Death Flake

This is a great climb for practicing your chimney technique. It has a little bit of everything: Pure chimneying with manageable 'chimney runouts', an airy crux where you are pushed out of the chimney into a tight squeeze/OW, classic wide crux of a sudden constriction, cam pushing, and rack trailing (at least I found it useful to trail the rack until I exited the chimney).

The start is obvious as it begins in a corner shaded by a roof - almost like a cave. When you get to the base you can see that the roof is split by a giant crack, and that you can tunnel inside to chimney past the roof. This entire section is protected by a #2 cam halfway up.

As you are pushed out of the chimney, you can then place and push a #6 cam with you. At one point the chimney becomes an OW and almost too wide for the #6, but there are some good edge and face features to work with to inch past the crux. Just take care with the cam, as you would deck if you fell here without the cam engaged.

Above the crux there is an awkward wedged flake to surmount (the Death Flake?). It is a bit rotten and the gear isn't the best, but it is all you have for a ways. After this there is a short bit of rotten rock to climb up to reach a good stance at a tree. This is a good spot to belay from. From here you can either rappel, traverse to the top of Burner, or climb up the final moderate but loose quartzite to a walkoff at the top.

This climb is below and to the West of Burner. You can actually rappel to it from the same anchors as Burner & Firestarter, or downclimb (belay with a few pieces of pro might be appreciated).

You can also approach either by taking a steep sandy climbers trail from the SW side of Bongeater Buttress, or traversing West and dropping down on a climber's trail from a notch between Burner and Bongeater.

There is a tree 3/4 up the climb that provides a convenient means of rappelling (90'). Otherwise, finish on the easy and dirty quartzite and walk off to the East or West.

Also, with a belay and some pro, you can traverse a low 5th class slab from the anchors atop Burner over to the tree if you wanted to set up a top rope for Death Flake or Dread Locks.

BD Camalots 1x#0.4, 0.5, 0.75, 2, 5 & 6. The #5 is optional but gives more 'piece' of mind to leave behind when moving the #6 up at the crux.

If you want to belay off gear beside the tree (nicer line), bring a BD #0.75, 1, 2 for that.