Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Norhwest Branch- Chaos Roof Upstream Slab

The Upstream Slab section of Chaos Roof at Northwest Branch has a nice variety of difficulty levels, with decent topouts, an easy descent back to the trail, and a flat dirt landing area.  To reach this area, walk down the trail past Tulip, Uphill Slab, and Crack Line boulders, and the Chaos Roof boulder will be on your right shortly afterward on your right (see map).  The Upstream Slab is the face you'll see as you approach. 

Chaos Roof Upstream Slab (explanation of number symbols here)
1.  Damn Tree (V3):  Start matched on a sidepull in front of the tree, then move up through the vertical crack to top out.

2.  Center Face (V3):  Starting on a small crimp and a tiered hold, move through a small undercling rail and top out straight up.  A good problem for those with tiny fingers.

2a.  Genetic (V6):  Same as Center Face, but the right hand gaston is off.  Again, small fingers are a plus.

3.  Don't Fall Right (V0):  Start on opposing undercling sidepulls at the right end of the flat area, and climb straight up.  Looking at the drop to the right, the reason for the name should be pretty obvious.  Also, the flake sounds a little hollow, so I wouldn't recommend pulling too hard.  Otherwise, a decent problem for newer climbers.

3a.  Go Left (V0):  Start same as Don't Fall Right, but when you get to the small horizontal cracks traverse left without using the lip until you reach the vertical crack on Damn Tree.  Follow the broken line on the picture above.

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