Astroboy

[Shawn B]

Why doesn't this get done? It is a great route with nice exposure. Did it on Saturday in the heat. Way too hot!! But the route really does deserve more traffic. It is pretty dirty right now. There is lots of gear. Medium size nuts and cams. Climbing is not hard. Graded 5.8 but I'd say there is no one 5.8 move. Just steep sustained 5.6/7 climbing. Traverse into the "crack" is easy. And I say "crack" as you don't crack climb. Face climbing with the crack for gear. If cleaner and some nicely placed anchors it would easily be ****.

[Fred]

I've been wanting to do it for some time but haven't gotten around to doing it. I've been slowly ticking other projects like "Weeping Whisker" which I did on Saturday. I'm hating myself for not having done it years ago. What a fabulous climb. Not scary. Well protected. Easy climbing. Hand traverse all the way. Long runners for rope drag.

There's just so much to climb in Welsford it's unreal. I love that place.

On another note. I climbed Sweet Potato Pie again yesterday. What an amazing route. I didn't feel in a pinch at all at the crux where I used to think it was quite bold. There is bomber cam up high in the crack before you top out. The stump is gone now. You place a cam down low then once you reach a bomber flake you plug in that cam in the crack and top out the hard bit. You would probably hit that slabby part but it's steeper then we think. It's not a ledge by any means. I think you would just roll off. Surely it wouldn't be pretty but certainly not catastrofic.

[Fred]

where do you belay from for Astroboy?

[Shawn B]

That is one of the pains. I did Waterwalk first. Don't think that's been climbed for 5 or more years either. There is a 4 inch pine tree on the ledge above the two old dead ones you can see from the ground. The ledge is pretty dirty as well. The pine tree is probably sufficient? but I ended up placing a natural anchor in the horizontal crack behind the tree...which is where you traverse out anyway. I'd probably use the rock anchor again as well as Denise said she felt like the whole dirt part of the ledge was moving as I exited off of it. Tricams and a nut for the belay.