SUMMARY HAIKU
two, three, four, five roofs
Herbst, oh Herbst, you've done it again
the WF King
two, three, four, five roofs
Herbst, oh Herbst, you've done it again
the WF King
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CLIMB: Lazy Buttress (Trad) - 3-4 pitches, 400' feet (or 490' if you do the last pitch)
WALL: Lazy Buttress GEAR: Pro to 4" FOR A NEW TRAD LEADER? Definitely NOT pitch 1, maybe pitch 2 if they are comfortable with runout, probably not pitch three Conclusion WTF? What the FUCK! (but fun) Joe and Betsy Herbst deliver again (along with Matt McMackin and Nanouk Borche) - another bold WTF 5.7 climb.
Each pitch delivers something different - from stemming and tricky roofs, to low-angle easy but runout terrain. The top of P1 shares an anchor with Schaffer's Delight and the top of pitch 2 and all of pitch 3 is shared with the climb Ballantine Blast. When we did Ballantine Blast, we found pitch 3 to have loose blocks and rocks. This time we went a little different way and the pitch was much better (details shared below). There are no lack of roofs on this climb - five, as we count them - four on pitch 1 and one on pitch 3. |
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Pitch 1 (~150 feet)
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Follow the S-shaped crevice up though multiple roofs, then out onto the featured face to a set of bolted anchors (shared with Schaeffer's Delight.)
A lot of guidebook descriptions seem to ignore the small first roof you encounter on pitch 1, stating that there are three roofs, but there are really four. Each roof - even that small one - demands a different approach/technique and pulls from the bag of tricks for sure. Placing gear can be tricky and heady. The last roof before you exit out onto the face is just wow - to be able to place pro and make the moves around the roof puts you full-on horizontal/almost upside-down... I don't know if people are opting to bypass these roofs (somehow?) and then calling this an easier climb, but Lazy Buttress, especially pitch 1, is full-value. If you don't completely avoid the roods, this climb is highly "stimulating," thrilling, and a WTF'r. |
Rick at the first roof on Pitch 1 of Lazy Buttress.
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Pitch 2 (~160')
Pitch 2 is the easy but run out pitch. From the bolted anchors, go up and right, over a block and onto a lower angled face. You can initially protect in a corner on the left, but as you ascent the corner becomes dirty and features disappear. We just went out onto the face and found occasional places for pro.
There is a set of bolted anchors at the top of this pitch, but they are in a strange spot to set up a comfortable belay. We just built an anchor using cracks above.
There is a set of bolted anchors at the top of this pitch, but they are in a strange spot to set up a comfortable belay. We just built an anchor using cracks above.
Go right, up this, from the bolted anchors at the top of P1 to do P2.
Low angled, poorly protected face of P2 of Lazy Buttress. You can see the excellent corner pitch on P3 of Schaeffer's Delight.
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The bolted anchors at the top of pitch 2. These are in a strange spot for belaying up a second, so I just built and anchor above using a nut, a tricam, and a cam.
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Pitch 3 (~90 feet)
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Pitch 3 for Lazy Buttress is the same a Ballantine Blast and has the 5th and final roof. Once you are above this roof, there are a number of options you can go (they all end up at Lover's Ledge). When we did Ballantine Blast Rick went left around a triangular protrusion and there were quite a few loose rocks. This time Rick went to the right and up a pentina face. That was far better.
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Lover's Ledge is a very large and welcoming ledge and is best to end the climb here.
There is an optional 4th pitch which we do not recommend. It looks great from the ground but the quality of the rock is quite poor and the exposed scrambling at the end is not that great. If you want more beta about pitch 4, it's in our description of Schaeffer's Delight. We took a different line than what is described in Handren and Mountain Project - that looked worse. |
The Descent
From Lover's Ledge, scramble down into the small gully. Head UP the gully to the main Whiskey Peak gully, were you will turn left and head down. Stay on the high trail (don't get sucked down into the desert too quickly) where you will meet up with the trail that came up to access the base of the climb.
Climb Stats to Date
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DATE OF CLIMB: April 23, 2022
WALLS HIT: 1 NUMBER OF 5.7 CLIMBS: 1 NUMBER OF 5.7 PITCHES: 3 NUMBER OF FALLS: 0 NUMBER OF TAKES: 0 VERTICAL FEET CLIMBED: 400' DIRTY UNDERWEAR ENCOUNTERED: 0 TOTAL CLIMBS SO FAR: 183 TOTAL PITCHES SO FAR: 242 TOTAL 5.7 VERTICAL FEET ON THE TOUR SO FAR: 21,700 NUMBER OF CLIMBS REMAINING: 55 (out of 238) VERTICAL FEET REMAINING: 29,877' DIRTY UNDERWEAR ENCOUNTERED TO DATE: 8 |
FALLS SO FAR:
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