Amazon Woman

Overview

Amazon Woman is the central climb of the South America formation on the Little Baldy (aka Quartz) climbing area. The formation is aptly, though not cleverly, named South America because it alarmingly resembles the continent. Several classic lines exist on this formation, from South Pacific (5.7, which ascends the west "coast"), The Atlantic Route (5.7, on the east "coast"), L.A. Woman (5.11c R) and Woman in Bondage (5.11b R), both of which meander through Brazil. Amazon Woman (5.10b R) takes the central line right up though what would be Argentina and Columbia.

Getting There

1) Ascend the trail to the base of the S-Wall formation, then scramble/follow the climber's trail to the east (right) until you reach a large, flat boulder directly underneath the South America Formation.

2) You can also follow the trail into the woods, then ascend the boulder field to a point approximately below the formation, then proceed to the large boulder.

Once at the boulder, scramble up and left along a flake/knee-sized chimney until it levels out and you can sit on top of it. Belay from here.

Route Description

From the belay, traverse out and right without moving too far up until you are nearly in line with the first bolt, then start looking for ways to move up. There are only 4 bolts on this climb, and the climbing is sustained hard 5.9. You will approximately follow the bolt line, but keep in mind that this was bolted by hand on lead, so if the most direct line looks like a no-go, a simple traverse to the left or right of 1-2 feet can make all of the difference. Ultimately you are making your way up to the 4th and final bolt, which sits about 2 feet below a 2 foot roof.

This is the crux of the climb. With your feet at the bolt, step up over the roof and onto the slab. The hands above the roof are thin, but there is just the right number of combinations of dishes and crystals to make it go at 10b. I won't describe the sequence, but I have watch 6-7 people do this route, and they all do about the same thing.

From here, climb the remaining 20 feet or so of unprotected slab until you can reach the chain anchors. When pulling onto the anchor ledge, be careful of cacti and rattlesnakes (no joke on the snakes).

Essential Gear

4 Draws
Your personal preference for setting a belay at a chain setup.
2 ropes for the rappel*

*You can rappel to the ledge at the start of South Pacific with a 70m, but this requires some downclimbing.

Images

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