Fading Light

Thirty feet left of

Chockstone

on the North Buttress area of the West Ridge, straight above the first pitch of

Muscular Dystrophy

, find two closely parallel, right-facing dihedrals that start thirty feet off the ground and culminate in a blocky overhang a hundred feet higher. The righthand of the two dihedrals is Byobu; the left is Fading Light.

Approach via the starting dog-leg crack of

Muscular Dystrophy

, or scramble up blocks to the belay ledge (with a tree) from the right. Belay near the pine tree and pull over a small roof to gain the dihedral which starts with some low-angle stemming and edging, then gets steeper as you move upward. The technical footwork gives way to some physical lieback moves as you approach the roof that caps both Fading Light and Byobu. Plug a good cam, monkey right across an exposed, juggy overhang while sorting out the sequence (might be solid 5.9), and pull onto a good ledge. This move is exhilarating and fun. There is a good belay anchor (slings and a fixed wire) ten feet above the ledge, which I recommend clipping with a long leash so you can stand on the ledge below. Mind the pebbly rubble on the ledge. The second pitch takes a steep 5.6 dihedral to the left via jugs and blocky steps. If there is a crowd below, be very cautious up high as the rock is quite broken and loose, or consider rappelling from the first belay. One could also take pitch two of Byobu (5.9 and also loose), straight up from the belay. Either pitch leads to an easy walk-off to the northwest.

The first pitch is very good and much better than it appears from the ground.

Standard gear to an inch and a half for the first pitch. Second pitch needs larger pieces to a #3 Camalot.