Solstice Buttress

This is a pleasant ramble up the low-profile buttress on the far right side of Tuttle Slab, punctuated by a number of small roof encounters.

Pitch 1 (5.7+, 130 feet):

Make burly moves out of the gully to enter the knobby right-facing corner. Slab around the right side of a tree to a 5-inch offwidth splitter with a side fingercrack. A tricky move around a small overlap gains a tree belay.

Pitch 2 (5.5, 200 feet):

Follow the pine-needled groove into a left-facing layback corner. Walk straight through the wide gap in the trees to the base of a frumpy left-facing corner.

Pitch 3 (5.2, 170 feet):

Paddle up the frumpy left-facing corner, then start cutting to the right in front of a tree, traversing ~30 feet right on stepped ledges to a gear/horn belay just above a dead pine.

Pitch 4 (5.5, 190 feet):

Trend up and right through a duo of clean left-facing flakes. The second flake feeds into a juggy crack and a gear belay next to a tree.

Pitch 5 (5.8 PG, 150 feet):

Watch for loose rock on this pitch!

Bee-line it through the blocky orange roofs via a short steep handcrack. Be extra careful not to slay your belayer on the subsequent choss ramps. Above the ramps, place some small but good gear and make a committing step up onto the green slab. A couple more moves gets you to the comfort of a left-trending flake. From the top of the flake, cut hard left on easy terrain to a two-bolt belay on a good ledge. (Note: If you keep going straight up at any point after the flake, you will encounter moderate cracks that, if followed diligently, eventually bring you back on route near the top of Pitch 6.)

Pitch 6 (5.7, 200 feet):

Step ten feet left and up before climbing back to the right on a diagonal crack that brings you to a stance. A short vertical handcrack guards a buffet of moderate cracks on solid green stone. Take your pick and cruise up to a two-bolt anchor beneath a split pillar.

Pitch 7 (3rd class, 150 feet):

Scramble around the right side of the split pillar and paddle up the scree gully past the Mega Tree. Consider chilling out here awhile. About 30 feet up and left of the Mega Tree is a steep brushy handcrack breaching the mini headwall. Set up your belay here.

Pitch 8 (5.8, 190 feet):

Jam the brushy flared handcrack through a pointy roof. Continue slightly right up an easy ramp. As you approach a gnarly bush, start traversing right to a one-bolt (plus gear) belay beneath stepped orange roofs.

Pitch 9 (5.7, 80 feet):

Climb out the center of the stepped orange roofs and proceed to the top of the buttress. A slung 60-cm chickenhead marks the end of the technical climbing and the point of rappel.

Top-out:

A short (100-foot) 4th-class ramble brings you to a miniature summit pinnacle. Tag the pinnacle, have a celebration, and reverse your steps to the slung chickenhead to start the rappels.

Descent:

Rappel 25m from slung chickenhead atop P9 to single bolt atop P8

Rappel 55m from single bolt atop P8 to ledge at base of P8

Reverse P7 (3rd class) to the two-bolt anchor atop P6

Rappel 60m to the two-bolt anchor atop P5

Rappel 55m to the two-bolt anchor on slab ~50 feet to climbers' left of P4 corners

Rappel 55m to the slung tree ~15 feet to climbers' right of P3 corner

Rappel 50m into big gully

Start in the semi-hanging right-facing corner on the far right side of Tuttle Slab, about 200 yards uphill from the obvious arches of

Bioluminescence

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Double set cams to 2" + one each 3-4" cams

optional one each 5-6" cams (smaller gear is usually available)

Single set nuts

Two 60m ropes