Note: The pitch breakdown on my topo differs a bit from the Handren guide, mainly in that here I break up the first pitch into two leads, which seems to make sense to reduce rope drag and because of the nice belay ledge.

The 800-foot north face of Magic Mountain is split by a striking series of pillars, hosting several excellent long routes. Among them are the classic Community Pillar (5.8+/5.9, 6 pitches) and the less renowned but still worthwhile Honeycomb Chimney (5.9, 8 pitches). With its predominantly north-facing aspect, the wall stays shaded for much of the day. A great choice for a hot day.

I had climbed Honeycomb Chimney back in 2019 and remembered it as a fun outing. As we passed beneath Community Pillar on that trip, the line caught my eye, and I’d been curious about it ever since. It turned out to be a great route, featuring a variety of unique and memorable situations: a tunnel-through option on Pitch 1, a wide corner crack on Pitch 2, a bombay feature on Pitch 3, a choice between hand and wide cracks on Pitch 4, a featured crack on Pitch 5, and a wild finish inside the mountain through a bombay chimney and exit hole. There are definitely some runout sections, but the climbing generally feels secure—especially if you’re comfortable in wide cracks.

I led Pitches 1, 2, and 5, while Sean took Pitches 3 and 4 (linked), as well as Pitch 6. Either the route has grown significantly in popularity or we happened to pick a busy day: a guided party of three started just ahead of us (we passed them on Pitch 2), and above them was an AMGA Rock Guide course with four climbers. We ended up hanging out with the course group in the large cavern below the final pitch before passing them near the top. Having multiple parties on route defintely slowed us down, but we were still on top in under three hours.

We had intended to descend via the Chocolate Flakes rappels but missed the top anchor and instead found ourselves at a tree with some questionable tat leading into what didn’t look like a great rappel line. Rather than commit, we continued down the ridge and opted for the Magic Triangle rappels, which I’d used previously after climbing Honeycomb Chimney. They worked fine, but the descent was longer and more time-consuming than expected. After reading comments later, it seems we may have been able to rappel from that first tree and intersect the Chocolate Flake descent—something Sean had suggested at the time, though we weren’t confident enough to try it. In any case, we made it back to the car by early afternoon.

Overall, it’s an engaging and worthwhile route. I’d happily climb it again—both to try the hand crack variation we skipped due to another party, and to dial in a more efficient descent. It would also be fun to capture more footage of some of the route’s unique features.

This page includes a route overlay, our rack, and pitch-by-pitch photos.

We brought the recommended double rack to #3, single #4, single #5, single #7, and set of stoppers. It was way too much gear.  Next time I would bring a single rack to #5 (i.e. leave the doubles, #7, and stoppers at home). Perhaps doubles in hand size if doing the handcrack variation for Pitch 4. Bring several slings and a 70m rope if descending via a rappel route.

Note: The pitch breakdown below and on my topo differs a bit from the Handren guide, mainly in that here I break up the first pitch into two leads, which seems to make sense to reduce rope drag and because of the nice belay ledge.