Start: From any of the ledges at the base of the overhangs that lie to the right of 'Tonys Nightmare'.

#1. Climb up the left facing corner near the left side of the roof. Continue up overhanging corners to a small pedestal beneath the main roof. Climb through the roof, then step up to a belay. (85-90 ft.)

Nightwings

Simple J Malarkey

Welcome to Seneca

Tony's Nightmare

Candy Corner

Superstition

Tony's Nightmare Direct Finish

Lower Skyline Direct (LSD)

Ye Gods & Little Fishes

Muscle Beach

A Different School of Thought

Fine Young Cannibals

Blood On The Tracks

Drop Zone

Wild Men Only

Southwest Buttress Variation

Ecstasy

The Shambler

La Bella Vista

Spinnaker

The Daydream

Satisfaction 2

Dracula (aka Dracula Beach)

Southern Exposure

La Bella Vista: Lotus variation

Totem

Birds of Prey

Sixth Sense

Start just left of an onbvious square cave to the left of the 'Ye Gods and Little Fishes' corner.

#1. Climb the steep wall to a belay at the base of  the large overhang.

Potential pitch 2  through the overhang is a great project for anyone..

Want to do Ecstasy but there's a queue behind a slowly caterpillaring party of three? Here's your chance to do a stouter Seneca seven of equal or (arguably) greater quality.

P1: 35 ft. Short and possibly drippy (if rain was recent... P2 & 3 make putting up w/ any drippage worthwhile).

Start about 15 ft (give or take) to the right side of cave entrance. Stop at the beginning of the long, dark, frictiony ramp.

P2: 75 ft. Easy & exposed (if you want it to be).

Option a) climb up the long, dark, frictiony ramp.

Option b) get on the ramp by starting left of it, on the highly featured face... continue up the long, dark, frictiony ramp.

The ramp gets narrow in 2 places. In preparation for P3, it may be better to finish P2 past the second narrow section on the ramp.

P3: 50 ft. Short but stout (crux).

Climb up & right on the steep but featured wall to a two-bolt/two-ring anchor in an alcove on the left side of a good ledge.  If you don't intend to rap the route, you can skip the anchors and continue up to anchor on a tree on the top-out area.  You'll likely have to extend yourself out from the anchor if you top out in order to communicate with your follower.

Descent:

option a) one of the coolest free hanging rap ever (150ft) during which one can check out the sporty 12's in the cave.

option b) scramble up & walk north on the trail in the gully that separates the lower Southwest Corner and the Luncheon Ledge area below the main South Peak West Face.  If you continue up the trail, you'll intersect the main SPWF approach trail just below the Face of 1000 Pitons area up to the right (Triple S, Marshall's Madness, Crack of Dawn, etc).  Turning left you can hike the down the West Face trail.

There are also several variations to this route. They are as follows (courtesy of MP member Brian Malone):

Ecstasy Connection variation: From the Westernly Extension belay, downclimb until it is possible to move left then up to the belay on the second picth of Ecstasy. This can also be reversed.

Westerly Extension variation: At the end of the normal second pitch it is possible to continue around the corner for another 15 ft. to the true end of the ramp. All variant finishes start from this very far out belay.

Cave Start variation: One can start the route by climbing the right wall of the cave.

Traverse Finish variation: From the end of the Westernly Extension climb up the white cornerto a small ledge whichruns out to the right. Traverse around the corner to easier ground, then up to the tree.

Start same location as Simple J Malarky.

#1. Climb the first picth of Simple J Malarky. (35 ft.)

#2. From the tree, move up onto the right ramp. Climb the ramp for about 25 ft. to a white face. Climb the right facing corner of the large flake then move left. Continue straight up to the base of the flared chimney. Climb through the chimney and overhang to a small ledge. (75 ft.)

#3. Climb the remainder of the buttress keeping to the left side. (100 ft.)

Start just right of Totem Buttress below an obvious A-shaped chimney.  The route starts on the ramp below the chimney.  Pitch 1 climb the ramp and corner to a sloping ledge at the base of a short wall.Climb the wall and setup a belay below the overhang formed by the large chalk stone. (70 Ft).

Pitch 2 Climb past the chock stone into the large chimney.  Start up the chimney until it is possible to exit right to a good ledge (50 Ft).

Pitch 3 Finish on Skyline Traverse.

A fun corner. Protects well with a couple steep sections. Great for trad beginners.

Starting at the same point as Dracula

#1: Gain the left facing corner, pulling through overhangs to move left and up to pull through a large overhang to belay at the base of the next roof, 60.

#2: Pull this roof by moving left to a crack, following it to its end  to move right then left to belay at the SJM ramp, 70.

#3: Finish on SJM.

FA Thayer Hughes, Mike Perraglio

FFA Howard Doyle, Eric Janoscrat 1978

Var. Superstition Direct Start 11d

#1: Gain the left facing corner and instead of moving left, pull through the flared crack in the roof to regain the remaining Superstition.

FA Marty McLaughlin 1982

On the last pitch of Tony's Nightmare, climb straight out the chimney and the corner above. (95 ft.)

A good alternate to getting up to the Skyline Traverse belay ledge when Ye Gods and Little Fishes and/or Candy Corner are busy. The original line is a wide crack/chimney and a good lead for up and coming trad leaders.

P1:

(V1)

Climb up through broken, sloping rock to a large pine tree. Pass the pine on the left and continue straight up to a good-sized flat area with loose rock just below the obvious left-facing corner. The first pitch fin of La Bella Vista will be to your left. There's a block here you can sling with a cordelette for an anchor (you can also get to this spot from the start of Skyline Traverse by moving left around the big flake feature on the ledge at the start of the main Skyline crack).

P2 (original route):

(V2) (V3)

Step out left, under La Bella Vista's fin and move left into a chimney with a steep ramp further to the left. Climb the chimney and ramp to the top and up to the Skyline Traverse two-bolt anchor. Take a few large pieces.

V1:

(5.3)

Alternative start: Start on the east side, below the start of Skyline Traverse.  When coming up the last bit of the approach trail near the rocks, instead of following the right turn, continue straight in front of you to the wall, scramble left a little to a nice little ledge and locate a short left-facing corner.  From here it's a short distance up to the same flat spot with a block to sling that's mentioned above.  This alternate start makes it a straight shot up to the 5.7 variation (V2) or to climb the short, blocky section and then bail out right (V3).

V2: (5.7)

Go straight up from the belay past a short, blocky section and follow the inside corner, passing two cruxy bulges (2nd is harder). There are good passive pro options throughout. Continue up until you can step right onto a ledge. ~5.7. Once at that stance, there's a good high piece you can place to help with rope drag. Either build a belay further right on the ledge at your feet or boulder up (sparse pro/5.7ish moves) to the Skyline Traverse bolts.

V3: (5.3)

Move up a short, blocky section to a good stance.  Step right and around the corner of the huge flake in front of you to a good ledge.  Continue traversing right and end at the start of the crack on Skyline Traverse's first pitch.

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Follow the blocky left facing corner system straight up to a large ledge, then move right to the bolt anchors. Great gear and a light 5.8. There is a second pitch that links to the second pitch of Skyline Traverse and doesn't see a lot of traffic (to my knowledge).

P1:  Follow the crack system over easy terrain for about 15 ft and then start trending left to reach the overhang.  Once you reach the roof, place a good piece and cut around left to reach a hand crack(5.10).  Follow crack to shuts.  (This pitch frequently stays dry in a light rain.)

P2:  From the anchors, head up and right to reach a pair of cracks.  Climb the cracks (crux) to reach a stance.  You can place tons of gear here if you can get your hands free!  Continue straight up to reach an overhang, pass it on the left and then diagonal right toward the anchors below the SJM traverse ledge.

P3:  This is also the SJM Overhang Finish.  From the anchors, continue up and over a large ledge.  Climb up and right aiming for a large roof split by a crack system.  Place good gear at the base of the roof and gun it up and over the lip.  Easy but wild finish!

You can rap down with double ropes via the SJM anchors to the right of the finish.

P1:  Climb the ramp to the roof (optional 5" piece), traverse left to the corner and continue directly up corner through a series of roofs and bulges (crux).  Once the angle backs off trend left through the next roof, continue up the corner. Traverse right to the bolts at the top of the second pitch of Muscle Beach. (150' 5.10+)

P2:  Move up then trend left to the arete.  Follow the arete up through a final bulge at the top, ending just right of Ecstasy.  (5.7 50')

The first pitch features very sustained climbing with some significant sections of questionable gear.  Alot of loose rock was cleaned through multiple attempts but some still remains.

Start: Inside the huge cave on the left wall is a crack and small inside corner.

#1. Climb the crack to the top of the cave. (40 ft.)

#2. Traverse left using the crack and establish a belay at the mouth of the cave. (20 ft.)

#3. Climb the wall above via cracks to the Simple J. Malarky ramp (80 ft.)

Climb the face, staying right of the arete on sharp incut holds, sidepulls and pockets.  A great, hard route that start off fairly easy (5.7/8ish) up to a horizontal break.  Past the break it's all business with no move easier than 5.9.

Great route with dicey pro, with plenty of side pulls and thin edges. Very ascetic moves. Ends at two bolts on a ledge.

Start - To the right of the cave is a sloping buttress which rises to meet a large roof.

#1. Climb the left side of the Totem Buttress to a belay beneath the left side of the huge roof. (90 ft.)

#2. Pull the overhang at its widest point then continue up to a squeeze chimney. After the chimney continue to the base of an overhang. Traverse left Then move up to a ledge. (145 ft.)

#3. Stay to the right of the overhang and continue up the buttress to the top. (80 ft.)

P1: Begin climbing up P2 of Ecstasy but where Ecstasy begins to traverse up and right, continue up and left using the wide crack/chimney and blocky holds to reach the large Ecstasy Jr/Burn ledge.

An interesting little variation and a good way to move off Ecstasy or link-up to the EJ Ledge. A little steep at first, but it quickly eases off once you move up the wide crack.

Ecstasy is a classic, steep, exposed line that protects well. A perfect route for aspiring trad leaders.

P1: Begin at the far left end of the South End and climb up a 25' chimney to a large ledge. Continue up a white face to a belay stance beneath a roof.

P2: Step right and ascend a wide crack, then continue traversing right while the wall below you disappears. Climb up a broken system to a belay at some fixed gear.

P3: Traverse right again and then head up very steep rock to a good ledge and belay from a tree.

This is the only girdle traverse of any of Seneca's faces. There is a possible escape by climbing out of the black gulley to the top.

#1-3. Climb Ecstasy through the second pitch. Climb Simple J Malarky - Ecstasy Connection.

#4. Traverse up and right aiming for the bottomless black gulley and a belay. (50 ft.)

#5. Cross the gulley and move across the Totem Buttess. Climb down to the Tony's Nightmare belay. (60ft.)

#6. Finish on Tony's Nightmare and Skyline Traverse.

Start: At the outside corner formed by the merging of the Skyline Buttress and the East Face.

#1. Climb straight up the outside corner past an overhang to the 'Skyline Traverse' belay ledge. (75 ft.)

#2. From the belay climb straight up the overhanging arete, passing the final overhang on its left side. (85 ft.)

Wonderful route, super-aesthetic both in rock quality and position on the exposed arete. Very stout climbing for the grade and easy to blow the onsight if you get antsy.

Start: Just inside the cave on the left wall there is a crack which has an old rusty pin and rust stain on the wall (in case it diappears some day..).

A fun way to get into the twin cracks of Muscle Beach. Start by climbing up the mellow blocky tower known as "the spike" for about 15ft. From here make an airy and technical traverse left under the roof past a few gear placements, aiming for the bolt on the arête. Clip the bolt from good holds and head straight up to the next bolt. Once you’ve clipped the second bolt start moving up and left past 1-2 more gear placements and the third bolt. Dracula Direct Finish continues straight up but Dracula (aka Dracula Beach) continues moving left and joins Muscle Beach right before the crux on pitch 2. Pull the crux and finish the rest Muscle Beach ending at the bolt anchor on top of pitch 2.

It is far more pumpy and sustained than the regular pitch 2 of Muscle Beach but no individual moves seem harder than the crux of Muscle Beach.

Start: The Ectasy Buttress forms a right facing corner with the main face. About 20 ft to the right this corner and about 20 ft to the left of Sixth Sense are several tress, start there.

#1. Climb the broken face to a right facing corner. Continue up the corner for 40 ft. until it turns into a right leaning ramp. This ramp leads to Sixth Sense. Instead, move left until it is possible to climb the left side of a small outside corner. Climb up past a small treee to the Ectasy belay. (150 ft.)

#2. Finish on Ectasy. (60 ft.)

At the overhang on the first pitch, traverse right to a crack which is followed to the belay.

P1:  Climb the low angle buttress to reach the shuts under the large obvious Totem roof (5.5).

P2:  From the belay, head up and left passing several pitons to reach the crack in the roof.  Back up the pins as good as possible, but use caution not to steal your key handholds with gear.  Pull the roof(crux), to gain a stance.  Anchors are up and to the left.  (30 ft).

P3:  This is a great pitch, it's even worth aiding the roof to do this long pitch.  From the belay, head straight up the buttress, passing several small overhangs with great gear and wonderful moves. (150 ft)

From the tree belay at the end of the second pitch of Skyline Traverse (inside the huge Skyline chimney) climb the west face of the La Bella Vista fin following a thin rounded flake. The route is to the right of Python.

This is a great route that may be overlooked due to the crappy looking rock and position for the start.  P1:  Climb up the face/corner to reach the roof.  Traverse out left 10 Ft.(crux) to reach a shallow right facing corner and then up to the shuts.  P2:  Climb past several small overhangs and pass the traverse on Ecstasy to large right facing corner.  P3. Follow to the top.  This is a great route, and P1 can be done and you can easily lower from the shuts.  Stays relatively dry in a light rain.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in South End