Blacksmith

General: Blacksmith offers a fairly sustained section of gear protected face climbing on great rock with great movements. If you're comfortable at this grade of face climbing, don't miss this route!

Pitch 1 (5.10a): Take the line of weakness up the face passing the small tree ~6' up and head up between the hanging cedar on your right and the small vegetation on your left. Climb past many horizontals (protection), past an overlap, until the first bolt appears. Climb to a stance and a small placement and then lock in to find the line and make committing moves (crux) to gain the first bolt. Continue up following the weakness in the face to a piton, a second bolt and a second piton to a welcomed stance below the left side of the roof. From here either find the right-most of two left-to-right finger cracks and make an unexpected hard move to gain the finger crack and follow easier rock to the top. Alternatively, head straight up from the stance (bearing slightly left) to the roof and traverse to the bolt and then past it pulling the roof on the edges formed by a right-rising thin seam/crack (5.10c). Head up on easier rock albeit somewhat spare on protection.

Start: In the Pegasus Area of the Lower Beer Walls. Start as for Lichenbrau below a small tree growing out of the rock 6' above the ground.

Descent: Either walk off back down to the Lower Beer Walls via the north trail, or rappel on a 70m rope (a 60m rope will not get you to the ground).

Two bolts, two pitons, single rack to 3" w/ doubles in small TCU sizes to fingers. The pitons can both be backed up with micro cams if so desired. There are a few trees at the top to build an anchor on, as well as a fixed tree anchor.