Mr. Midwest

Mr. Midwest Free roughly follows the original aid line with 5 variation pitches. The hardest climbing is in the first 6 pitches, and it is relatively straightforward to rappel from the top of the crux 5th pitch to the ground on a suss mission.

Pitch 1

• Easy runout slab to a hard sequence before moving left to the corner. Thin liebacking to the anchor. 1 bolt belay

Pitch 2

• Incredible lieback and stem corner. 1 bolt belay

Pitch 3

• Steep juggy start to golden face climbing. Wide gear for belay at corner.

Pitch 4

• Wide corner to low easy traverse to West Face belay.

Pitch 5

• Backclean or runner 5.9 to a wide section of corner. #4 at the base of a mega lieback flake. Corner gets thinner and thinner to a punchy section before a bolt from the aid line for an old belay. Rest at the pod, then carry on out the undercling to clip the bolt above the first overlap and pull into the roof. Traverse left back to the belay. Mega pitch!

Pitch 6

• Tricky, balancy, body-position climbing on bullet gold rock. 5.11 slab to exit the seam and easier runout to the anchor.

Pitch 7

• Wander with minimal gear to the corner of El Cap Arms. Awesome ledge!

Pitch 8

• Up the groove, clip the pin and traverse hard right. Join West Face to that belay.

Pitch 9

• Neat steep 5.10 to El Cap’s most incredible crystal.

Pitch 10

• Recharge at the “Crystal of the Eternal Nows” before the scruffy Black Corner. A little wide groveling gets steep and thin with face holds and sporty climbing before the crack gets wide again. Slab up to a piton and gear belay.

Pitch 11

• 5.8 dirty roof

Pitch 12

• Physical 5.10 undercling (hope it’s clean) and face traverse up to the wildly overhanging crack. Dangle, thrutch, or style your way over the lip El Cap’s western face and work left to belay.

Pitch 13

• little 5.9 corner and scramble to Thanksgiving Ledge.

Route begins 200' uphill from West Face start. Look for the golden right facing corner of pitch two. Bolted climbing trends right off the deck and then back left to the base of the corner.

The route is in the shade until midday, which is convenient for the hard climbing down low.

Nuts 1 ea. micro, Cams 2 ea. tiny to #1 BD, 1 ea. #2 - #4, Offsets 1 ea.