South by Southwest on Lower Cathedral Spire has one superb pitch of steep, exposed 5.10+/11– climbing (along with two mediocre easy pitches and another good pitch to the summit) and an awesome summit. The climbing is well protected throughout. Since the route faces south, it can get hot in the sun; in winter or early season, the first couple of approach pitches can be damp.

The climb shares its first two pitches (5.6, 5.4) with the Regular Route, then continues straight up toward the summit—the best section of the climb.

Neil and I lost the east-side approach trail in some deadfall, so we opted for the more-traveled west-side trail around the Cathedral Spires, over the notch just south of Higher Cathedral Spire, and down to the base. We hiked out via the east-side trail and confirmed it’s definitely quicker.

We swung leads on the route—me on the first and third pitches, Neil on the second and fourth—which meant I got the money pitch, and it was indeed superb. For both of us, the crux was pulling over the bulge on the overhanging finger crack. The hand crack and underclings were especially fun. We had the summit to ourselves, with wonderful views of Higher Cathedral Spire, Higher Cathedral Rock, and El Capitan across the way.

A short objective with as much hiking as climbing, but a fun and rewarding day out. Hopefully Neil and I will team up again for another route this trip.

This page includes an overlay, map, and GPX track for the east-side approach, time stats, and pitch-by-pitch photos.