(Pitches as per Handren guide) | Photos: | Notes: |
APPROACH | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | Bridge Mountain at the head of Pine Creek Canyon. A cool cloud. Juniper Canyon (Brownstone Wall is up and right of entrance to canyon). Brownstone Wall (Sweet Thin is on right side). The impressive Rainbow Wall. Brownstone Wall is on the foreground on the right side of the photo. The famous Nightcrawler route follows the awesome corner on the right side of the Hourglass feature. |
PITCH 1 (5.8, 100') | ![]() ![]() | Sherri starting us off on Pitch 1. This pitch is protected by bolts and a couple of random nuts. This is the same as Pitch 1 of Armatron. |
PITCH 2 (5.9, 125') | ![]() | Finger crack on Pitch 2. This is the same as Pitch 2 of Armatron. At the top, Sweet Thin continues up a corner on the left to an anchor while Armatron moves right to a different anchor. |
PITCH 3 (5.6, 80') (easily linked with Pitch 4) | ![]() | Pitch 3 climbs up the corner and continues up a widening crack. A variation climbs the featured face to the left of the corner. The guidebook description has this pitch ending at an anchor in the corner, but we easily linked this with Pitch 4 to the ledge below Pitch 5. |
PITCH 4 (5.7, 95') (easily linked with Pitch 3) | ![]() | This is a short and easy pitch up and left through blocky terrain to a ledge, and left across the ledge to the anchor below the flake of Pitch 5. We linked this with the previous pitch. |
PITCH 5 (5.9, 110') | ![]() ![]() | This awesome pitch is the route's namesake. Climb up the hollow, razor-edged flake for about 100 feet (well-protected by 6 bolts), and then make an improbable (but surprisingly easy) traverse right and climb a fun hand crack to the anchor above. |
PITCH 6 (5.9, 90') | ![]() | This pitch climbs the obvious cool chimney to wide-crack feature. A #3.5 is perfect for the wide crack (thanks to Sherri's meticulous notes from her previous climb of this route, we brought my old #3.5 — interesting sidenote: this handy #3.5 had been stuck in the first pitch of the classic Burgner-Stanley route on Prusik Peak until my partner Clint Cummins cleaned it on our climb of the Burgner-Stanley route in 2006. |
PITCH 7 (5.6 or 5.8, 130') | ![]() ![]() ![]() | We didn't read the route description for Sweet Thin, and we headed up the 5.6 arete on the final tower feature that is the final pitch of Armatron / Requiem for a Tadpole. Apparently, the final pitch of Sweet Thin actually is to the left up a 5.8 wide corner/crack, roof, and finger crack. But the Requiem for a Tadpole finish is fun too, so take your pick! |
DESCENT (walk off to the north and back around to base of route) | ![]() | Cacti glowing in the afternoon light. |