Carine crystal crack5/26/2023 Build a belay either at a notch/ledge in the red rock at the top of the sub-pillar, or go a little further, crossing a gully, and belay on a large ledge with a small tree. The crux comes midway through, when the rock steepens and the holds get smaller. Gear is infrequent on this pitch and not super solid, so be prepared for some runouts. Eventually, move out onto the face, heading towards the edge of the ridge/arete. P1: Start up the shallow right facing corner, just to the left of wide crack/gully. The difficulty was fairly consistent throughout, and the route intuitive.) I believe we followed the proper route, but either we skipped the crux, or the book is inaccurate. (Note: In the Select Climbs to Montana book, this route is listed as 5.10-, although it doesn’t give more detail other than a vague hand drawn topo. We didn’t knock anything off, but the potential for letting something loose is definitely there. Thankfully, with the exception of the start of the first pitch, the route wanders enough to prevent your belayer from being in the line of fire from rockfall. If you have the requisite skills, however, it is a fun half-day out in the mountains. It would likely not be a good route for newer alpine leaders (or followers, for that matter) as it has a fair amount of lose rock, some runouts, and requires good judgment. White Crystal Crack is a fun adventure climb with a short approach and easy descent.
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