Quick Death

This is the nice-looking splitter located 50 feet directly above Pine Tree Ledge, and it climbs as good as it looks. This would be a 4-star pitch if it were longer, but for the 25 feet it goes it's as good as crack climbing gets on Mount Lemmon at the grade.

To get to the splitter you can take one of several variations. For an easy (5.6 at the hardest) but fun approach, either go straight up from the pine tree or left around the pillar. Going right will go at 5.7 or 5.8, but rope drag may be an issue.

At the top of the pillar there is a small ledge that drops off to the left. Protect here as best you can and sling long, then make a huge step left to get into the crack. This may be the crux for shorter people.

From here use finger locks, toe jams, and laybacks to ascend the beautiful finger crack (5.9) to a stance where the crack expands to hand size. Jam the rapidly widening crack for 8 feet or so to get to a good stance where the crack disappears.

This is where the spice begins. You will want to protect as high as you can for the finish. This will require a 4" cam in the crack (3" if you want to add an extra 5 or so feet to the runout above you). However, the pillar you are climbing sounds hollow and the inside of the crack is slick, which doesn't inspire confidence, so I slung the top of the pillar with a long runner which seemed pretty secure.

From here you can either go left or slightly right and up. Both ways are sporty, spicy, and unprotected. Pull over the lip as best you can (insecure and tricky, some folks call this the crux; don't fall here) then head up and right through an easy slot to a 2-bolt anchor.

Single set of cams from finger size to at least 3". Bring long runners for the step across at the bottom of the crack and for slinging the pillar at the top of it. An extra couple finger-size pieces wouldn't hurt. You may also want to strap on a set of nuts (both literally and figuratively).