COMMENTS AND CRITICAL INFORMATION ON CHANGES AT SUGARLOAF.
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MISCELLANEOUS
>> A number of climbs shown in Carville's East Face section are not in the Supertopo guide.
>> There are a few climbs in the Supertopo guide that are only shown in the topos with no other reference. Also a couple of the grades are different in the topo and the narrative.
MAIN ROCK WEST
>> John Robinson broke off the offending sharp rock on Blind Faith that has caused a death, and other near-death events. Nonetheless, perhaps a fixed anchor (in the early days a piton had been placed there) might make a less life-threatening situation.
>> Follower use caution on Pan Dulce; as above, while stemming & setting up to make the move out onto the face, a fall could result in one secion of the rope running down the arc of the sharp arete.
>> Scott Bye put up a climb up high and to the left of Happy Face. Northern Lights, 12a
>> Twist and Shout is a climb just right of Hyperspace that starts with two bolts then goes into a crack and goes to the top. This might require a 70m rope to top rope or rap the route. 10a R (see pg 228, 1991 Carville guide).
>> Joel Moore put up a 12a bolted climb just right of West Chimney.
>> Sugar Daddy has a second pitch that is 12a (Joel Moore). Sugar Daddy has optional recommended) gear (yellow Alien or =) after 2nd(?) bolt. Large rock pulled out shortly after 1st that made this section quite a bit harder.
>> Two bolts have been added to the horizontal section of Grand Delusion, where the old pitons used to be.
>> Aidan Maguire and John Robinson put up a bolted climb just left of West Chimney. It is
Slippy Liam, 11d, very sustained, thin, & temperature dependent. It joins the anchors for Cry
Mary, and is easily TR'd from the Cry Mary anchors.
>> John Robinson added a bolt, next to the existing bolt 15’ above the traditional hanging belay for Bolee Gold, to provide an optional belay that has a good stance.
>> From the top of the second pitch of Ghost In The Machine (at the best belay on Sugarloaf!) there is a hand crack heading up and left to intersect Blind Faith right before the crux. Aidan Maguire dubbed it the Pentecostal Crack, 10a. Climb this, then the Blind Faith crux, then straight up to do the last half of Pitch 3 of Ghost, to it’s 3rd anchor, 10cR; superb (sounds contrived but if you look at it, it is a very natural, exposed and exciting line).
MAIN ROCK EAST, AND NOSE
>> The Gallows Pole has been rebolted with bolts added and a variation start to the right. (Chillin with Bob Dylan 11 c/d). The rap requires a 60m rope.
>> At the top of Farley you no longer need to tunnel through; someone added two bolts so you can go directly over the top, ? above the Knobby Wall, at 10d, instead of traversing left. There may be an option further right also.
>> The Falcon, 12b, takes off from the top of the Fang, goes past two bolts with crux immediately above the 2nd. It is important to have an attentive belayer as the crux is not far above the start and slack or inattention could result in “groundfall” (a 3rd bolt might be added, but it is actually not very feasible to clip it on lead without hanging; it would be helpful for “working” the crux). It then traverses left 6 ft (11+) and heads up over a small overhang and takes the face up another 50 feet to a two bolt anchor. The upper section parallels Birdman. No known 2nd.
>> Both Opus 7 and Beast of Burden have run out sections above the anchor. In the case of Opus 7 it is the original line and the “retro” cut it short; shame! With Beast Of Burden it may have been added later.
>> Harder Than It Used To Be has been led since the hold broke (Carville referred to it as having “no known second ascent”). Aidan Maguire did it with Joel Moore a decade ago at ?: 12a.
WEST BUTT
>> On the West Butt, a bolt has been added to "Scratchin It", just below the 2nd bolt beyond the "gap" (makes these a close couple, unfortunately, but prevents an injury fall onto the ledge of "Cryptogamic", at a thin move, ). Also, this climb now shares two bolts with Sciatica; one about 4m below the roof and one at the roof. Gear is still advisable in two spots (~3/4" cam and ~1" cam). In June 2010, a bolt was added to the bottom of "Scratchin' It" to keep this route completely separate from "Knobelty". A bolt was also added to the bottom of "The Left Cheek", to protect a straight-up start, and/or to prevent a nasty ground fall if starting from the right and steppint out left onto the first knob. Anchors were placed at the top of "Sciatica" and "Scatchin' It"; parties now don't have to share the one previous set of anchors by the oak tree. The anchors by the oak tree are in the process of being mover closer to the edge of the rock.
SUGARBUN
>> Will Cottrell and John Robinson put up a bolted route that goes left out of Finger Lock, at 11b.
>> Paul Crawford put up a very hard bolted route, Tippy Toes, 12+, farther to the left of Finger Lock.
>> There appears to be a (?) new route up the south corner/face on the rock with a major overhang immediately south of Sugarbun. Info anybody?
MIDWAY ROCK
>> The Supertopo book refers to a high and a low bolt anchor for Self Abuse; at least one of these anchors has been chopped; the existing bolt anchor above Flight Deck does not serve for Self Abuse. Other top anchors are in place for the SW face routes.
PERIPHERAL ROCKS
>> On PR-1 (see overview maps), two bolted climbs. The left one is 11d and the right one is 10c. Additional bolts might make these rarely-climbed routes more appealing.
>> Two more anchors have been added to the top of Dental Wall to make that system more workable.