Sweet Catastrophe

Start by boulder-hopping up to the wall immediately south of the chimney system between the central and southern buttresses.

P1: Rough start to a long day. 5.9s until the first bolt. Smear out on 5.10 slab with 10 bolts to a two bolt anchor.

P2: Keep smearing (get good at it...) past four bolts to a decent ledge. You'll be at the base of the headwall. Look up and admire.

P3: Get your aiding leader pumped up for this one. Here's where the going gets tough (bring the #4, remember it?). Smear up tough 5.10 terrain on a seam to a bolt on the left side. Start hooking over to another bolt, find an RP in a "narrow corner" as Stewart Green calls it. Aid over to the big flake where you can get three cams of the #4 set. #1 RP gets you to the headwall's lip where you'll find a "Thank-God" bolt. Smear on up to a "comfortable" stance and set up your belay.

P4: 170' of run out slabbing on 5.8 terrain past a single bolt on the left side of the slab. Find your happy bolted belay.

P5: Lead until the rope is no more on... yep, you guessed it! 5.8 runout slab, but this time it's lower angled which means less holds... Bummer. You really don't get gear here. Just head for the little tree, if it's still there. Lead up until you are sure you can reach the Gumdrop.

P6: Steep 50m smear-fest to a left facing open-book. Head for the hanging block (5.9) and set up your belay on the nice happy ledge below the gumdrop.

P7: Climb right around the spire for an A1 bolt ladder and 5.9 terrain to the summit ridge. Rap 50' from the anchors at the top back down to the big ledge. Climb 5.7 and 5.5 slabs to the North of the Gumdrop for two pitches (runout) and top out on the summit of the Big Rock.

Bring a 60-70. You'll be glad you did at times. A couple of big cams up to #4 (needed for an aid move on the flake of P3) varying all the way down to RPs. It's an adventure....