Thriller

Thriller moves out of the cave on progressively steepening rock. A hard starting sequence deposits the climber below the first roof system where a high clip protects moving past the overlap. The target here is a large scary looking tooth looming 15 feet above. Despite my best efforts with a crowbar I was unable to even budge the tooth, so while it looks ominous it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Mark and I have both climbed through using it, and it has been very solid. Move left after the tooth to gain a large plate and a thrilling series of moves that takes the climber to a small stance below the final overlap. The crack above is protected by a few camming units, and while this section is pretty easy in itself, it comes well after the pump factor has taken hold! Two more bolts protect the final section below the anchors. Thriller offers little rest once stepping off the ledge until one is jamed into the crack above. Good one-hand-at-a-time shake-outs can be had in several places, but these don't produce a lot of recovery.

Rock quality on Thriller is overall very good, although one passes a small band of softer stone at a ledge just below the first overlap. The moves on Thriller just get better and better right up to the crack which seems a little more routine but still fun.

Left side of The Lair, coming out of the cave.

About a dozen draws and at least two camming devices. We used the 1.0 and 0.75 Link cams that span 0.5 inch to 1.5 inch. Depending on the pump factor, it might be nice to have a couple of extra camming units in this same size range.