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Peak Mountain 3

Orange Mechanique

FA Matt Samet, Dave Pegg, Bill Ramsey, Katie Cavicchio
CREATED May 2023
UPDATED May 2023

Description

This is the first route you'll come to in this sector, and climbs a very orange vertical face past 10 bolts. As you round the bend past the second big pillar, you'll head steeply uphill on a slidey scree slope into an alcove with four routes. This is the leftmost route.

Yup, yup, I know, there's a much more famous (and probably much better) Orange Mechanique in Cimai, France (8a), but I couldn't come up with a better name.

The bolts are a little more closely spaced on this one than most Fortress routes due to the stucco-like texture of the rock, which could tear your knees up and elbows up pretty good in a fall. The holds themselves, however, aren't too sharp. This sort of climbs like a Shelf Road route.

Treating the crumbly pockets gently, stretch high for the first bolt, clip a second, then move slightly up and left to the third. Turn a small roof, then onto the orange face, which grows increasingly harder and more technical the higher you get. (It begins to overhang just a bit, too.)

A decent pocket near the arete gives you a shake before the redpoint (pump) crux moving into the grey rock. Climbing on water pockets and grey incuts takes you to the anchors, at the base of a dihedral.

Best done on cool-weather days and with a good, stiff pair of shoes. Sustained.

Protection

12 quickdraws.


1000 km
1000 mi