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Peak Mountain 3

Flash Crack

FA John Sanders/Lauren Clayton
CREATED 
UPDATED 

Description

In the middle of the wall are three crack systems. Flash Crack is the one on the right.

This route, and the other two crack routes to its left, was bolted in the fall of 2016, and there are sport anchors above it and the others.

The old TR anchors above are still there for those wanting to take the dirty trail approach to the top. For that, you need around 30' of cord or webbing to get your master point over the edge. From the ugly grooves atop some of the routes at this crag, I can tell some people have TRd without a properly set anchor, and this damaged the rock and could potentially damage the rope, no matter how polished some of the rock here is.

There apparently is disagreement about whether routes at the Greenbelt can go on gear, but this one can if you trust the rock and your placements. One problem is that there is no pro for the start of the route (which is easy but still slick enough that even an experienced climber might slip off). You can get a Tricam in one of the pockets lower down, but it doesn't inspire a ton of confidence. After the run-out, there is good pro, with good stances, the rest of the way. Passive gear recommended.

The newest edition of the guidebook slightly downgraded this route to 5.6/5.7. We'll see what the community says in the long run, but I feel many of the Greenbelt routes actually could be bumped up at least a grade due to the polish, which is definitely a factor on some climbs, including this one.

Location

For anyone only interested in TRing-- Walk to the right past the end of the wall and find a use trail climbing up and then traversing back to the anchors. There is a Class 5 shortcut by a "cave" if the fall risk is worth saving a couple minutes. The use trail can get pretty brushy.

Protection

I have used stoppers, Tricams, and hexes for trad leads. Cams will go in, but I don't trust them not to skate out or break the rock in a fall.

As a sport lead, there are four bolts plus sport anchors.