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|  | | Disappointment |
| Lead | 5.7 | Trad | G | 2 Pitches | 190 ft | | | | Easy Street |
| | 5.7 | Sport | G | 1 Pitch | 120 ft | | | Wonderful climbing in an extraordinary place.
Lower Devil's Canyon is a marvel. I have climbed there many times but my selfishness has made me a little hesitant to share. Having read canyoneering triplogs on HAZ I suppose the cat is already out of the bag. Located at the end of a 3 mile 4-wheel drive road off of the Magma Mine Rd. it is close by but tough to get to by ordinary sedan. The climbing area is split into several crags; Glitter Box area, Totem Pole, Lower Devil's East, and my favorite, Hackberry Creek. With a narrow gorge sided by walls and spires reaching up hundreds of feet plus a roughly 60 foot waterfall it is by any standards outdoor-magazine beautiful. Many excellent climbing routes are to be found there. All are very tall routes, the usual being over 100 feet. Bring a 70m rope. You will need every inch of it. Most routes will have the rope ends hanging several feet from the deck when rappelling down or top roping.
My climbing buds Randy, Angel, and myself went out for a full day of climbing but got only 2 routes in. Randy led Easy Street, an excellent and very tall 5.7 sport route with 12 bolts. The second climb of the day was a muli-pitch trad route that also required a bit of bushwhacking to get to the base. I had been eying Disappointment located on The Wonder Wall in Hackberry for some time. The route follows various crack systems up what is arguably the most impressive face in an area full of impressive faces. In all it took a lot more time than we anticipated but it was delightful nevertheless. Listed as a 2-pitch route, Disappointment now has 3 double-bolted anchors, so it can be split into 3 pitches if desired. It requires at least 2 rappels with a single rope. A double rope rap should get you all the way down but then you would have to haul or trail a second rope up with you. Be wary of loose rock. There is plenty to be found. In fact, the summit block is topped by a 0.5m3 boulder that oscillates like a rocking chair if you touch it, ready to come down.
A splendid adventure climb to the very top of an impressive geographical feature. In my estimation there is nothing at all disappointing about Disappointment. |
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"Aequanimitas."
- Antoninus Pius |
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