Valley: Perfect Vision, Good Book 6/16-17/90 Subject: Perfect Vision completed Joel and I finished Perfect Vision on Saturday, and we did the Good Book (first 3.1 or 4 pitches) on Sunday, plus we scanned Bear Rock (old A4 route my high school math teacher did way back when). Perfect Vision is now 7 pitches, 5.11c, probably the nicest first ascent we've ever done. Unfortunately, we are now arguing about whether we placed enough bolts on pitch 6. The official style of ascent is that all pitches were led first without preplaced gear. Some aid was used on the initial leads, usually to place bolts, but the 6th was led entirely on aid prior to cleaning. All pitches have now been led free, so it's time for some repeats! Any takers? Here's the beta (sorry, I can't figure out how to send real topos via email): (the route follows the right-hand arete between Braille Book and the Book of Job on Higher Cathedral Rock; the approach hike takes about 80 minutes). Rack: set of Friends to #4, double TCUs, set of wired Rocks 1-6 (3 x #2), #2 brass nut, #3-4 Steel nuts (or set of RPs if you like them). TCU notation: .4" = #0 Metolius, .5" = 1 Met or 2? Wired Bliss, .7" = 2 Met or 3? W.B. 1. 5.9 80' Start up 30' small flake, 10' L of arete (Friends). Traverse right around arete (steel nuts, TCU, runners). Up face right of arete (4 bolts), then back L to arete and up to 2-bolt belay (TCU, wire). 2. 5.10c 80' Up arete, hard move past bolt 15' up. Traverse L past bolt and around arete to blind fingerlock (exciting!). Placing some crack gear, continue up face with golden sloping knobs until feasible to traverse right to arete. Up past more cracks and a final steep pull to the sling belay. 3. 5.11c 100' "The Barrier". Clip fixed sling and make a wild, improbable traverse right, along the lip of a roof. If sling is missing, you'll have to make dyno above belay to flake and put sling on fixed knifeblade (bomber -- long and driven down behind flake). Crux of traverse the initial long reach from lieback to sharp flake. Match on flake, then place .7" TCU 2' above. Continue rising traverse a few more moves on the sloping dike, finishing with a dyno to a good hold on the arete. Place #3.5 Friend while pinching arete with thighs, then crank final lieback move to a minimal rest (clip bolt). One last hard lieback/mantle/dyno move past bolt, then place #2 brass and crank up on beautiful 5.8 knobs on exposed arete past wires to #1 Friend pocket. Then make rising traverse L on plentiful knobs to crack system (wires, #2.5 Friend). Belay at bolt and fixed pin. Suggest back-rope belay for second with haul line through initial sling, which will make it possible to return to the rock from space after inevitable falls. Note: I have not red-pointed this pitch, as I get too pumped clipping the TCU to complete the lunge. Have freed it yo-yo style from belay after clipping the TCU, though. 4. 5.10a 45' Tricky face moves slightly right of belay, then back left and up easy inside corner to large ledge with 2 bolts. 5. 5.11a 50' Up easy detached flake up and slightly left of belay, then leave right side for face and thin crack moves to bolt. Climb down and make delicate R traverse below bolt in bathtubs. Up to hand traverse on sloping dike (small crack just below dike yields #3 Rock pro and crucial lieback holds). Belay at exposed ledge on arete (2 bolts). 6. 5.11a 50' Interesting face on arete past 3 bolts and many wired nuts and TCU s which will be difficult to place on-sight. Joel calls this pitch the best face climbing he's ever done in the valley. The crux moves are at the bolts, and it's not vertical, so rests are possible while you try to get the crack pro in. Here's the full beta: bolt, .5" TCU in top of crack/pocket 3' up and right of bolt, #2 Rock, #1 Rock (optional), step up on good arete hold to clip bolt, crux moves, from flat-topped flake place #2 Rock, stand on flake, place #3 Rock and .7" TCU in crack further left, up to large shallow pockets, place .7" TCU between pockets, stand in pocket to clip bolt, hard moves, then hold decent knob to place #2 Rock up high just below thin fingerlock (with bolt at feet), up onto better footholds to place .4" TCU in fingerlock, rest before final arete moves. Good stance with 2 bolts. Hard man version of this pitch: do without memorizing this list of gear. Master version: do without even clipping the bolts (take RPs). Joel wanted to place more bolts on this pitch, as the crack gear is difficult to place on sight, but I figured the rests are sufficient to allow time for this, and the bolts would just make it easier without making it any safer, so they would not be justified. Also, I figure anybody who can make it past the Barrier pitch will be talented enough to place their own gear and would be insulted by excessive bolts next to decent crack pro. Joel counters that he'd recommend to his friends to aid the moves on the Barrier pitch (I'm not sure if this is possible), just for the sake of doing the 6th, *if* there were more bolts on the 6th. I feel that we were over our heads on the 6th, and that toprope rehearsal and previewing of protection was a better way to "bring it down to our level" (as opposed to using more bolts). Hopefully there will be some repeats or repeat attempts and we'll get some outside opinions!! 7. 5.9 100' Up past bolt to thin crack system and abundant knobs (but vertical) on face left of arete. Some flakes are slightly thin and friable, but I could not break them on rap. Can continue past detached flake (#3 Friend) and thin crack, or possible traverse L on knobs to arete and up ~ 5.8 cracks and face just left of arete. Belay at ledge on prow of arete with 2 bolts. Rap route (using anchors on top of pitches 7, 6, 4, and 2).