The West Arete (of T1)

Maybe I just had a bad day my first time on it, but this route spooked me, and I didn't even lead it. This route make you so make you so nervous that if you fart, dogs will cry. The second time, a decade later, on lead, it seemed more reasonable - in control, actually. Be sure to be having a good day before getting on it.

Approach Via any climb that will take you to the Red Ledge. This would include the

Yellow Spur

,

Rewritten

,

The Great Zot

,

The Green Spur

,

etc

....

From the Red Ledge, traverse to the right from the

Swanson Arete

,

Icarus

or

Daedalus

, or from to the left from the start of the fourth pitch of

The Yellow Spur

. A few meters left of the

Yellow Spur's

P4 is an obvious clean arete with some chalked slopers and crimpers. For the first thirty feet, the arete overhangs on the right side and is slabby on the left. Solo up this arete until nearly even with the roof pitch of the

Yellow Spur

. You will pass 2 pins in all, and some trad gear will have since appeared on the left, as well. From this point you will continue climbing the arete and occasionally getting gear just to the left from the arete onto the face, as for the right side of

Icarus

. This is about a full pitch of climbing. Some gear is to be had on the face in general, and the climbing becomes easier toward the top.

After joining the edge of the

Icarus

face for a pitch, both routes will move out and right to finish on the 5.6 (S) arete of the

Yellow Spur

.

The opening arete of this route is beautiful and exposed, but a little insecure and pretty runout.

Note: the entire length of this pitch can be run together in ~85m. We did it as such recently on a 70m rope and simul-climbed the last 15m or so. A traxion or other device would be a good idea, since some of the lower moves are iffy.

The first 40 feet of this route are a lot more runout than the book would suggest. A career ending fall is quite possible, and the moves are insecure. The first pitch can be rapped from above on Icarus and TR'd. The rest of the climb is relatively easy (5.6)