Dances with Beagles

Dances with Beagles is a three-pitch line that heads up the left side of the Eagle Wall approximately 200' left of Eagle Dance. The climbing is fairly good but is detracted from by a lot of crumbling holds and some bad bolts.

Begin about 30' left of a two-tiered pillar/150' left of the big pillar that marks the start of Eagle Dance. You should be able to spot a thin seam protected by two bolts, and if you look carefully, a two bolt anchor above.

P1: Climb up the seam and face above for 120'. Despite lots of wire placements, a fairly serious lead. 5.9+.

P2: This is the great pitch of the climb. Step off the belay to the right and climb the left-leaning finger crack that splits the varnished, sheer face above. The crux comes at the end of the crack with decent pro at your feet. A no-hands rests follows before a secondary crux pulling the little rooflet. There is a bolt here, but the hanger is cracked, above this expect very little gear on the way up to a two bolt anchor. 5.11+ 130'.

P3: Leave the wires behind, and grab the draws for 160' of face climbing past 18 bolts. Almost every other hold seems capable of breaking, and since almost every other bolt has a cracked hanger, they may or may not stop you in the event of a fall. There is one nice new bolt protecting the crux, a STEEP, fun sequence up the headwall. Sustained 5.11 climbing.

Overall, my partner and I agreed that the route is worthwhile for the awesome second pitch and the climbing up to and through the headwall on the third pitch, but the 100+ feet of bad bolts and rock after that was a serious detractor. This climb would be fun to round out your day after Levitation (by the way, despite ratings in the book, this is definately harder), but not as a destination in and of itself.

Bring a double set of wires, a few Aliens or TCU's, 18 draws, and two ropes.