This is a modest climb with an awkward crux. Climb up into the left-facing corner at the base of the West Face for 5 meters to access the main wall. Step left into a crack system that goes directly up the center of the face, and stay in that system to the top, eventually leaning left near the summit.

Missing an Epitaph

Without a Body

Harebell

Poor Judgment

Lest You Be Judged

Fur Face

This is a pretty good route and a thinking-person's route at that. Although the crux is up top, there is an awkward start and then crimps that require good focus along the entire way to that crux. The best climbing is the upper 1/3rd.

Too bad the crux jamming isn't longer, as it is perfect hands for a short while. It would get more stars if it were more sustained.

Start off on the ledge 10' up as for harebell, but head right into the OW corner, and climb to the top of that for a few meters. Proceed upward into good gear and good jams through a steep section (wide gold to tight blue Camalots, and then move up to the top of the spire via its right shoulder, then crossing to the chains above harebell. This is a good route that required minimal cleaning and is a reasonable warm-up for

Harebell

.

Starting in the same place as

Lest Thou Be Judged

, I stepped up, then reached right, over the top of a Jamesia shrub. I shuffled right, around the shrub, and moved up the slightly overhanging rock, placing an insecure #8 Stopper then the smallest C3. I placed the two next-larger sizes of C3 in rapid succession. I made some long reaches in bulging terrain and shuffled right, around another Jamesia. I placed a #3 C4 and climbed past a loose, flat rock held by yet another Jamesia that lurked in the bottom of the chimney. I placed a #0.75 C4 in a pod in a thin crack to the right of the chimney and felt out the crack above.

The crack was difficult and petered out in gathering lichen, well below the summit. I chose, instead, to retreat upward into the chimney, squeezing into its security, while trying to avoid skinning my bare knees. A red C3 was more comforting than kneepads. On the summit, I extended the

Harebell

chains, so we could toprope the thin crack that is right of the chimney.

Is this really a first ascent? If Haas and Bubb previously claimed FAs of three other equally scroungy routes on this rock (and not this one), then this route must be an FA. No Jamesias were harmed in the exploration of this route; they merely had to endure our advances.

This has some surprisingly good climbing once you get going on this route. 'Judge Not' by first appearances.

The problem here will be for folks of shorter stature. At 5'11", this is going to feel like 5.9, probably, but the grade will increase steeply for climbers much shorter than that.

The opening moves on the vertical terrain require a spotter to get into. Start up with no gear on some small flakes and tip-toe up until you can reach high and right to clasp a good hold in the first horizontal. With that reached, work up to place gear and get into the short section of vertical crack. I placed an extra piece there before heading up into the flakes on either side of a slight depression in the wall. Switching side to side on surprisingly good holds, and climb up past 2 more horizontal cracks (good gear available) to the top of the crag. 3" cams can be placed for gear up top.

Walk off to the East down the spine of the tower.

To the right of

Poor Judgment

lies a completely separate line. We toproped it, because the bottom would be hairball to lead. The upper, thin crack takes good gear then peters out in a furry finish. If you climb the crack without using the short arete just to its left, you would increase the difficulty. Watch out for bat guano.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Cenotaph Spire