highstep

Is there potential for a better exit to be developed?

I was definitely on speedway. Everything about it matched the descriptions and topos that I've seen for this route. G-spotter, in case Kris doesn't see this post, could you please ask him/her if it's OK to add rap hangers back to the route. Also, ask what would be the most ideal type of hanger?

Good tip G-spotter. Thanks OffWhite - no, I'm pretty sure it wasn't those metolius hangers. Those are the large ones that are often placed with a vertical offset and with one on an angle to make it easier to pull through - right? The hangers that are now on the first 5 pitches appear to be brand-new, and are a type I've never seen before. They were mostly facing downwards and had a bent profile just like the hanger attached to the ring that you've posted a picture of. I think it might be these: http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/Climbing/RockHardware/FixedProtection/PRD~5015-981/edelrid-draco-38-or-10mm-bolt-hanger.jsp With 50 metres of rope stretch and multiple raps below, threading through these small hangers seemed like a terrible idea. Also, multiple layers of old webbing at each anchor was a clear indication that I'm wasn't the first person to decide not to thread. It would be great to track down the person who changed the anchors to see what their intention was.... any idea of other online forums that might be frequented by coastal climbers?

Hello - thanks for all the beta about this climb. We were up on speedway a few weeks ago. From what we saw the climbing was great, but definitly heady considering the huge run outs. Even the easiest pitches required very careful attention to foot and hand placement as the rock has the odd crumbling crystal, and arresting a fall might prove difficult and messy! As others have mentioned, make sure you're confident on slab before getting on this climb. Unfortunately our climb was cut short because we found that the reported "Metolius Rap Hangers" have been replaced with some sort of low profile hangers. This complicated our ascent as pulling the rope through these hangers would be pretty much impossible, and we didn't want to leave a ton of slings in the event that we needed to retreat from higher up. In the end we decided to bail after 5 pitches of enjoyable climbing. Does anyone have any information on why the rap rings were replaced with simple hangers? Does anyone happen to know Roland Mooney who was the route developer? It would be great to ask him if contributing new rap rings would be acceptable, as I think they would improve this climb. On a side note, on our approach hike we left the forest and immediately saw a wolverine about 100 metres up the slab. It saw us right away and and started to run off traversing the slab, showing it's unmistakable running style and size. Super cool!