Tradewinds

Tradewinds is a stellar route on the Incredible Hulk, located between Positive Vibrations and Red Dihedral. The climbing is steep, clean, and sustained, just about as good as alpine climbing gets!

The route starts in an obvious straight-in corner about 40' to the right of the "Triangular Recess" (Positive Vibes starts on the left side of the triangle).

P1 Climb the corner past 2 bolts (11a). Just when it looks like it's gonna get really thin, step left to a great belay stance with 2 bolts. 100'

P2 Make a 5.10 face move back right into the corner, and then scramble up and right on easy terrain to another 2 bolt anchor.

These 2 pitches can be easily combined.

P3 Step left from the belay and make a 5.8 mantle, and then wander up and left on easy ledges to the base of a left facing corner system. Climb the corner past a small roof (5.10), and then face-traverse left below a larger roof to a 2 bolt anchor. 170'

P4 Continue up easy terrain to a steep pillar that blends into a shallow left facing corner, which eventually curves left to form a roof.

Climb past 2 old bolts on thin and exciting moves (11b). This is probably the spiciest lead on the climb, bring small RPs and a cool head. Once the roof is reached, avoid it by busting out right (5.10). Trend right, then back left on easy terrain to a 2 bolt station just below the large "Bivy Ledge".

P5 Some tricky routefinding here, since many routes cross the Bivy Ledge. You're aiming for the prominent left facing flake/corner system that forms the right boundary of the clean "Sheild". There's a distinct looking straight-in corner that's tempting, but I guess this is the Macedonian route and it dead ends into aid climbing. Tradewinds goes to the right of this, and shares this pitch with Astro Hulk.

Wander up short LF corners, passing one old bolt. Shortly after the old bolt, when the corner pinches down, make a cool traverse left past a splitter crack to gain a ledge on the left (5.10+). Belay off gear atop this pillar/ledge.

P6 This is a short 5.9 pitch that climbs the spooky looking detatched flake, just left of the main corner system. It seems pretty solid. We didn't do this, but I think it's possible to link P5&6, probably with some easy simuling. There's a tempting 2 bolt belay up and right here, but it's probably better to belay from a single (new) bolt and some gear just to the left of the 2 bolt station.

P7 The route up to here has been great, but here it gets mind-blowing! Climb the shallow LF corner, past some strenuous thin lie-backing, and then past a few bolts (11c). At the last bolt, lean out left and clip the lone belay bolt, and then make a very hard move to gain the belay stance (11+). The bolt can be backed up with a med-large cam in the flake above.

P8 Very strenuous thin underclinging and liebacking around the flake, past 2 bolts (11d). Higher, enter "The Venturi", the awesome inset roof system, and climb it to a 2 bolt anchor (5.10)

From here, gain the Crow's Nest Ledge and consider your options: Climb the amazing splitter finish to the Venturi Effect (11d), wander right and finish on Astrohulk (5.9), or Rap (70m rope required). Either way, it's been an amazing day on the Sierra's best chunk of rock!

Double set of Cams from very small (000 C3 useful) to #2 Camalot, and a single #3. Extra TCUs would not go unplaced.

A healthy rack of stoppers and small nuts/RPs is helpful. (I placed a #2 BD micro stopper)