upper black dyke

[bradley3297]

looking for beta on the upper black dyke. mostly on the bolting. are the cruxes bolted with easier climbing between or is it just runout climbing the whole way.

[itsonlyadream]

looking for beta on the upper black dyke. mostly on the bolting. are the cruxes bolted with easier climbing between or is it just runout climbing the whole way.

You need to careful at the start, of course, where a fall would land you on the ledge. From what you see before you start you should get some idea how you will feel further up.

For me the problem was trying to figure out just where to climb when you leave the Black Dyke part way up the second pitch and climb on smaller dykes out on the face to the right. The bolts are a little too far apart to tell you exactly where to go, but I would say the climbing between them is easy enough although it may not look that way until you get up close. You could call it "committing". A fall should be safe, though.

[Brendan]

you will have no problems. the 2nd pitch is the crux, cause you leave the safety of the huge holds on the dyke, and climb up the low angle granite to the right. it's not hard tho, and is well protected. i don't ever recall having any issues route finding or feeling like there needed to be more bolts.

the first pitch looks steep from Bellygood, but is an absolute jug haul. don't be intimidated by that small roof 30(?) ft up. the 3rd/ 4th pitches are also juggy.

i think the grades feel like a juggy gym climb, and you should be able to solo it should your rope fall off or something

[Brendan]

if it makes any difference, i went climbing yesterday, and noticed that the 12th pitch of Millennium Falcon (.10c) kinda reminded me of the 2nd (.10c) pitch on the Upper Black Dyke! and it's similar in length w/ similar moves. although we combined the 11th and 12th pitches on MF, so it was a bit longer. and i haven done the Upper Black Dyke since '03, so my recollection could be a bit off (buy only slightly)

[harihari]

The first pitch steps out slightly right after maybe 50 feet and ends at a station. the second pitch-- which is amazing; the angle and exposure, and really nice moves-- heads up and right. it is somewhat runout (well, let's just say it is NOT a sport climb) and is all bolts if I recall correctly. after that it's back into the dyke for 2 crappy pitches.

if you are up there in daylight and have eyes, you can find it no worries.