Thin Red Line

Approach

From 1 mile East of Washington Pass find a climbers path next to a pond. Follow the path (and your nose) to the base of Liberty Bell. The approach takes about an hour.

Route Description

The best thing to do is see Selected Climbs by Jim Nelson and Peter Potterfield.

Here are some additions to the description found in Selected Climbs:
1. Pitch 1 can go at 5.10 (bolted) if you start directly below the belay rather than the 5.8 and traverse as described in the book.
2. Pitch 4 can go without pitons (the book recommends them)
3. Pitch 7 and 8 can be combined if you have a 60 meter rope. Pitch 8 is only about 20 feet long.
4. At the top of pitch 6 there is a ledge that, while level, is pretty small, it's about the size of the tailgate of a pick-up. At the top of 8, M&M ledge is large, but sloped.
5. Bivy sites are also available at the top of pitch 9.

Essential Gear

Mostly small to medium wired stoppers (2-3 sets).
1 set brass offsets.
1-2 sets of cams to 3.5 inches.
1 set of hexes (if you only bring 1 set of cams).
Two or three types of hooks.
Copperheads (just in case the fixed gear on the A3 second pitch is gone)

Images

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