This is a cool climb, in a beautiful place.  This is also a 5.12 free climb  ( The late Earl Wiggins, Katy Cassidy, Peter Gallagher, Feb., 1988.) This climb follows a singular crack system to the top;  an obvious right facing crack system.  The first pitch is fingers (aid for us) ,and the 2nd pitch is O Wth (5.11...aid for us).  I don't think there is a very good stance between pitches....maybe a hanging belay?  The wide section is quite long.

Monitor Butte, The Plunge

Hollis Route

Stand and Deliver

Without A Net

Hypothetical Route

Keel Hauling

Merrimac Butte, The Albatross

Ascent Into the Maelstrom

Hypercrack on the Anchor Chain

The route starts near the northeast corner of the butte, just right of Merrymaker and Without a Net.  It follows the striking offwidth/chimney splitter that starts in a broad, overhanging wide corner.  There is a fixed hanging belay to the left of the crack about 80 feet up.  The first pitch is totally awesome clean wide-crack climbing, and would be great on its own.  The second pitch is easier, but the threat of rattling down the chimney until you've crumpled up into your own chockstone is defintely real.

P1:  Start up a short low-angle finger crack behind a flake to a rapidly widening and steepening crack.  There are 4-5 bolts/drilled angles, but I thought it was nice to augment these with one of each camalot from #3 to #5.  Positive laybacking (spring-loaded for death, though), aesthetic stacking, and some blue-collar armbarring will get you to the first set of anchors.  The crux is passing the last bolt about 6 feet below the anchors. 5.11 OW.

P2.  Continue up the ever-widening crack.  You might be able to get a tipped out #5 camalot or #6 friend for the first 10 feet, but after that, you'll need a saw and some long 4X4's.  There are two drilled angles, one at 20 feet off the belay, and one at 40 feet off the belay, for this 100 foot-long pitch.  I'd recommend just taking a few slings as pro for this pitch, as extra gear definitely gets in the way.  You can't really climb into the chimney until you pass the second pin.  This pitch is relatively secure, but defintely physical and serious.  There are few edges inside the crack.  The guidebook gave it 5.11, but I would call it a shade easier (5.10?).  It's less than vertical.  The 5.11 might just describe the pucker factor.

At the top, there are no fixed anchors, but I managed to get a pretty solid anchor by slinging a rock next to the crack about 35 feet back to the northwest from the top.

Descent:  Rappel Merrymaker, about 50 feet to the left (180')

This route is a good way to the summit of the Monitor. You top out of the 5th class at the opposite end of the butte, but the hike across the summit is really cool. Don't fall into a pothole... you might never get out. Rap chains now exist at the top of this.

FInd the corner at the far eastern end of the butte. The corner faces north so you can climb it in the afternoon on a hot day. Climb to a ledge, then out a roof on finger size pieces. The rock is a little soft at the start as water has run down the inside of the crack. Eventually it turns to hands, then wider. ITs about 100 feet to the anchor. AN easy 4th calss  slab section then puts you on the summit ridge of the butte.

This is very solid rock for entrada. I think the starter moves would go free at 5.12+. The rest is 5.10+.

P1 140ft: Right facing corner on hands into an awkward but secure wide pod. Continue up the series of flakes and crack passing a drilled pin along the way. You will eventually arrive at a second drilled angle backed up with a modern bolt. As the route is currently equipped, belaying here seems to be the logical thing to do, although it is unfortunately semi-hanging.

Alternatively, one can continue climbing past this second pin to the base of the roof. This is a much better stance (ledge) and likely how the pitch was originally climbed. However, to back up the lone drilled pin, which is bomber, one would have to carry a #5 all the way to the top of the pitch...

P2 60ft: A really fun pitch. #5 c4 roof to clean offwidth corner above. Belay at another modern bolt, backed up with a yellow alien - .5 sized piece in the crack.

P3: Find the path of least resistance to the top. Up and left seemed to work pretty well for us.

Rappel from any of the established rap routes.

This climb is an experience you won't forget.  For the most part, this might as well be a solo climb for the lead climber.  Protection is nearly non-existant, especially on the 2nd pitch.  We did this route in 3 pitches, and on the 3rd pitch, we used a large flake about 30 feet into the chimney to place #4 & 5 friends.  The rock is very soft though, and these cams may not have held if we had actually taken a fall.  The solitude of this area along with the depth we progressed into this chimney created a separation from the rest of the world that was unbelievable.  The chimney is anywhere from 12 to 24 inches wide from the start of the 2nd pitch to the top.  It's a chimney lovers dream, or nightmare.  The 5.8 rating is acurate, but the fall potential makes this an extremely serious climb.  I loved this climb, but I have no intention of ever doing it again.   Whithout A Net is located on the east side of Merrimac Butte, on the right side of the paddle wheel, in view as you approach from the northeast on the 4x4 road.

A short route on the Merrimac to serve as a good warm up for the longer routes nearby, or a good second route if you drove all the way out there for just Without A Net and are hoping to do an extra pitch. It got the name because I climbed it one day hoping to find an anchor hidden somewhere up there. Not finding one, I down climbed the pitch. The route was good fun, hypothetically. A week later we decided it was worth doing again and added an anchor, 4.75" SS Five-piece.

Good hands lead to a funky chimney entrance. Walk a #6 as high as you can as you move up the chimney. Place a #5 and pull out into the layback, or offwidth if you want to practice calf locks out a roof.

Keel Hauling is a blue collar experience on the southern flank of Merrimac Butte. The route begins on a low angle ramp with a thigh-width crack that gently steepens, leading to a chimney behind a very large flake. One's personal dimensions will dictate the difficulty of this section. Smaller folks may be able to squeeze through entirely, girthier one's may be forced out to the edge of the flake. Once atop the flake proceed up the lower-angled ramp to a ledge. You may have saved a large unit for the belay. Pitch two follows further up the ramp with moderate climbing to another ledge with a natural belay. Pitch Three starts with a short section of wide in a right facing corner. Climb up underneath the huge roof, traversing out right above your belayer with some exciting slab moves to reach the third belay and the summit.

A sustained thin-hand splitter on pretty damn good Entrada comprises the first pitch.  Belay on a ledge halfway up the butte.  The second pitch follows a narrowing crack until you can worm into the chimney and wriggle to the top (5.10+).

Ascent Into The Maelstrom is a new wide crack masterpiece sure to entertain. This striking line is visible for quite some distance, begging to be climbed. If you like wicked squeezes, this one's for you.

P1) 5.9+

Climb/scramble up a slightly awkward offwidth to a very large belay ledge. Gear: 4-5"

P2) 5.11-

Very fun arm-barring with some really neat undulations. Bump #6s and leave green bros for the majority of the pitch.

Gear: 6-9"

P3) 5.11 R/X

Welcome to the Maelstrom. The wind funnels through the crack and multiplies many times over as it passes through the belay stance. It can be a 5mph wind on the summit, and feel like 30mph gusts in the funnel. Chimney up, and out passing two bolts. The chimney flares down and you'll awkwardly squeeze through a runnout opening with the wind creating an "exciting" sense of urgency. A #12 makes this pitch much safer, as placing blue-bros on the crux is not optimal. Once finally into the squeeze, climb another 80' of blue-bros to a funky/fun finish and an anchor on a ledge out right. The plateau is accessible via a short scramble to the right.

Gear: #6, #12, and many #4 Big Bros. Optional #5 Big Bro for the top.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Monitor and Merrimac Buttes