Dastardly Rascal

A very nice, semi-wandering route that ends at the apex of Razor Back. The first pitch of this route is covered in the 2nd edtion of the SuperTopo Tuolumne book; however, the climb continues on for two more pitches. While there is nothing on this route that qualifies as 'R', there is a fair bit of 5.7/5.8 climbing 10-15 feet above bolts and further distance on easier climbing.

Pitch one:

Friction up past three bolts to a small, left angling ledge. Traverse the ledge and then climb up past two bolts. Continue upwards to a roof and a gear placement. Pull over the small roof and continue past one more bolt to a two bolt anchor (5.8; 160 feet).

Pitch two:

Friction and smedge 12-15 feet up from the belay (5.7/5.8) to the first bolt. Continue past another bolt to a small circular flake region that takes gear. Then continue up and gradually left, past two more well spaced bolts to a large right facing corner. Gear is available here and climbing to the top of the short corner gains a nice ledge and a two bolt anchor (5.9; 120 feet).

Pitch three:

Climb up and right 15 feet from the belay to the first bolt. Climb towards an overlap that accepts 1.25” – 1.5” cams. Clip two more bolts as you surmount a small roof and continue knob climbing to a right trending (dirty) ramp. Follow the ramp up and right (cams) to a clean face and a bolt. Climb up and left past a few more bolts and mantle (5.8) onto a ledge at the top of Razor Back with a two bolt anchor (5.8; 170 feet).

Dastardly Rascal is the next bolt line to the left of Flash of the Blade. There are two beta photos that are helpful for finding the climb.

The first photo, 'Razor Back, center routes' (courtesy of Bryan Law), provides a cliff-wide overview with the routes belays marked, while the second shows the top pitch and a half viewed from the approach (one can use this photo in conjunction with the beta photo showing the start of Flash of the Blade as a reference to find the start of the first pitch).

Draws (including longer runners for gear). Gear: 0.5, 1, 2 Camalots or equivalent.

Pitch-by-pitch gear suggestion courtesy of B. Law:

P 1: 6 lead bolts, cams 1 ea. 1.5” – 2”

P 2: 4 lead bolts, cams 1 ea. 0.75” – 2.5”

P 3: 7 lead bolts, cams 1 ea. 1” – 1.5”