Edward Humid Hands ascends a perfect, mostly finger crack with a hand jam start and a flared fist jam finish. This is a gently left-leaning crack located in Rowdy's Corral (a round corral-like area to the left of The Spins, but accessible only from the back of the Plumb Line Upper Tier crag through a narrow slot).

Edward Humid Hands

June Bride

Breezy

Closer to the Sun

Lady's Night

Closing Time

Guan Ho

The Spins

High Society

Don't Judge a Book

Sofa King

Radarete

Euroboy

Rockabye

Unnamed Crack 4

Skybox

Damage Done

Silver Dollar

This route is a crusty thin crack starting on the block behind EHH. As the name suggests, Guan Ho is marred by a patch of bird droppings. However, it should clean up nicely with a few ascents.

June Bride is a distinctive, smaller-than-tips splitter down low, that turns into a fingers flare up high. It is left-leaning for a ways but goes right again at the top through slightly better (but not much) jams to a notch and the topout.  Step across a wide crack, and head up a brief grainy slab to a good, horizontal crack, and belay. Walk right about 50 feet to the top of the chimney the route starts in and downclimb (5.2ish) back to the belay. Alternately, bring 2 or 3 #4 Big Bros, and belay from the wide crack behind the topout.

This route does not lend itself well to toproping (the upper flared crack leans quite a ways away from the lay of the rope, leading to big pendulums and a forced sequence to deal with the pull of the rope) but can be toproped from the same horizontal crack. Pack a few hand/fist sized pieces and some nuts (I used a BD #3, #3.5, and a #8 stopper), as well as very long slings, if you elect to toprope.

Start right of Damage Done and above

Kasha

in a big, open slot with some boulders at the bottom. Climb this as the slot narrows, and the stemming gives way to a squeeze exit. This is not quite as hard as it looks from the ground.

FA: Jim Brink and Rob Kelman, 2005.

Descent: significant scrambling to the back and left. I've been told there are rappel bolts currently, but I haven't been there recently to verify it.

This is a finger/tips crack. It has big moves between fingerlocks. Downclimb the back of the rock.

Climb a fun 5.8 ramp to the right inner slot of the arete, and hop into the left side and into the steep arm bar crack. The crux is definitely getting into the slot. It is short and sweet after that. The anchor is in a weird location, and you'll have to place directionals to save your rope.

Start in a squeeze chimney, pray your knees and elbows aren’t bony like mine, and kneebar and chickenwing to the constriction. This constriction is the crux of the route, and the only thing that makes it feel 5.10d is technique. It is short and strenuous offwidth fun.

*The runout is getting to the inconveniently placed anchor at the top. Directionals and slings are a must to save your rope on this route.

Start in a wide chimney that constricts as it goes in and up. You can choose to use offwidth technique, squeeze chimney technique, or wide chimney technique, depending on how deep you go into the crack. You can eventually gain a handjam constriction, then struggle your way to the top.

Climb the hands section through the bulge to offwidth/chimney finish.

This looks better from afar. Climb an offwidth with a layback at the top. For a better description, see Rob Kelman's 2004 guidebook, page 137.

This is a striking line on the back, upper tier of the Plumb Line crag. A challenging face move gets you to the left, upper crack system. This crack begins as a fist crack, morphs into a flared tips/ face move, then to a left crack that is hands and ring locks.

This line was first attempted by Scarpelli. A wild country nut and a carabiner were left on the route. Someone yanked the biner sometime this summer, leaving speculation of an ascent, but the biner was far more accessible than the climb. We will probably not put an anchor on this since it is nice to be able to leave this unique pillar unscathed.

Radarete is a sick toprope left of

Guan Ho

. A sit start makes for a solid 20' of climbing. Add a traverse for a bonus challenge! Then... walk off.

This is a unique offwidth you can post a leg out on the left wall or you can choose to fight it. I don't know why I've never seen anyone on this one or

High Society

.  Both are worth doing.

Rockabye is a worthwhile and fairly exciting pitch of crystalline slab. High-step up onto the slab, and enjoy the first and last actual holds on the route. Delicately balance your way right and up to the arete, and then head up and left onto easier ground. The bolts are exactly where you need them - at every harder move - but don't inspire hangdogging. Traversing right immediately after bolt #1 is safe, whereas going straight up and then right puts you in ground-fall range.

Please note that the climb is quite thin and is only 5.8 if you're a 5.10 leader. The rating appears to be more amusing than accurate. It feels more like 5.10b than anything else.

Climb up

Skybox

for a few feet until you can traverse left using jams/undercling to the ledge, then surmount the bulge. Belay/descend from the anchors on top of

Skybox

.

Stem chimney to point where cap block juts left (due north). Place gear and jam across gap to left-facing hand crack. Climb crack with some awkward moves to top of formation. The exit is vaguely reminiscent of

Nitrogen Narcosis

.

An uncharacteristically crisp and parallel crack down low (hands to offwidth to hands) leads to a rest at a small flake ledge. Once collected, dance up 2 bolts worth of  techy crystal climbing to the anchor. This climb packs in a lot of variety in a short pitch and is quite worth the effort.

The Kelman guidebook gives this climb 11c and Zach gives it 10+. 11a is my vote.

If you want full value start in a short, overhanging handcrack, then work up onto a short slab. Continue into the overhang to the left, and using high feet and powerful fist jams, pull through to jugs. Finish with some easy jams.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Upper Tier