Top of the Grotto (Ojo and Evil Paradise Sectors )
Description
[Edit]This crag is at the top of the grotto. It has stunning basalt and excellent technical climbing with exposure and views. It faces generally west with a little bit of north, so a good shady spot during morning sessions.
The Ojo sector is the first crag you will pass if taking the Mordor approach trail (preferred, see topo) and boasts an impressive collection of high quality 12- sport routes as well as a couple of worthy trad lines. It faces northwest, making it pleasantly shady for a longer period of the day than other parts of this wall. This was the crag that had the first 12- in the grotto, "Ojo", named from the iconic satellite dish feature in the middle of the eponymous route. The staging area here is comfortable, relaxing, with phenomenal views, and there is a good density of excellent climbing from that single spot, making it a little more attractive as a destination for the day.
The Evil Paradise Sector starts above the last route on the Grotto Left Wall, "Bedeviled" from a high nook that you could hike-scramble to if you are already climbing in the Grotto. From here, you will encounter some great classics including the moderate but wildly exposed Evil Paradise, the quality trad line "Bloody Sunday", and the hard testpiece "Lucifer's Hammer Drill" as well as some more technical face climbs like "Black Mass". Most of the belay stances at this sector are less than ideal, kinda scrappy, so prepare to look around a bit before you drop your packs and/or do the 3rd/4th class traverse to the base of the route. Also, if choosing this as a destination for the day, do consider approaching this sector from the Mordor trail as it will help to reduce the already accelerated erosion at the base of this wall (unfortunate, and worsening every year probably mostly due to climbers). If not, try to stick to the talus and not the erosion gullies as you hike up. Drop your packs somewhere away from the eroding mess.
Local climbing organizations
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