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Description
The crux is moving out around the overhanging corner of the first pitch. A good climb, tho the wet start detracts from the aesthetics, and the second pitch is much easier than the first. There is now a pair of cold shuts at ~100', so you can do this route as a single pitch.
P1: Climb the face past the bolt, gaining the right-facing corner. Ascend this to its end, a small ledge. Reach right to the only hold on the face, climb up onto this, then move up and left to meet the overhanging, right-facing corner system right at the point it turns from being an overhang to being a corner. Step up the corner to a broken overhang, make a scary reach left (protect with a green C3) and move out around the corner. Climb steep face on the corner's edge to a narrow ledge.
P2: Climb up and slightly left, over a bulging wall, to low-angle face, then follow crack systems up to the top. An oak tree stands right in line with the route, but the spruce tree to climber's right has a webbing anchor on it as well.
NOTE: A lot of ice forms over the lip of the Birthday Corner early in the season. It falls from >30m up, landing among the base of all the Amphitheatre area routes. Even after the main winter's accumulation has fallen, nightly formations continue to bombard the area. Be watchful, wear a helmet, and if big ice is looming above on that crystalline spring morning, maybe climb somewhere else.
Location
8' left of Amphitheatre Crack, at a series of blocky steps leading to a steep face under a right-facing corner which begins 10' above the uppermost block ledge. The start is often wet. Descent: there is a webbing anchor on a large spruce tree 20' climber's right of the topout of this route. Two rappels are required, using the anchors of Amphitheatre Crack for the second rappel. There is a pair of cold shuts at ~100' now, so this route can be done as a single pitch.
Protection
Bring C3s or similar micro cams, and a standard rack to C4 Sz.3. One bolt down low. As of 2012, there is a pair of ss bolt anchors at 100'.
Routes in Black Arches Wall
- 14Birthday Corner5.10a/bTrad