #3.5, and 1 or 2 #4 camalots - and maybe even a #5). Not having that gear, nor the peace of mind, and after launching myself upwards into the offwidth several times, I soon opted to downclimb a bit, traverse right and then move up - figuring out how to traverse back across the steep face once I got higher.

Dr. Sprock: "Ask Bill if Bob owns a yak."

No, that sibling does not own a yak, nor a dzo, llama, or an alpaca; although, there are llamas and alpacas on some properties a few miles away.

john bald

climber

May 21, 2009 - 05:43pm PT

Hey Brett, thanks for forwarding the post of my E Face route. Funny how things change over the years. Buttonheads seemed like a welcome treat after all those runouts (considering the alternative, ie bad gear).

tuolumne_tradster

Trad climber

concord, california

Topic Author's Reply - May 21, 2009 - 05:52pm PT

Any rebolting effort going on at Castle Crags? 2-bolt belay above the block at the start of P2 on Cosmic looks like recent bolts.

Lambone

Ice climber

Ashland, Or

May 22, 2009 - 01:00am PT

t_t

That anchor has been there since I've been here, 5 years or so.

RE: six toe crack, I bring asingle set of cams up to #4, it's nice to have double 75-#2. You really only need one number three if you save it. If you do the face variation you don't need a #4.

The two routes adjacent to sox toe are cool too!