Hype:

Climbing Cleopatra's Chair is something I had wanted to do for a long time. The 5.6A0 rating made it sound fun, the "shoulder stand" made it sound adventurous. True to my impression, it didn't disappoint.

Trailhead:

Get to Han's Flat Ranger station. It is a long way. From there, travel past the ranger station a couple of miles to the North Point road, and take that road to it's end at the base of Cleopatra's. The road is only 9 or 10 miles, but is very, very bad. 4-wheel drive required. You may want to inquire at the Ranger station about current conditions.

Route:

From the parking spot, the route is the obvious chimney. To clarify obvious, it starts as a hand crack, then makes a traverse right, into the chimney. The handcrack is fairly low angle, and you climb 25 or 30 feet before the traverse. This pitch is very secure with good holds at the traverse if you traverse in the correct spot. I placed 1-#2 Robot cam right before making the traverse move.

Rope drag could be a problem, so belay at the base of the chimney.

The chimney pitch is unique! Hike up this narrow slot passing a move or two of scrambling here and there until you reach the top, and it begins dropping into the dark abyss down the other side. Belay here. No gear used on this pitch, but you could place a few pieces if desired.

The crux! From the saddle, you need to climb straight up the right wall (looking up the slot), trending right after the second mantle to easier ground. This pitch is gearless, and tricky. A shoulder stand would get you past the first mantle move, but still requires a 5.7+/5.8-ish mantle, and some easier but very exposed climbing to more friendly territory. I used a wide stem and big balance move to get established on top of the first mantle without using a partner assist. Tricky.

From the top of the crux, there is a bush you can use as a belay. Next, trend down and north to where the rap anchor is. The anchors is a small tree and piton. We left most of the gear here, and proceeded to the top scrambling up low 5th class slabs.

The views are incredible!

Definitely an adventure route.

Photos:

Comments:

{comment}