A Womb With A View

A Womb With A View is a classic for experienced climbers looking for an adventure.  

To access the route, enter a narrow squeeze chimney on the north end of the formation and walk/wriggle through until you reach the “womb” - a slightly larger chamber in the center of the formation.  Scramble up onto chockstones and climb the obvious weakness, stemming and using the crack to ‘exit out of the womb’ and onto a ledge in the middle of the east face (optional belay here).  Step on to the face and climb up to the high first bolt.  Nice friction and face climbing through bolts (and some scary exfoliation flakes - be gentle!) leads to the summit.  

NO ANCHOR!!!  

‘Au cheval’ seated belay to bring up your follower and an old school Needles Style Rappel/simul rap off both sides of the summit.

The route is on the boulder formation immediately east of the Eagle’s Gift Slab, which forms the “hallway” you walk through to approach the base of The Eagle’s Gift routes.  It has a distinct saddle-like curve on the knife edge summit ridge.

Pick a light rack of nuts or cams from fingers to hands and a few slings and quickdraws. Having one or two long slings is handy, as is a small wire brush for the lichen. A 50m rope is needed for the rappel.  THERE IS NO ANCHOR!

Needles Style Rappel is a form of “simul rap” with one climber going off each side of a formation while the rope runs over the top. It can be achieved by having one person lower to the ground first. With the rope tight to the ground person that is still tied in, a partner can then lay the rope across the top of the formation, preferably into a notch or groove that is not too sharp, and rap off of the other side using the weight of the partner on the ground to anchor and counterbalance the descent. A GriGri etc or prusik backup is recommended. DO NOT attempt this unless you fully understand how to do it and the risk associated with it. Success hinges on trusting your partner, timing, and ensuring your rope is well placed in a notch to prevent it from rolling off the top. The final step to ensuring success during a NSR is to double check your partner is on the ground before going “off rappel”.