Jade Gate

Jade Gate is a 7-bolt 5.11 face climb to anchors on the lower (east) end of the long South Face of Seal Rock. It climbs huecos and horns to a distinct, pink-colored, ghost-shaped groove up high then exits past a big hueco/hole below the lip.

This makes for a great warm-up for the harder climbs on the wall and has excellent grey-green Flatirons stone. Many thanks to Mark Roth et al. for turning it into a high-quality sport pitch and to OSMP and the FCC for making such projects possible.

I made the original lead ground-up with no bolts after my friend Steve rappelled the line and brushed the holds up high, over the lip. I think I was on the route for 1 or 1.5 hours going up and down and up and down, trying to fish in gear. I remember being at that hueco for a long time, contemplating the marginally protected exit crux above. Hey, fun times!

OLD DESCRIPTION PRESERVED FOR POSTERITY:

This is the "warm-up" route on the South Face of Seal Rock. It is towards the east end of the face behind the thick copse of pine trees and can be distinguished by its pink-colored, ghost-shaped groove up high. The pitch is about 60 feet long and finishes at a fixed sling on a loose horn over the lip of the slab. Back this anchor up with cams.

Boulder up past good huecos and move left into a purple band to place some marginal gear. Crank right into the left-angling crack (good gear here - a #3 Camalot). Follow the crack up and left until it ends, then face climb up into the bottom of the pink groove. A hole at the top of the groove provides your final gear before the exit bulge.

This pitch has potential for very serious falls in a few different spots.

This now has 7 bolts and an anchor. Some may want a #2 or #3 Camalot between bolts 2 & 3 and a #4 before bolt 7.

FORMER RACK (as a gear-only lead): The rack is a bit eclectic: Camalots 1-4 (2 #4s if possible), RPs, small tube chock (the red one) and a #1 Tri-cam.