Brady Arete

The Brady Arete is the prominent steep arete to the right of The Original Route and connects with "Original Route" at the Thank God jug 3/4 the way up the boulder. It is certainly the most serious highball in all of Mt. Gretna. Joel Brady caused quite a stir among us locals when he completed this long eyed project during a visit around 2004. Not only is it incredibly highball and proud, but a pointed rock lies embedded in the ground directly underneath the fall zone.

Start standing and climb up to a flat jug on the corner around ten feet up. Take a deep breath, then begin the horrifying journey up the next fifteen feet through rarely traveled terrain. The right face is flaky and not the best rock quality. On the plus side, it is peppered with tiny flaky edges. The upper portion appears to utilize the arete for both hands in some spots, and the left hand on the arete with right hand on edges on the right face in other areas.

It would be prudent to clean the rock on toprope before attempting, as I am certain the climb has not been tired in quite some time. Better yet, work the boulder on a top rope before bouldering it out. Think of it as a headpoint. Or the best idea may be to skip this climb and move on to a problem that will not risk broken ankles or worse.

If you send this boulder, you have serious street cred in my mind. I imagine it has seen only a handful of ascents in the ten years after its first ascent. The Brady Arete is one of the most risky undertakings that I have seen out of all of the diabase areas, save for a few of Char's creations at Haycock. Only The Yosemite Crack (V10) at Haycock comes to mind as a rival in terms of height and fall potential.

Arete right of the narrow side of the boulder containing The Original Route. The left arete when looking at the wide face that is tall, flaky and steep.

Pads. Many, many pads. Oh, and spotters. Or a top rope for the sane.