West Sphinx Direct Route Grade Votings
Total votes cast 18
Adjacent Routes
10m. Superb bold and engrossing, and only a bit harder than the 1959 original version. Follow the bold start to West Sphinx Climb as far as the thin horizontal crack. Make a long move up to a pocket then slink off right to the forehead slab. Substantially harder for the short, especially the reach for the eye. USER COMMENTS
The "eye" takes a very welcome Friend 2 1/2 or at least it did about 15 years ago when I last did it. The move for the eye is very reach dependent.
Very reach dependent going for the pocket; the only way I could see to do this was to undercut the break, not a 5b move for me I thought. Thought the gear was rubbish too. Felt like E4 5c.
... but I could see it might be 5b if you're 'standard' height!
WOW! Amazing route. E4 5c? I wish! I've seen good gear arranged in the break, but mine left a lot to be desired.
had to piano play my fingers into the eye, felt like hard 5c to me at 5'7". gear in break takes some thinking but i had confidence in my set up. 5b move guarding the main crux is no pushover. |