West Arete

A must-do route for the 5.10 climber at Chimney Rocks. A long, aesthetic, moderate arete with steep cruxes and fantastic exposure.

A low crux through the first two bolts continues into 100' of 5.8 climbing up the left side of the arete. Continue up the short, easy section of lower angle broken slab before stepping around to the right side of the arete once vertical again. Enjoy the exposure up the slightly overhung high crux, then finish off the route with 40' of sub-5.8 climbing to the anchor.

Descent: Scramble 40' east across the top of the pinnacle to the rap anchor and make a 80' rappel down the East side.

Start from the top of the large detached block at the base of the West side of the pinnacle by walking into the "chasm" on the SW side of the pinnacle and then ascending the easy 15' chimney.

Bolted anchors at both the base and top of route. 14 bolts on route. An optional .3 Camalot near the base of the broken slab helps to protect a runout over easy terrain.

Due to the length and course of the route, several alpine draws and a couple long slings are required to avoid bad rope drag. Especially important is that the first two bolts after the slab be extended with a 4' and 2' sling, respectively. If placed, the optional cam should also be extended with a 4' sling.