Climb to the top of the Moonstone and hike up the gully. Pass by a steep wall with some very impressive projects, move right and up to the summit.  70 feet up the obvious corner. Would hold its own as a 3 star climb just about anywhere. Not light. Finger to thin hand.

Lunar Land

The World is Flat

Blue-Eyed Sandbagger

Solstice

Across the Globe

Egg Shells

Sweetwater Moose

Stargazer

Jambalaya

Flake Route

Moonstone Crack Project

The Faster We Go, The Rounder We Get

Wind Walker

Blue Moon

Moonscape

Feldspar Route

Zircon Encrusted Geezers

Floating World

36 Views of Lone Mountain

"Bob Scarpelli testpiece"- Lander Rock.

That says it all.

This isn't my route, but I had a blast on a route that gets to the top in 3 full pitches without a single bolt. (Great fun and maybe a break for your calf muscles?)  We used a 60 m rope and ran it out to the end at every pitch, but you could pick your spot based on your pro/length of rope.  This is route 19 on Bob Branscomb's excellent topo pitctured on the main page.

Route is in the shade in the later afternoon.  I put question marks on 2 exits that we used, unroped.  You walk down after crossing over the entire dome to the slabs at the far left.  (Bring shoes?)  Alternatively, if you know where the routes are that almost top out, you could carry an extra rope and rap down to the cabin,

probably

.

A superb route for its grade.  Lots of 5.7/5.8 friction on both pitches.  Multiple cruxes on the first pitch and near the beginning of the second pitch.  60m rope required and if you rappel the route, two 60m ropes are needed.

Mostly sport, but as the route crosses a few cracks, a few nuts or cams may be helpful.  There are only 2 bolts to an intermediate anchor 70 feet up (just right of a big flake/block on a nice ledge) which I think should be skipped on the way to a 2-bolt anchor at 190 ft. This route finishes in a runnel  just right of the Central Crack.

Do the first pitch of the Flake Route.  From the ledge, proceed up a thin seam (RPs helpful),which is the crux, to the beginning of a long crack system that goes out to the right.  The original route follows this crack out to a weird directional belay about a rope length out.  Then up slab to top.

Last year, Ed DeLong, Aaron Steele and I put up a direct finish to this second pitch.  Move right on the crack a little ways above the seam crux, then follow bolts up a shallow trough to a Fixx bolted rappel anchor, where the angle is walkable.  We put in a rappel anchor out right of the first belay ledge as well, so you can rappel the route.

P1 - 5.9. Up a double hand crack inside a chimney. Exit left.

P2 - 5.7. Pull over a bulge to a scramble. Climb the left facing corner.

P3 - 5.9. Face climb up the slightly runout slab. Traverse to the left and then up the large left facing corner. Save a few finger size pieces for the top runout section.

Facing the Moonstone Slab, behind the cabin, there is an obvious bolt route following the deepest, bright white, water runnel at the left edge of the face. It's further left than anything listed in Lander Rocks.

Don't be deceived by angle of the slab. This is not a "sport route" and requires 2 double rope rap's to descend.

Look for a very high first bolt, next to the runnel, and slab up to it, 2 more bolts will get you to an anchor station, maybe 5.4. It's an optical illusion, but from here, you're about 150' off the ground, needing 2 ropes to descend.

Pitch 2: Continue up the steeper runnel, over more difficult climbing w/ a few more (6) bolts to a 2nd anchor station, maybe 5.7.

2 double rope raps will get you to the ground.

A route worth doing if you are visiting Moonstone.

P1 - 5.10a. Up the leftmost right facing corner. Traverse right under the roof.

P2 - 5.9. Follow the corner trending up and left to the main corner system.

P3 - 5.9. Trend up and right to the main crack splitting the headwall.

Pitch 1:  Belay up as high to the left leaning corner system as possible, after a short scramble.  Face and undercling out corner, then continue up to small ledge cut out after the corner goes straight up for a ways.

Pitch 2:  Continue up left facing corner as the face gets lower angle.  Belay where convenient.

Pitch 3:  Follow last of corner to where it rolls over and melts into the face.  Follow face to top and when the face goes to more walking than climbing, build a belay and bring up the partner.

Great views, nice position, good protection and good rock.

Fun!

The Moonstone crack project.

Severely overhanging hand, finger crack with high V.

Savage undercling, V6, to flaring hand jam, to secure fist jam, leads into a 5.12+ flaring hand shuffle, with right side scum, a couple of 5.13 finger locks, then an unsent, high V, tips scum boulder, to tips, to secure flared hand finish. Overhanging 25 degrees. Bolt anchor.

Brutal!

Our posse votes for a 9 or 10 bolt route with fixed draws to get it done. Bolts should placed on the left of fissure.

We might have to wait for the next generation climber with next generation crack skills and equipment. (Single application stick on hand jammies/ rubber hip patches et al, etc.)

A great small hold, friction route on beautiful, clean stone.  Cruxes between the first and fourth bolts.  Somewhat led-out but not terribly so.  The step over the roof is stimulating also.  The second pitch has a lot of 5.9 friction/small face as well.  60m rope is required and if you rappel the route, two 60m ropes are required.

Old school, free, lead established, multi-pitch slab, up cool water grove with island.

This is a more led out affair than a lot of the routes here.  The first pirch only has three or four bolts for 60m, but the pitches are only 5.5-5.6.  This route goes straight up the shallow water trough until directly under the large roof at the top of the wall.  First and second pitches are about equal difficulty.

Interesting crack climb with a roof finish.

Easy cranks on grainy face holds, past a small tree into the goods, a hand/finger size crack through a overhang. Could be used as a warm

-up for the hard project.

See guidebook: LANDER ROCK 2005, Collins and White (or 2003)

This low angle route follows ~500 feet of flaring crack/seam. Start via a right trending crack, or straight below the main crack system following about 5 bolts up an easy slab. Climb until the end of your (60m) rope and a perfect anchor crack magically appears every time. Start pitch 3 by either stepping out onto easy slab or staying inside a more difficult, but more secure chimney.

The first pitch of this route is the stuff...a great pure friction smearing workout.  Ed calls this "5.7 or so" but I'm inclined to say it is 5.8 or 5.9-.  SAAAAANDBAGGGGGG.  This ends on a great ledge.  The second pitch starts up the 5.4 crack system, then steps out left onto the water streak.  The bolt is weirdly placed here, we intend to fix this problem this year.  Nonetheless, the rest of the climb goes up the water streak above, progressively easier as you ascend.  There is a steep step near the top that is interesting.

Involves 2-60m pitches.  60m ropes are required.  The crux of the first pitch is on the first steep section: thin face and smearing but very well protected.  At the top of this first section, move right into a broad trough (two single runners useful) and up to the anchor.

The original second pitch goes up the deep trough above.  This is about 5.8 and is good.

A more aesthetic and challenging second pitch, completed in Spr 2008, is to go to the first bolt on the second pitch, then friction up and left into the very shallow, steep looking trough out there.  Climb through two or three 10a sections of smearing and thin face to the anchor.  This pitch, having a separate history and psyche, is called The Shape of Our Deformity and is rated 10a.

The combination of the first pitch of Floating World (10b) and the Shape of Our Deformity (10a) makes for an outstanding climb and the hardest on the Moonstone to this date.

Start up a pretty, clean slab below the left end of the roof system that caps the lower part of this wall.  The first 10a crux is off the fourth bolt, stepping up and left.  Go straight up to the roof, step over and head up and slightly right into a shallow trough.  The second, slightly harder, crux is here, pretty squeaky smearing for a few moves.  The second pitch is considerably easier, 5.7 or 5.8 with good positive holds all the way.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in The Moonstone