Molehill Direct

This is a variation of

Mountains Out of Molehills

that indeed deserves its own name. Although the first 10 meters of climbing are precisely the same, what you will remember of the route will not be the same, as its crux and nature is completely different.

As for

MOOMH

, you will start off in the right-facing corner and head on up moderate terrain on so-so (at best) gear to get established in the corner. Easy moves cruise up to the bulge and into a right-traversing crack and flake. Place good gear and head out to the right on the traverse for 2 moves.

A left-leaning undercling flake now appears above you.

Place gear here from a good stance, and place whatever you can (smoke em' if you got 'em) before heading up and back left into the flake for a somewhat sustained crux of 5.9- climbing. There are more opportunities on that flake for gear, but it is suspect. The holds all felt good to climb on but suspect for holding gear.

Go through a very interesting and fun crux and up onto the left hand side of the rib of rock, just right of the left side arete, eventually climbing lower angle rock on the face to the top.

A very long cordalette was key to getting a solid and easy belay anchor, as for

MOOMH

.

This route lies just uphill of the

Tombstone

area, a voluminous overhang split by a jam-to-wide crack. After passing under this and then the 'Bowling Alley' gully (recognizable by the 6' diameter 'bowling ball' wedged up top) there are a few ribs of climbable rock isolated between junky, broken down areas.

The first of those ribs holds a splitter thin hands crack that pops through a roof up high. That is

Prime Time Climb

.

The second rib holds the routes

Mountains Out of Molehills

and Molehill Direct. These both start in the right-facing corner and part ways about 10 meters up where a horizontal crack and flake splits out to the right for a hand traverse.

Molehill Direct takes the first moves of that hand traverse before splitting up and right through the bulge on the obvious left-leaning flake and then follows the left hand arete to the top of the rib of rock.

A standard light rack form small stoppers to medium cams. The top anchor I used was a very long cordalette around a huge boulder.

The protection along the upper part of this rock, under the flake, should be treated with some suspicion. Place many, place often.