Thunderbolts From Hell

This route is a good climb, but heady. It lies on the 'Morning Thunder' wall, and, in fact, climbs the first few feet of the namesake climb before breaking left to a bolted arete. Endurance crimping and stable footwork are the keys to making this climb go.

Start up Morning Thunder and place a few good stoppers with a long sling (a litte strenuous), climb left to reach the arete and soon thereafter clip a bolt. Continue past a few more bolts and some tough moves on some flexi-flakes to reach the top of the arete. Keep moving, because endurance is a factor and the holds are small. Top out and build a belay.

This is a pretty stout route- and a few of the little flakes you will yard on are flexing and dubous at best. Be mindful that a fall from the wrong place will result in smashing your face into the rock. So think in terms of doing solid 5.12 while a little pumped and also with a bad fall pending. I talked with Steve about the bolt placements at some length, during which discussion he mentioned that G.R. broke some teeth out on a failed lead attempt, and also conceeded that the 12a grade might be a sandbag, but also stated that was GR's rating, not his. I'm not strong enough at that level to make clear distinctions, but it was quite hard and certainly in the 5.12 range.

A few small nuts for the opening moves of Morning Thunder, then widely spaced bolts for the steep arete to the left.