I Believe You Have My Stapler

This route starts in an alcove on the North/Northeast side of Notch Mountain, directly facing Ibantik Lake.  Overall decent rock quality, with noted loose sections in the pitch descriptions.  Some leakage and moss noted as well.  Recommended gear: nuts, cams to #2, and slings.  Walk off the West/Northwest side of Notch Mountain to intersect the trail back to the Trial Lake TH.  Approximately 900 feet of gain from the base, with at least 650 feet of sustained climbing.

Pitch 1: Begin approximately 60 feet under obvious dihedral in the left side of the alcove.  Blocky start, with easy protection.  Dihedral is a sustained finger crack with plenty of horizontal placements as well.  Slightly loose topout.  Belay second from wide ledge. 130 feet, 5.9+.

Pitch 2: Another wandering blocky start into a finger crack.  Slightly (but noticeably) overhung start, with the pitch relaxing once you get into the finger crack.  Obvious and many horizontal and vertical placement options throughout the pitch.  100 feet, 5.9.

Pitch 3: This is THE PITCH.  Gorgeous splitter hand crack.  From the top out, walk approximately 30 feet north (right if Ibantik Lake is to your back) to two big blocks.  Crack begins behind the second block.  Stellar pumpy handcrack eats up a #2.  Ends in a loose and mossy, but super wide ledge. 110 feet, 5.10+.

Pitch 4: From the boulder strewn ledge, wander to the north (right) approximately 200 feet through a gully.  You'll end up at a dihedral with a 10 foot by 12 foot wide block at the base.  Squeeze between the block and the main wall to get on top of the block and to the start of the dihedral.  It looks deceivingly easy, but once you get into the wall you'll feel that it is slightly overhanging.  The many cracks eat up protection.  Slightly wet.  110 feet, 5.10.

Pitch 5: Really just a choose-your-own-adventure 5.2 scramble to the summit.  We didn't rope up for this final move to the top.

There is an alcove directly facing Ibantik Lake, with the right side sticking out having a bolted route on it.  Route begins in the alcove, up a sloped bank, approximately 15 feet inside and on the north facing aspect of the alcove.  Nice shade throughout the day.

Nuts, cams to #2, slings