Lake of Fire

"In keeping with traditional ratings, Fabrizio and I think that Lake of fire may have some 5.7 on the second pitch but can be easily avoided by moving 3 feet left or right so 5.6 may be considered an old school rating, nevertheless it has only seen 3 ascents with 2 parties confirming 5.6 and the other 5.7.  I would hate to sandbag and I would hate to be downgraded.  It needs some outside ascents to confirm the grade 5.6 -5.7."

Approach: From campsite 21, head Sw 100 feet until you reach the large fallen tree,  look uphill and you will notice an old tree fort that has fallen, and cairns.  This is the start of the approach,  follow a good trail heading straight up with cairns every 20 feet  or so.  You will soon begin to move East gradually passing a 15 foot slab laying against a buttress.  Move around it and up toward the pine trees.  continue following the trail and cairns East along the buttress and finally traverse along ledges toward the wall.  It will be very apparent where to go once you hit the buttress to the right of the wall where the climbs are located.

Descent:  From the summit ledge look SW for a pine with a yellow sling tied around it, approx 150 feet of 3rd class will get you to the 1st rappel.  one rope rappel straight down to the other large pine,  this is the second rappel.  Blue slings are wrapped around this station, once again a one rope rappel gets you to within 15 feet of the ground where easy downclimbing 4th class puts you where the approach trail comes up and moves East.  Follow the Approach trail down to the campsites.

I would recommend getting a good look at the location of the wall from the large fallen tree by campsite 20 before starting the approach.  This will give you an idea of the general direction to head on.  Approach time 10 min.  Descent time 20 min from summit.

Pro to 4"