Always & Forever, encapsulates this granite flake spire's ominous feeling. The opening moves off the  deck are powerful, delicate, and slightly mysterious in nature. The starting moves include crimps and sidepulls, then you will encounter the crux proper. High steps, core tension, and finger stack crimps are the name of the game. Finally the route connects back into easier slab climbing, run-out, on Hippity Hop.

Always & Forever

Mouse Tracks

Ego Trip

Criss Cross

Over the Hill

I Sinkso

The Arrowhead

The Washing Machine

Left Chute

Nit Nat

Student Cracks

Black Death

Changes in Attitude

Peaches and Cream

Hippity Hop

The Chute

Student Death Slab

Dark Passage

The Crawl of the Wild

Quaker Oats

Unknown Off-width

Changes in Lattitude

Top Line

Direct Hop

Cakewalk

Changes in Longitude

One for the Road

Sven's Traverse

Off-width created by huge flake on the right side of the slab.  When you get to the old anchors, move left onto the slab to finish off.

Crux moves on all three pitches for different reasons.  On the first pitch, it is all about clearing the small roof. For the second pitch, there is a tricky start to get into the right arching crack.  The third pitch is a bit difficult to protect due to the crack shape, but it can be done safely. 

  Damon W. adds: Originally done in 2 pitches, but breaking it up into 3 pitches as noted in description will probably decrease rope drag.

Somewhat thin sven slab climbing.  Most difficult part is first 20 or 30 feet.

Great movement on this route with the crux flowing early in the bolt section. You smear and edge on featureless granite through two bolts trending left on a sloping mantle to jug. Plug a cam and move up on easier climbing. Time to place another solid piece in a horizontal crack, and then finish through one bolt to awesome granite rail. Fourth class climbing follows to a great anchor with two rap rings.

You never get too many powerful overhang lie backing routes in the Mcdowells, and hence why this route is classic for the area. Over the Hill follows Mousetracks beginning but breaks right to the ledge next to the imposing right overhang. You get fantastic gear, and then it's time to go full force, and if not fall cleanly through the air on great gear.

Climb 15 feet to the first bolt, this is the crux, to make it easier start up on bolder and move slightly to the left.  clip fairly long runouts past two more bolts to and eyebolt belay, there is a second pitch but it is definitely not worth doing, fly if you want to.

Face climb past two bolts to a two bolt anchor.  All hardware has been recently replaced. Crux is mental. Gear can be placed in the chimney on the lower right side if it helps put you at ease. I used a #5.

A squeeze and offwidth roof slot.  Get ready to get sideways.

Slab into easier slab, a bit of crumbly rock and vegetation, meets up with the anchor for Right Chute.

Start at the small overhang midway between Changes in Lattitude and the flake. Pleasant slab climbing that gradually increases in difficulty until you reach the first bolt. 5.10 climbing in the vicinity of the second and third bolts. 30 feet of run-out until the chains.

 

Parallel wide cracks head diagonally up and right. A gear anchor can be built up top or you can traverse right to the tree and eye bolt that's above the other routes on Sven Slab. A #5 Camelot can be helpful at the beginning for new leaders.

Climb up on triangular boulder, place gear, then fire out left for the first bolt. Continue up past short left-facing flake and continue up to second bolt. Continue up face to crack. Get in crack and take that up and right all the way to belay at eyebolt.

A nice boulder problem with two bolts that extends into runout climbing on easier terrain. If you've done the classics for the Nit Nat area already give Attitudes a go.

 Down and right from Sven Slab. This is the first route you encounter when hiking up the trail. Climb the obvious wide crack with a difficult start.

Climb slot crack to up to an alcove then step out onto face and up along run out bolted line.

Easy face climb that can be done as one or two pitches (60m rope required for one 185' pitch). Climb face right of bottom belay. 2 bolts at the beginning, horizontal crack part way up for a cam or nut, then 3 more bolts.  A bit run out but climbing is pretty easy (you can place pro over in the gully to the left if you wish).  There is a ledge 2/3 up with a crack where you can break it into two pitches.  Good belay ledge at the top with nice crack for setting up an anchor, or you may be able utilize nearby bushes. Walk off towards the east (rock left).

Two boulders stacked on top of each creating a slabby face.  This is a top rope only route.   The anchors (two bolts) can be easily accessed by scrambling up on climber’s right to the top of the boulders.  Look for the boulder with the vertical crack above the student death slab.  There’s a “left face” and a “right face”. Both go at 5.4 

Climb thin but positive edges past 3 bolts and horizontal crack. Run out with deck potential on first bolt.

This route ascends the arete above "one for the road"(oftr). Begin to the left of oftr scramble to ledge then up to a flake (a piece of protection may ease any anxiety) then follow bolts (5) up to a bolted anchor. Rap off.

This climb was originally a 3rd class climb, start the route about 10 feet right of i sinkso and climb with typical slab holds on low-grade slab and traverse left a little to belay at a tree with one eyebolt.Jan 3rd, 2021 Update: Screwlinks and chains were added today to the two bolt anchors at the top of the route.  They had been missing for quite some time.10-26-19 Update: There are also two bolts (for belay or rap) with screw links just climbers right of the eye bolt and tree. You can continue up another short pitch of comparable climbing from there for a great view.

Climb up positive edges past 3 bolts and horizontal crack to chains. First bolt is high but the climbing is relatively secure if you have some granite slab experience.

Begin at the the thin face directly below new bolts. A crimpy and balancy clip for bolt 2. Thin traverse on the face to Hippity-Hop where the route eases considerably.

climb off of boulder up and left to bolt.  Follow line of bolts over bulge.

CIL is a horizontal seam that crosses 2 large boulders to a huge detached flake.  The entire first pitch of the climb is a traverse from left to right; make sure you place a good amount of pro to protect your second.   

  Pitch 1: Start on top of a large boulder and make a thin exposed move to get into the seam under a small roof.  One spicy move and you're at jugs and good feet.  Keep moving right for about 40' until you get to a break in the boulder.  Look right and up 5' and you'll see the seam continue on.  Follow this  for about 30' and arrive at the detached flake to find 2 older, but solid bolts to belay from(semi-hanging, but comfortable). The belay can be backed up by medium sized gear.  

  Pitch 2: Fun, easy chimney climbing up to a large chockstone.  Get past this and head up the face on the left to the top.

A really fun route on the looker's left end of Sven Slab. It's an obvious right leaning crack going up the left wall of a gully. Longer than it looks. A very enjoyable pitch, with a crux or two, bomber gear, great easy crack climb. Belay from a tree on a big ledge. A guidebook described a 2nd, pitch, it didn't look worth doing. A quick scramble up and to the right puts you on the ridge and a nice summit. Walk climber's left from the ledge and scramble back to the base to get down.

Start up gulley right of Quaker Oats. Traverse to third bolt on Quaker, to third bolt on Sinkso, to second bolt on Ego Trip, third bolt on Cake Walk, to cracks and up to belay bolts left of Black Death.  Reverse to clean (PG-13) or have second clean. Good practice for leading/seconding a traverse.

Sven Slab, so named because a Sven saw was used to cut the original trail up to the wall, is probably the most popular granite climbing location near Phoenix after Pinnacle Peak. This is the place to hone those sturdy foot muscles on thin granite crystal and edge climbing. The main wall is home to several nice moderate outings, while the outrigger crag down to the right features some additional harder lines.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Sven Slab