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Peak Mountain 3

North Corner

FA uncertain, but perhaps M. Frichette, 1976
CREATED 
UPDATED 

Description

North Corner is the most obvious and longest line on the cliff. This is visible from the road.

P1 (5.7). Find a set of 2 semi-parallel cracks in that meet at the ground, 5 meters left of a ledge evergreen. The right of these is mostly a perfect hand crack (perfect yellow Camalots) until the 2 cracks meet again, and the left line becomes primarily that size. Cruise on up this system to a good belay on a few nuts or small cams.

Optional P1 (5.9) Intermezzo provides an alternate P1 of this climb at a more consistent grade of 5.9.

P2 (5.10b). Head on up the obvious crack that leads to the right-facing corner that dominates the crag. Get into this, realizing once there that this is not so much a jamming affair as it is one of balance. Struggle through an awkward crux with a bit of body tension, clipping a bolt only after anything of notable difficulty is complete, then cruise out right past a bolt and chain anchor (that of Solar Face) and back left into the corner, so as to avoid some bad rock. If drag is an issue, the chain anchor serves as a belay option. Continue up and left again back into the corner, clipping a large angle piton there (back up with a green or red Camalot), and then head up past a final 5.10a crux move to the top, belaying off of gear or a cordalette on a large boulder at the summit.

There are a few descent options: the walk off is long and involved to the west. Back to the NE, there is a short walk to a robust pine above a 70' vertical gully with a silver webbing anchor on it (placed 8/2020) or you could cat-walk your way out to the bolt and chain anchors on the

North Arete

and rap 85' to the walkoff ledge, then scramble down from that.

Location

This climb starts on a set of 2 cracks on the lower tier, ascending up and left on these, then to a second crack that goes to the ledge, at about 5.7.  A second pitch heads up and into the huge and obvious right-facing corner and rides this in 2 sections to the true summit.

Protection

Take a full set of nuts, plus a set of cams from 0.3-4" with a few doubles in the thin hands and fingers sizes, as those protect the cruxes, and you might have used them already if you only take singles. The bottom pitch protects well on various things, but a beginning leader might like a few extra yellow Camalots or 2.5-" Friends.

Some long slings are useful, as is a cordalette up top for slinging a boulder to belay from.