Mister Freeze's Face

5.10d trad · 130 ft · ★★★☆

First ascent: 1990s

Description

The face just to the right of Shady Ladies sports a single bolt. The climb starts off heady and gets headier as you go, with some marginal and difficult to place protection guarding 5.10 moves in various places, including up top, where you have already suffered most of the route and may be 'done.' No less, it is a good route and is worth climbing. The Swain guide rated this "5.10?" I thought it would be about 5.11c going belly to the bolts, but we found a sequence going right after the bolt that was 5.10+.

Location

Just to the right of the corner that is Shady Ladies, there is a dark face with a single bolt perhaps 15 meters up. The climb is up on intermittent cracks, flakes and horizontals to this bolt, up and slightly right past it, then up the face on some left-leaning and left-facing features. It tops out on a slabby ledge where .75-1.5" nuts and cams are used for a final belay. To retreat, climb down and over left to a station as for Shady Ladies

Protection

Rack: A trad rack from brass to 3" + a QD for a single bolt. Longer slings recommended. While the lone bolt is at the crux of the route, it does not mean that the rest of the route is either easy or well protected. Getting to the bolt requires 5.10 climbing on cams in horizontals and small nuts behind small flakes. This is a serious route.

Access

The 13-mile Scenic Drive requires a timed-entry reservation October to May and has seasonal gate hours. Calico Basin and Kraft Mountain sit outside the Scenic Drive and need no reservation.

Wet rock: Aztec sandstone loses much of its strength when wet. Do not climb for at least 24 to 48 hours after rain or snowmelt, or holds break off and routes are permanently damaged.

More routes on Sunnyside Crags

• Water Dog 5.10d
• Pit Bull 5.10b
• Starless and Bible Black 5.9+
• Spring Break 5.11+
• Tie me Tightly 5.10-
• Cold September Corner 5.8
• Aesop’s Arete 5.9
• Mister Masters 5.9+
• Whipper 5.10
• Mercedes 5.11a/b
• Gotham City 5.12a
• Van Allen Belt 5.7 R
• Magellanic Cloud 5.9
• Meteor 5.11
• Shady Ladies 5.7
• Hot August Night 5.11- PG13
• Bad Day at Black Rocks 5.10b
• Blast From the Past 5.10-
• Whiplash 5.11
• Adapt and Overcome 5.8 PG13
• Tarantula 5.12-
• Fork In The Road 5.8

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