King Arthur's Arete

Probably the most continuous climb on the cliff. Three pitches: 5.7 /5.8- , 5.8+ / 5.9- , and 5.6   When viewed from the main slab, especially after the leaves have fallen, the “Arete”, rises in one continuous edge for about 300 feet. (see photo) The arête forms the climber’s-right wall of the large, tree-and-talus filled gully.START - About 30-40 ft climbers-right of the bottom middle of the descent gully, or about 200 ft right of the start of “Bugs Eat Frogs”. (See photo of "East Slabs Area") You should be climber’s right of the bottom of the gully and about 10 ft right of the lowest “toe” of slab in the immediate area, and in front of a 6-8inch diameter birch tree with a flat rock for a “seat”.P1 – (Var) Climb up a series of half-formed holes to the largest one about 20ft up and the first bolt. Then past a flake ( 0.75, green, Camalot placement) and past a large hole (optional, but desirable, #3 Camalot). Step left and up to Bolt#2 (or step further left and climb the white rock to the same bolt) then past B#3 (pitch’s crux) and up to the double bolt anchor on a ledge. 80-90 ft   5.7 / 5.8- P2 – Interesting moves off the ledge lead to a thin slab/face. Start up to Bolt#1, now delicately and intricately move left ( 5.8, or so) until you can make a big step left onto a rounded crack (probably height-dependent), pull over towards the arête to a stance on the left. Step right onto the slab (bolt 2) then up past 3 more bolts to a doubl-bolt belay. 80 ft 5.8+ / 5.9- Crux is clipping and passing the last bolt. P3 – Step left from the belay, then up easy slab (Bolt) to an overlap. Move up (Bolt#2) and then right to a small ledge. At Bolt #3 step back left (P3’s crux) and climb the ridge of the arête, passing one more bolt, to the double-bolt anchor. 90 +/- ft 5.6 ( 2021 Note- It has been reported the back-up anchor for the belay/rap tree has been removed by person(s) unknown.) P1 Variation “Knight in White Leather Variation”: Starting a few feet right of the “half-formed holes”, climb directly up to, and then directly over, a black bolt. Above the bolt, gear [Green #0.75 Camalot] can be placed in the crack/flake to the left; then climb easily (5.0) 20-25 ft up and right to a white streak and a 2nd black bolt. Up the white streak to a stance and a 3rd bolt, then a crux-y move up ( 5.7 / 5.8- ), and finish on a diagonal left to the regular route’s P1 anchor. 80-90 ft 5.7 / 5.8- (Name is a semi-pun on “Knights in White Satin”. ) FA Ralph Weissleder (how’s your German? !) July 2017  Descent - Either Rap the route ( 3 x 1-rope raps) or, if you want to get back up to the hiking trail on top, follow the crude climber’s path up from the top of the climb, then a few moves down and into the gully. Once in the gully*, go up and then left (crude path, some flags) to the hiking trail (From top of the climb up to the hiking trail is about a 5-8 min. hike.)... * To get to Cader Crack, once in the gully, turn down and move diagonally skier's right-ish and keep your eyes open. Cader Crack is about 200 ft down on the right.

See photo. Access is in one of two ways: 1) From the bottom of the cliff (e.g. bottom of “Bugs Eat Frogs”) walk climber’s-right along the base of the cliff for about 200 ft (some up-and-down hiking for the easiest path) passing the bottom of the 20-30 ft wide descent gully, and continue 30 +/- ft as described in START.

2. From the top of the cliff- Take the official hiking trail across the open slab. (This is 25 ft beyond where the climber’s path to the “Bugs” and “Merlin” raps leave the hiking trail.) Continue on the hiking trail for 35 paces (about 120-150 ft) to where it almost flattens out above the steeper gravelly section. Turn right and go through the woods a few feet to the top of a slab. Follow the top of this slab to skier’s/viewer’s left until it enters the woods (cairn). Follow the crude path 35-50 ft to the base of a short cliff, then drop down and then over to hiker’s-left, then down to the right and into the gully. The path is reasonably open and distinct (in 2016). Do not go below the “twin fallen logs”, but rather turn up the hiker’s-left side of the gully next to, then over, a very rotten log. Above the log, move down and on the path to the top of the climb. Fixed rap station on a tree. Make 3 x 90 ft raps to the base on fixed anchors.

Of course, at the twin fallen logs you can always continue down in the gully, past Cader Crack, to the bottom. The gully is pretty rugged below the turn off at the rotten log.

Medium Cam, draws