Lost Fox

Page Type Page Type: Route
Location Lat/Lon: 44.36680°N / 121.13631°W
Additional Information Route Type: Technical Rock Climb
Additional Information Time Required: Less than two hours
Additional Information Difficulty: 5.9 (acc. to Watts); 5.8 (acc. to "reality")
Sign the Climber's Log

Approach


Follow the directions on the main page for Staender Ridge to reach the base of Adit Rock (bottom of Ridge). Hike uphill along the east side of the Ridge until you're at the eastern base of Flattop - a large ridge formation with a distinct, flat summit (looks a bit like a mushroom, overhung on some sides). The route starts at a prominent dihedral capped by a small roof about 20-25 feet above ground. See photo.

Route Description


The route reaches the top of Flattop in 1.5 pitches. The number of pitches is dictated by rope drag rather than rope length. Although the guidebook gives this route a 5.9 rating, it REALLY does not feel like a .9. Specifically, the trad portion is a 5.8 crack (excellent protection). According the the book, the only .9 move is near the top and it is bolt-protected. In reality, you preclip the bolt while standing on a large ledge above all difficulties and pull an easy mantle move (more like a .7 than a .9).

Pitch 1: 5.8, 70 feet. Climb up a dihedral to reach the roof about 25 feet off the ground. Traverse right 8 feet under the roof (the book calls this 5.6 - that might be if you have very small fingers - more like 5.8 for average people) and mantle onto a nice ledge at the base of a hand sized crack system. Climb the crack (hand jams and face features, 5.8) to another ledge (caution: the ledge has some loose stuff on it) directly under the overhung summit. Clip the nice bolt and mantle onto a sloping ledge just above. Traverse left. You should now be on the spacious subsummit of the formation and depending on how you protected the roof traverse, the rope drag might be horrendous at this point. Belay from bolts on far left side of the subsummit shoulder.

Pitch 2: 5.6, 30 feet. Move up a somewhat dirty groove left of the overhanging portion of the summit. Belay on top from double bolts.

Descent: Rappel northwest (i.e. the backside of the formation) from bolts using a single rope. Hike right and down back to the start of the route.

Essential Gear


Helmets. Cams in the 0.3 to 3 inch range. Small cams go under the roof for the traverse.

Miscellaneous Info


If you have information about this route that doesn't pertain to any of the other sections, please add it here.


Parents 

Parents

Parents refers to a larger category under which an object falls. For example, theAconcagua mountain page has the 'Aconcagua Group' and the 'Seven Summits' asparents and is a parent itself to many routes, photos, and Trip Reports.