Banzai Escape

This is one of the few climbs at Java Dome that is not a total slab route. The climb starts up a short hand crack which I think is the crux. The J. Haas guidebook disagrees with me. Haas calls this pitch 5.7 and the second pitch 5.8. I think the second pitch is much easier, maybe 5.5 or 5.6. I put it as 5.8 here to match the guidebook. After climbing the crack, which turns into a groove, traverse left below a large chimney which is the Banzai Pipeline route. This area is slabby and easy climbing. The guidebook says to belay at the bolt anchor on Rock Lobster (not listed on this site), but our 70m rope did not reach the anchor. If you don’t make it, you can belay off cams and stand on a small ledge. The pro is under a flake like crack and is mostly #1, 2 and 3 sized Camalots.

The second pitch goes up the slab with a crack to the left. Your first gear can be the belay bolts on Rock Lobster. The crack has a few very small cam and nut placement options, but the climbing is much easier than the 5.8 listed in the guidebook. Belay at the first tree you reach. It has a sling around it presently.

Top out, and walk off to the east and north, coming down by the Gray Wave Wall listed here as the north face.

Find the gaping chimney on the left side of the west face. There is another huge chimney to the right. The hand crack you start on is the only hand crack in the area (it’s below the chimney), and there are bolts up high on the face to the right of it.

A standard rack up to a #4 Camalot and extra #1, 2, and 3 Camalots. With a long rope, there is a bolt anchor after the first pitch. If your rope is 70m or shorter, belay on gear.