Southern Exposure

P1 (5.7 R): From the left edge of the 4 inch horizontal seam, make a couple moves up and slightly left, and then follow good holds back right to gain a dihedral about 20 feet directly above your belayer. Ascend the dihedral (some looseness) and escape the corner to the right. Clip a bolt on the face above a prominent tree and angle up to the left through delicate slab with sparse opportunities for small pro. Difficulty eases. Run it out until reaching an obvious leftward ascending weakness. Aim for a protruding pilar with a small tree on top. Clip a second bolt about halfway between this diagonal weakness and the tree topped pilar above. The second bolt is not visible until climbing 10 or 20 feet on bomber rock above the diagonal weakness. Set a gear belay at a comfortable stance on the right side of the prominent pilar.P2 (5.6): Continue straight up toward the large obvious chimney above. Gain a large grassy ledge after about 50 feet with red roofs directly to the left. (If you had to bail here, you could traverse this ledge to the right where it terminates between the 2 approach raps.) Southern Exposure continues up into the chimney for another 20 feet and then traverses delicately right passing some vegetation, to a comfortable belay at a grassy ledge.P3 (5.5): Traverse right and climb up on great rock to clip a piton visible from the belay ledge. Then turn the corner to the right to gain a 4th class gully. There is some loose rock here but the belayer is nicely protected around the corner and out of view. Follow the easy gully to a large grassy ledge and belay or climb another 10 feet up a face to belay at a small tree suitably positioned at the bottom of a ramp sloping up to the left.P4 (5.7): Ascend the gradually steepening ramp to its literal end where it briefly levels out after a step up and then drops away. Then down-climb slightly and make an exposed, but protectable, traverse across a slanted hand crack passing a baby pine along the way to gain better rock. Climb up 20 feet or so to a 4th class ramp sloping up and to the right. Belay from a prominent tree near the top of the ramp below an overhang.Descent: From here, traverse around a blind corner to the right (south) and negotiate the standard 4th class retreat down the SE Ridge. Most will be okay with not roping up for the traverse around the blind corner.

Approach as for other routes on the west face of the Thumb. From the notch below the SE Ridge, descend a gully to the south, then turn right and scramble up a weakness about 40 feet to a tree with a rap anchor. Rap to the west, hike down further (scoping out pitches 2 and 3 of Southern Exposure adjacent to the right) and rap from a second tree anchor. Scramble down the gully a bit more, hugging the face to the right, exiting onto a broad ledge with a large boulder and an extended 4 inch horizontal crack beyond. Follow this wide crack to where it suddenly narrows to start P1.

Standard Sandia Rack. Hill’s guide recommends bringing a #4, though we didn’t have a need for it after the initial horizontal seam to begin P1 - otherwise nothing larger than a #2 was necessary. C3’s, micro stoppers or small gear of choice are useful at crux sections on P1. Runners and 2 draws for 2 bolts on P1 and 1 piton on P3. Both bolts are old 1/4 inch with hex nuts.