mongrel
Trad climber
Truckee, CA
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Skitch wrote "I'm guessing the pitons are there for route-finding" which made me think Hahahahaha, those pins almost certainly date from the early 1970s, when they were the only pro for the pitch. After the invention of hexentrics and useful small wired nuts, new fixed pitons didn't appear on free climbs except for key spots that were not protectable. In wetter climbing areas (or not on an arete), these vintage pitons sometimes just go poof into a cloud of rusted steel flakes if you touch them, so it was good you got good protection in between. Glad you enjoyed the route.
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skitch
Gym climber
Bend Or
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This climb was my birthday present from my wife, who dis-likes more than single pitch climbing. This one was good for her because of the large ledges for each of the belays.
I led all of the pitches, the first pitch definately wakes you up, but if you trust the smear/knobs the crux isn't terrible and there is decent gear nearby. The second pitch was fun, I was able to shove a #4 above my head before committing to the thrutching ahead, once I was able to get moving up a few feet I was able to get a couple good hand jams in the back. The third pitch was good fun, the 5.8 section must be when you get up onto the arete before moving out left, it is a little bit run out, but gear was never more than 4 feet from my feet, I'm guessing the pins are there for route finding since they look like crap compared to the solid placements within a foot from each that I saw. After turning the corner and traversing left to the big flake/ledge I kept going till I ran out of rope. Belayed at a big ledge about 100 feet up from the 2 piton belay, very comfy but I placed only a few pieces of gear with long runners (it's only 5.5ish) and I was using a sterling 70m rope (sterling ropes tend to be a touch longer than ropes from other companies. . .).From there it was 70 or so feet to the top on HUGE dikes and chicken heads. Belayed my wife up and it started raining just as I was half way through coiling the rope into a backpack, we had rain for the first few hundred meters of the hike, then the sun came back out for a beautiful hike down.
We played on the water slides afterwards, and my wife gave me a couple presents for my birthday, both books, one was a photo essay of Galen Rowell photos taken in the Eastern Sierra and the second was a book about Wolverines, those are amazing animals!
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D Fred
Trad climber
san francisco, ca
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wow
i did this for the first time last week and it is one of my all time favorite climbs. the first pitch wakes you up with that bulge... that was the toughest part of the climb for me and i'm pretty sure that the sequence i ended up using through that section was about 5.11, damn
the second pitch just has a great OW... at first i kinda hated it because i was just hoping to get into a rhythm and keep inching up, but the crack is so varied in width that you have to rethink your technique every few feet. it's really thought provoking. a neat sequence to get purchase in the slot and then some foot stacks and then some heel-toe and a few jugs to help you while setting pro, very fun sequence and a great relaxing hand crack to finish the pitch.
the third pitch gives you such an adventurous rush when you pass around that arete, such a cool bit of rock there.
it really has such a varied terrain from the initial awkward bulge to the varied OW to a splitter handcrack, then into some exposure face climbing. all in a few pitches. a great time, can't wait to do it again!
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Floyd Hayes
Trad climber
Hidden Valley Lake, CA
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I had no problem leading the crux of pitch 1 and felt secure with big #4 and #5 cams for protection. The chimney of pitch 2 seemed much harder--after a few falls I pulled through on cams. Pitch 1 felt like 5.9; pitch 2 felt like 5.11!
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Rick Linkert
Trad climber
El Dorado Hills CA
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It's been a while but I remember two things that will make the OW more "enjoyable." First, avoid placing pro in a manner that will make the OW more difficult by having to climb around the pro. Second, set the fist jamb at the crux carefully before weighting and committing so that you can avoid a sharp point in the crack and be able to move up into the next jamb. After that crux move, it is pretty much over for the pitch.
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Ralphy
Trad climber
Green Honda Element
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I thought this climb was a little insecure a bit scary and totally awesome! The p2 ow is well protected with 4 inch cams but it is much easier to pull through it with at least 1 5 inch cam. I quickly resorted to pulling on gear to get through the ow, the gear is bomber I should have just kept trying. P3 is a blast, p4 is easy.
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Sabirila
Trad climber
Sunnyvale, CA
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Very nice route. I mostly agree with the previous beta post. The first pitch is not bad at all. Typical Lover's Leap crack with dikes that back the crack up and provide good rests.
The off-width/chimney section of the second pitch is not easy at all, definitely. With good chimney technique and some foot stacking, it can be pulled throught, but it is physical nonetheless and requires big cojones.
Third pitch is a lot of fun.
And the fourth pretty easy and casual.
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Simmeron
Trad climber
Reno, NV
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After climbing this route it's easy to see why it's not the most popular 5.9 at the Leap: that offwidth (the first 10-15 feet is really a squeeze chimney. Let's call a spade a spade) is a grueling full body workout. I placed a #3 camalot low in the squeeze then slid a #5 up with me until it narrowed to offwidth proportions. Then a #4 followed by a #3 finished the job. The hand crack afterwards is the best handcrack I've climbed in Tahoe, but I was so tired after the squeeze/offwidth I could hardly enjoy it.
After the offwidth pitch, everything else is just downright enjoyable and the traverse around the arete on the third pitch was better protected than I expected. Before you turn the arete take a quick look down and left to receive the full brunt of the climb's exposure. After the arete, I traversed on a thin rail left to a flake, then cimbed up to just below where the angle eases off. There is a small but very solid flake just to your left that makes a good belay using a .4, .5 and #1 camalot. From there, it's a full 200 rope-stretching feet to the top.
And for the "scary" first pitch, the 5.7 sections felt only a little harder than the first pitch of "Bear's Reach" and I thought the pro was better than on "Bear's." The 5.8 flare, while intimidating, protected quite well. I placed a #3 just over the bulge at the base of the flare and then when I was standing on the dikes at the base, I placed a #1 Metolius about head high in the thin crack. I then lay-backed about three moves up until I could grab a juggy dike. Felt like hard 5.8 and you might be able to get away with calling it a soft 5.9.
Definitely harder and more committing than The Line, and a more classic route (though The Line is classic in its own right). Possibly the proudest line at the Leap.
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Chris McNamara
SuperTopo staff member
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http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.html?topic_id=640567
Cool photo trip report
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Greg Barnes
climber
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You can rap to the main ledge from the top of pitch 2 (i.e. the offwidth pitch) with a single 70m rope - it's a 110' rap (stay right). The pitch length getting there is a bit longer due to the traverse at the end (in other words, you could not lower off with a 70m - but the rope drag around the arete/edge at the end of the pitch would be horrendous anyway). There is a 5.10a/b route with a few bolts and pro where you rap - runout up high with a bit of tricky pro in a shallow vertical crack.
If you've never done the route, don't even think about rapping off - the next pitch on the arete is sweet!
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steelmnkey
climber
Vision man...ya gotta have vision...
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Only one more... this shot I took looking down at my wife belaying just before doing the step around onto the easy main upper face from the ramp start to pitch three. This is five-star cool exposure no matter how you slice it! Loved it!
[Click to View Linked Image]
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steelmnkey
climber
Vision man...ya gotta have vision...
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Shot of the first pitch....
[Click to View Linked Image]
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steelmnkey
climber
Vision man...ya gotta have vision...
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Great route from floor to summit. I'd do it again in a minute. Yet another "50 Crowded? Classic" I've completed without seeing another party on it the whole time.
For the second pitch I took a #5 Camalot, but #4.5 or even maybe just the #4 probably would have done the job better. IMHO, best approach for that offwidth is to get into it place a big cam as high as you can, then go into layback mode on the edge of the slot using the thinner crack out to the left to get up. Thrutching that slot gets ugly in a hurry.
Here's a shot of the whole deal that I took last week...
[Click to View Linked Image]
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Remy in Reno
Sport climber
Reno, NV
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I just did this on monday, and I loved it. It was my first multi-pitch and found it t be outstanding. The only thing that I didn't really like was the approach, it was hard on the knees, and then the hike back to the car was a bit harder. If anyone would like to climb this again or something else there and you need a partner or would like to car pool or whatever, let me know. I am new to Reno and am trying to get as much in before winter as possible. RemyinReno@yahoo.com is where you can find me. Good route and alot of fun.
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Colt45
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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This route wasn't quite as good as I expected. It is fun and follows a striking line, with nice exposure. But it's not particularly continuous, as it is split by a huge ledge system after the first pitch and almost half the route consists of hiking up trivial low-fifth class dikes.
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Chris McNamara
SuperTopo staff member
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The American Safe Climbing Assn. may have replaced anchor bolts on this climb. To find out visit the ASCA Replacement Page
The ASCA is a non-profit organization dedicated to replacing unsafe anchors. To learn about helping the ASCA click here
DONATE NOW
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Nathan Lunstrum
Trad climber
South Bend, IN
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This is the best route at the Leap IMHO. The first pitch is very steep and good pro isn't always obvious. The 5.8 flare at the top is ackward but warms you up for the 5.9 crux. I placed 3.5 and 4 friends in the lower half of the 5.9 offwidth and also walked a 4 camalot ahead of me though the whole thing. There are some incuts inside the off width that really help. Also some good hand jams in the back. If you have a larger shoe size, over a 10.5 you will find great heal-toe jams though the hardest part of the offwidth.(My feet weren't long enough) If you lead either of the first two pitches the following pitches will seem trivial but have enough interesting features to hold your interest.
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One of the 50 Classic Climbs of North America.Photo: Chris McNamara
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*What is "Route Beta"?
It's climber slang for information or tips on a route as in, "what's
the beta on that route?" As a service to fellow climbers we ask SuperTopo
guidebook users to post tips and updates to this website if they have relevant
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