Shadow and Flame

An exciting route with stimulating exposure throughout, a roof that'’ll get your heart pumping, and a rousing, slightly runout finish over a roof with broken, thought-provoking rock. The protection is good, but with the exposure and all the slack in the rope from the beginning traverse the urge to not fall is strong.

Start from one of two belay locations: a single bolt if you climbed the

5.7

2nd pitch route, or a double-bolt belay if you climbed the

5.8

2nd pitch route. While on belay, walk across to the base of the upper wall, praying that you don’t do something stupid like trip over your shoelaces and pitch down the gully to your right.

Climb over to, or up to, the first bolt (depending on your start). Clip it and traverse right and slightly up to the second bolt. At this point climbing up from the second bolt would put you on

Lord of the Slings

, 5.9. Continue traversing right and slightly up to the third bolt. From this point head up to the fourth bolt, then bear right and up for a weakness in the roof above you (following the left bolt line that goes to the left side of the roof puts you on

Frodo Lives

, 5.9).

Climbing through the roof is well protected, yet plenty stimulating. There is a bolt directly below the roof, and another above, but the bolt above the roof is out-of-reach from below. You'’ve got to commit to getting over the roof before clipping it.

After the main roof there is another bulgy section, and finally, above the last bolt is another small roof that gets your attention. After topping out there are two bolts on top of a flat-ish rock, and to the east and down there is a spot that will take a medium size cam for backup.

On the upper wall of

Trilogy Buttress

the lowest bolt protects the start of all of the routes. For

Shadow and Flame

traverse right after the first bolt for two bolts, then up one more bolt, then bear right a bit and up. The sixth bolt hanger is brown (the bolt prior to the bolt directly under the roof).

15 bolts, 2-bolt anchor with supplemental gear. Sling the first few bolts with double runners, the next few with single runners, and the bolt directly under the roof with a double runner.

If you chose to, you could reach the midpoint belay anchor on

Frodo Lives

by traversing left at the ledge and then break the route into two pitches.