A stand out route in the perfect alpine setting with excellent climbing on all pitches from 5.9 to 5.11 and one pitch of 5.12.

Full Tilt (Tempest Wall Free Version)

The Tipping Point

West Face

Colchuck Balanced Rock Col (East Lake Side Approch)

Scarface

The Scoop

Let it Burn

The Tempest

Milk n' Honey

Rikki Tikki Tavi

Leche La Vaca

Accendo Lunae (LiB/West Face Var.)

P1) Follow cracks and corner past a small tree, up right to a ledge to a belay below the obvious roof. 5.10d

P2) Up the finger crack to the roof, then out the crack, turn the lip, and 12 more feet up to the belay ledge. Multiple #2 cams required. Belay takes finger-thin hand gear. C1 or 5.12d

P3) Move right on obvious flakes and knobs, then up the wonderful dihedral. Can rope stretch all the way to the big treed ledge. 5.9+

P4) Follow easier ground on runout chickenheads to the base of the treed ledge, just left of a R-facing corner/pillar. 5.7

P5) Up the corner to the top of the pillar, then move right, up and into the cave/alcove. 5.10

P6 and 7) Splitter cracks up the headwall 5.11a. Up the flaring slot, then pull into the splitter .75" L-facing corner. Try to find some gear, clip the piton, and commit to delicate stemming and thin moves up and right to the good ledge. Belays (semi-hanging) can be made in several spots, including just below the OW/Flare.

P8) Follow a short chimney back and left to an even better ledge. 5.8

P9+) Simulclimb blocky ground up and left  to the summit. Do the Boulder problem.

From the gully scramble up per the west face. From the sandy ledge, go up 10 feet of 5.7 and step left to a small ledge with a tree below a left facing corner. There is a bolt about 8 feet up with a black hanger.

P1 - 20 m - 5.11, 1 bolt.

Climb the corner with a variety of techniques. There is a thoughful crux crux getting off the ground, and another punchy section mid way up. Belay at a ledge with two bolts.

P2 - 20m - 5.11, 5 bolts.

From the belay traverse straight left to a bolt. Pass this and keep heading left and up past another bolt and some tricky knob wrangling. Optional gear out right, and then traverse left to a good stance below a thin corner. Layback past 3 bolts onto a ledge. Work left further with some thin gear and a final boulder problem to a nice ledge with a two bolt belay.

P3 - 40m - 5.11+, 3 bolts.

Head up the seam and clip a bolt. Figure out an insecure crux to access the flower power crack. Stimulating climbing with very small gear (rp's useful) for about 15 meters leads to a steeper corner. Power up the corner, relishing the amazing knobs and edges to gain the Sky Lounge,  a stellar ledge with two bolts.

There are two options for the start of pitch 4. The seam directly above the belay is shown as "Kerwin's Crack" in the topo. This is 5.12/12+ and can be climbed as a standalone pitch or linked with the crux of pitch 4.

If climbed as a single pitch take a double set of cams from tips to yellow alien,with 3x blue alien/green C3 size and two draws.  15m to a lower off anchor.

The righthand method is the standard way to climb pitch 4 and is described below.

P4 - 45m - 5.12, 8 bolts.

Traverse 10 feet right. Head up the well featured slab (5.10) taking care to minimize rope drag. Once the bolts run out you are below the power flare. You can see the anchor for Kerwin's Crack six feet to your left. Punch it up the overhanging gold rock and enter the flare.  Look for a bolt on the left to indicate when to exit onto the face. Follow a tips to fingers crack to a roof. Traverse left under the roof until you see a bolt on the right wall. Stem up past the bolt and AVOID a big flake out right. Look left for a bolt in white rock that protects the final boulder problem to a two bolt anchor in an alcove.

This is the last point you can rappel from. If your rope does not reach the Sky Lounge you can stop at anchor for Kerwin's Crack (less than 40m to there). From the Sky Lounge two 40m raps bring you back to the gully.

P5 - 30m - 5.11-, no bolts.

Head up and left from the belay through a small roof to gain an long hand and finger crack.  Follow this left past one small roof and then trend right. After the crack runs out step right and build a belay in an sandy alcove. This is the same stance as the P6/7 belay for Let it Burn..

P6 ->  Summit -  Finish per Let It Burn

This is possibly one of the best free routes around in a spectactular setting staring straight at Mt. Stuart. It would be wise to rope up for the initial scramble to reach the base of the climb. It is easy, but very loose.

P1 (5.10+) - Fun but short finger crack.

P2 (5.7) - Easy chimney.

P3 (5.9) - Long corner to a nice belay.

P4 - Easy pitch up to the base of a clean dihedral.

P5 (5.11a) - This pitch is a great long hand crack that is often wet, but it is still not that bad when wet.

P6 (5.11a) - Start out with some liebacking to reach the roof, then traverse straight left out this monster roof to a nice belay ledge, short pitch.

P7 (5.12-) - This crux pitch tackles the elegant 5.9 corner to a much smaller roof than the previous one. Climb out the left side of this roof (usually a fixed nut) to a stance.

P8 (5.9) - Battle up past two consecutive bulges using wide crack technique.

P9 - Easy ground gets you to the walk off around the right side of the summit (balanced) block.

Descent: Go down sandy scree to a point where you can easily go back to the base of the climb.

A very scenic and direct line with meadowy views of Dragontail and Colchuck Mountain in open forest.  There is no laurel thrashing or scree involved and no lost ground since every foot fall takes you closer to your destination.  Once familiar it shaves an hour off of the old approach.

From where the trail meets Colchuck Lake take the left fork staying high on the ridge and avoiding the many spurs that lead down to the waters edge.

Find your way to the small dam on the North end of the lake.  Cross the creek here on, or just below the dam.  Pick up the trail on the other side and follow it South for about 100yrds or less until you come to a slight clearing and some boulders and talus on your left.  There are some good flat rocks here.  Head up the talus and slightly left ward into the woods above.

Find a weakness through the a short step of rock(3rd/4th class) or pull up tree branches and roots with rock on your left side.  From here angle always up and South following a well cairned(2008 through 2010)path through open forest and hill side for about an hour until reaching the Col just above the huge boulder camp in the flats below.  There are some excellent lower impact camping spots here on rock and gravel just as you drop into the Col.

This line climbed in August 2010 is several hundred feet to the right of the old NW Buttress line. It may connect with that terrain higher up for the last couple moderate pitches.

P1-2: (as described in Cascades Rock) are relatively clean, although potential for loose/breaking rock is still there. The second pitch involves a sustained steep handcrack and awesome exposure.

P3: there is a tempting finger crack directly above the belay; there were two large, sharp flakes to its left that could easily cut the rope or fall onto the belayer. The traverse left on the ledge above is simple enough, but must be executed very delicately, as numerous loose blocks from fist to cooler size are resting on it.

P4: There are a few large, loose blocks between the fixed piton at the start of the pitch and the left edge of the large roof. One thigh-sized block is sitting next to the hand crack above the slab. There are plenty of other medium-large rocks sitting there that should be removed only when you can be sure no one is beneath you. Around and above the roof was cleaner, and from the top of P4, there was only one rock we threw to the north side of the mountain.

P5+: The finishing pitches are blocky and not so loose.

Pitch 1 (5.9): a bouldery move off the ground leads to easier terrain, belay below a small rotting tree. (~100 ft.)

Pitch 2 (5.10a): move into a groove where tough moves take you out and right where the climbing eases. (~100 ft.)

Pitch 3 (5.10a): fun climbing moves up into a dihedral and the crux of the pitch. A short slab section leads to "Launch Ledge". Move the belay to the left about 30 feet before starting pitch 4.(~100 ft.)

Pitch 4 (5.11c): "The Scoop" pitch begins with a nice crack leading into a corner. Take a good rest, and launch up the dihedral. Sustained finger and hand jams with good gear take you up and to the left, finishing up with a 5.10 hand crack to a nice belay ledge. (~195 ft.)

Note: it is now possible to skip the classic crux "Scoop" pitch by climbing a hand crack to the right (the Nectar 5.10+)

Pitch 5 (5.10b): move down and left on a small ledge that takes you into a slab dihedral. Small cams and nuts are useful here to move up and into a nice dihedral crack (wet in early season). Move out and left of the roof to another nice belay ledge. (~100 ft.)

Pitch 6 (5.10a): Climb up the right side and find the easiest way to move back out left to the rock tooth on the left. A nice 5.9 dihedral above take you to a small roof and the final ledge (tree belay). (~100 ft.)

Pitches 7-10 (easy fifth): find the path of least resistance up and left to the summit and the balanced rock.

Description of the FA, from which the following is paraphrased

Sustained, difficult alpine route put up by Max Hasson and Jens Holsten. Some pitch details:

P1 - (unknown beta)

P2 (5.12a) - Wild and pumpy.

P3 - (unknown beta)

P4 (5.11c)

P5 (5.11c)

Descent: There's a slung mushroom shaped chicken head on the south/southwest face. Rap 30 meters, then head over the rock outcropping to the south. Easy walk off from there.

P1) climb an easy corner up to blocky roofs then pulls through a

strenuous flare(.10 akward) belays above in a good corner.

P2) 5.9- fingers layback then easy up to bushy ledge right of Scoop pitch.

P3) climb large L facing corner up to cracks in slab.

P4) is the real money. Climb up slabs from belay into corner with two cracks. Climb

up cracks arching left until a thin crack that cuts out right through

an overlap(.11). Pull through that onto face above and more easy

climbing to ledge just to the side of the cobra head. Awesome.

P1- Climb fun chimney very far right on the wall past a small tree. Climb onto knobby slab with thin pro in corner. Bust a spicy and fun 5.8 move left and over onto another knobby slab, climb into corner and belay.

P2- Climb fun corner up to flake, move left around flake (5.9) into fun corner with knobs for feet. Get to a ledge.

P3- From ledge, head up to a large left leaning 5.10 layback corner. #4 camalot possibly makes this less scary. Continue to large ledge and belay.

P4- Climb beautiful white rock with knobs up to a small roof with small gear under roof. Bust a 5.10 move over roof and continue up crack and knobs. Meet up with ridge and 4th class to summit

FA information

;Number=1080947

This climb is basically a two-pitch variation that connects Let it Burn and the West Face. P1-4 and most of P5 are the standard Let it Burn, then two pitches (.12- and .11-) lead to the West Face finish.

P1 (5.8) - Climb a ramp to a thin splitter crack, then to a tree belay.

P2 (5.10+) - Climb another (short) splitter, then walk left to a second tree belay.

P3 (5.12-) - Ascend a few 5.10 cracks, then past a 5.11 slot with a fixed pin. Crux is the two bolts moving left (.12-). Belay with one bolt and gear in a finger crack.

P4 (5.11a) - Hands and fingers crack to crazy knobs and double crack. Belay at a fixed pin and a bolt.

P5 (5.11+) - Climb a flare crack that becomes a layback. Belay on 1" gear on a rightward bench.

P6 (5.12-) - Climb a difficult flake and crack sequence. Belay in the chimney just right of a razor flake.

P7 (5.11-) - Tips V-slot to a roof, then to a corner.

P8 (5.11+) - Handcrack to a roof.

P9 (5.10) - Climb overhanging chimneys to a large ledge.

P10 (5.6) - Easy 300 feet leads you to the summit.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Colchuck Balanced Rock