Route follows the direct line up the center of the large overhanging arete that separates the west and south facing walls. Follow the serpentine crack and subtle holds through the overhanging terrain and on to a declivity in the face. From here the route is still being parsed out. The easiest route is up to the right. The route up to the left is promising, but needs to be aggressively cleaned. Route could potentially be all trad or mixed.

It Goes to Eleven

Gold Rush

Simple Math

Meat Grinder

Closest Boulder

Mandibular Disjunction

Hard Movement

House of Cards

Rolling stones

Big Momma

Empire Crack

Irradiance

Jawline for Days

Practice wall

Sorbet

Pleasant Overhangs

The Shaft

Tap'er Light

Canaries May Fly

High Ore

Neversweat

Young Cannibals

Walk the Line

Crack Stuffer

House of cards is named for the dubious nature of the rock on the first free ascent. After multiple cleanings a dirty fern redirected the party left into the "house of cards". After pulling nearly every good hold off the wall what was left was pretty solid. The route is much cleaner now, but that is what we said after the first two cleaning efforts! Overall a very fun route that takes an enticing path through three overhanging sections and a big dihedral with good position. Gear placement is ample.

5.10a (sport) 70ft Gold Rush is the centermost climb on the top tier of the Prospector crags south face. The line ascends though an open face and over a bulge to the anchors up top. The crux occurs low on the route when ascending a moderate bulge into balancy crimpers. Continue straight up to the overhang and commit your hands and move. Big positive crimpers await just out of reach for the average height person. After passing the overhang it is a cruise to the top. Spectacular views from up top of the surrounding crags.

Simple Math - 5.9 (sport) 80ft

This climb ascends the face 5 feet right of 'Stuffer'. Move through well-spaced hand and foot holds towards and interesting triangular block that juts out from the middle of the wall. The hand holds are good, but at times sparse. Fun movement on well spaced clean rock.

This route is on the face directly to the right of the arete next to 'Cannibals'. Shares the anchor with Cannibals. Face climb through some interesting protruding blocks. They look like good holds but they are deceptive. Crux is halfway up. Looks easier than it climbs. Bolts will be added at a later date for sport leading.

Three boulders offer exceptional jug/mantle problems, a couple of easy highball face climbs, and lovely Neihart Quartzite.

Climbing as direct as you can to the anchors up the blocky face looks harder than it is. There are numerous buckets along the way that take the bite out of the steepest section. Just fun movement on a clean face.

Follow broken 4th class rock for about 20ft. Pass to the left of a small overhang and up a steeper face (crux 1) with good holds. Pull over the ledge and onto the face above. Move through a series of crimps in the middle of the face straight to chain anchors (7 bolts to chains).

5.8 crack Named for the first cleaning attempt that rolled both a human sized boulder and a human sized human from the face of the cliff. Fortunately, no humans were harmed in the making of this route. The route follow a zig zag crack up the middle of the face. The finger crack is supplemented with lots of jugs, but bring a lot of small ear for the crack. Crux is up high. Chains up top can be reached over the top by long arms.

Big Momma - 5.9 (trad) 70ft, Bolted anchors on top

This route follows broken rock for 15-20 feet before entering a splitter hand crack with face hold options. for ~15ft. After this first taste of the hand crack you enter the splitter dihedral section for the next 20ft (crux). The crack takes all gear sizes, but gear in the 2-3" range is optimal for the crux sections.

Empire Crack takes a splintering crack line up the face of the Sunset wall. The crack is very featured, but at times deceptive. The route is nearly on vertical and though the moves are never above 5.7 the length and consistency of the route will get your arms burning. Near the middle of the route is a really fun undercling diagonal that passes a bulge with a big jug at its terminus. There is a ledge just past the undercling at about 100' that is large enough to belay from if splitting into two pitches. From this ledge move up and to the left on an easy diehedral. As the crack joins a ledge move right around a bulge and onto the exposed face above. Move though the field of chicken heads and up to the anchors. There are gear placements in the minefield of chicken heads on this exposed 20' section. Clip the anchors or build anchors on top (more comfortable) and take in the view from the highest point at the Prospector.

Two 60m ropes to rappel off the top.

Start the same as for House of Cards or Sands of Time. Continue up toward the aggressive looking arete and enter the dihedral of 'House of Cards'. At this point abandon the crack for the thin face climbing. Follow the bolts up to the top.

Starts sitting back on a crescent-shaped hold 3 feet off the ground, traversing along crimps of various sizes.  Turns upward at the opening in the rock - There's a couple of good holds to help you pull up to the finish, a foot-wide ledge about 10 feet off the ground.

The practice wall is a short 25ft slab around the south east side of the first wall from the approach trail. It holds three moderate routes good for a warm-up or beginners. The moves are interesting and the rock is great. The walk off/ scramble to the top is just to the right of this slab. Climbs can be top roped by scrambling up the chute to the right to gain access to a ramp. Use caution approaching the anchors. There are actually three separate climbs on this slab. Megaman (5.5) starting from the base of a tree on the far left. Luigi (5.6) starting up the middle of the slab and Kong (5.5) on the right.

Sorbet ascends the large square peach colored face to the right of 'Big Momma'. It proceeds first up broken rock then straight up through a heavily featured face to the top. The holds on the upper face are very gratifying to hold onto.

Start just right of 'Meat Grinder' with large overhang directly over head. Follow crack under the overhang into corner. Step out and right around the overhang. Crack continues through short facing climbing going toward the next overhang above. Pass this overhang on the right past a large boulder on a ledge. Proceed from the ledge behind the boulder straight to the top. Finish is in a small dihedral. Chains at finish.

The Shaft  (TR) 70 ft

Anchors to the right of Gold Rush. Follow the large mine shaft sized crack up and to the left to anchors shared with Taper.

5.10+ (TR)

Begins 5 feet to the right of the start of Gold Rush. Ascend through a smooth face 10 feet up and then through a series of small roofs straight to the top. The crux is in the first 15 feet. To the left is the large broken crack of The Shaft. Miners in Butte, MT, and perhaps other places used the expression Taper Light as a motto among comrades for staying alive in the sometimes touchy business of tamping dynamite into blast holes. Take the advice or find yourself flying.

Canaries may fly  5.6 (TR) 60ft

The climb proceed up though a series of interesting hand holds and short dihedrals to the anchors. A fun moderate that may you may be able to fiddle gear into if you were so inclined

5.8 (sport) 75ft High Ore is left of Gold Rush and ascends the face just to the right of a large crack system.  Move though balancy crimps through the middle of the climb (crux). Nice clean rock on a sunny south aspect.

Neversweat starts 10 feet right of Empire Crack on the west facing Sunset wall and ascends the face right of center. P1: (5.11a) The first 15 feet are fairly easy, but then it launches into a vertical to near overhanging face. Where the rock takes on a dark red hue is the crux sequence on small crimps. It mellows above the crux and heads up and left to chains on a small ledge (30m) P2: 5.6 Follow the easy terrain up and right on the small seam and face full of chicken heads (15m) to the chains at the top of empire crack.

Can be done as a single long pitch.

Follow a steep ramp up to the left of the arete on the west side of the buttress and into the corner. Follow the open book up, supplementing with face holds to a ledge, then continue on in the next section the same way. This ends at a larger ledge 10 feet short of the chains. Follow up easy terrain to the chains. Good protection all the way. Pleasant movement. Leaves you wanting more.

Start left of Empire Crack on the arete of the detached tower (moral virtues tower). Follow the 1.5 ft wide start up to a progressively wider face to the top. 6 bolts to chains ~60ft. Fun exposure on both sides combined with small overhangs make this walk an entertaining one. This would be a much easier route if there were more holds or the ones there currently were all turned upside down, but it isn't so it happens to be a pretty tricky little piece of work, but fun once you figure it out.

5.6 (trad) 80ft, The route begins on broken rock making its way toward the defined crack that splits the top half of the face. the top 40ft are the best part. Hand jamming and bomber cam placements. Anchor chains up top.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Prospector Crag