Baxter's Pinnacle - North Face

The summit block of Baxter's Pinnacle holds a number of single pitch climbs, many of which were established or freed by some of the great climbers of the day - Robbins, Chouinard, and Gill, to name a few. The North Face of Baxter's Pinnacle is a single 5.10 pitch, which all parties who summit the South Ridge will essentially rappel over when descending from the summit. This 30-40m bonus pitch is well worth climbing if time allows, and the notch between Baxter's Pinnacle and the descent gully can be a nice shady place to hang out for a while after getting baked in the sun for hours. Although the North Face is a fun lead, it's an easy TR as well since your rope is essentially hanging on the anchor you used to rap.

From the shady notch, scramble up some easy terrain, place a hand-sized piece in the crack to the right, and then launch into the slightly overhanging, awkward 5.10 hand traverse with bad feet to reach jugs (protected by three fixed pitons). Surmount the crux move and enter another steep section of 5.9 stemming. There's a bomber green C3 size piece here, just below a suspicious upward-set fixed piton that provides great peace of mind. Pull this section, get another bomber red C3 sized piece and run it out (5.7ish) to the anchor.

Although this shady side of the summit block can be a bit grungy in spots, the rock quality on this particular climb is excellent, and has only improved with traffic. Be mindful of other parties behind you who might be rappelling the route.

North side of the Baxter's Pinnacle summit block. This route is essentially the rappel line for the descent off the top.

Select a handful of pieces from your Baxter's rack. A green and red C3 size seemed very helpful.