Nexus

This an odd, but very worthy, route on the left side of the North Face of the Bastille. I will describe the pitch the way we did it, joining the tail-end of

Madame Guillotine

.

Apparently you could continue further right, joining the

Bastille Crack

earlier and skipping the 11a section on

MG

, which would probably keep the pitch at 5.10. This would avoid what I thought to be the best climbing, though.

Start up

Werk Supp

, and follow that route for ~50'. Look for the prominent, undercling flake shooting up and right. Climb delicately out this flake with frequent and good cams (finger to thin-hands size), 5.10. After the flake ends, move right onto a subtle ledge system.

Here, one can apparently traverse into the

Bastille Crack

(?) or continue straight up past a bolt. You have now joined the upper part of

Madame Guillotine

. Continue past two more bolts (thin, balance-y crux, 5.11a), and then head up the easy face to join

Bastille Crack

at its second belay (fixed pin, 1-2" cams).

Both Rossiter's and Levin's guidebooks give this an "R" rating, but I can't see why. Great gear can be had the whole way. Maybe the R is a holdover from before

MG

was bolted and those bolts were added?

Either way, Nexus is a worthy outing for those who think they've climbed "everything" on the Bastille. It's enjoyable, well-protected easy 5.11 climbing on good (if a bit dirty) rock with great pro.

After joining the

Bastille Crack

, you have many options. There are no fixed anchors, and you're 140' feet up.

You could traverse down and left to the anchor on

Werk Supp

and make two single rope rappels down that route.

You could also continue up the

Bastille Crack

, or traverse further right to finish up

Outer Space

.

NF of the Bastille, between

Werk Supp

and

Bastille Crack

.

Standard rack up to #1 Camalot for Nexus. Maybe doubles from #0.5-0.75. Plenty of long slings.