Ascent Notes for: The Pulpit - 5.8 popular Average Rating : 4.25/5

We climbed this as a warm-up and I had initially intended to brag about 5.10's Warhawk approach shoes. I had been using them as climbing shoes and lead all five pitches of the Pulpit with ease. I climbed the first pitch of Autumn Speaks and about halfway up I started losing traction. The rubber was just rubbing off the soles of my shoes. It is very soft to begin with and I am guessing it just got too hot. I have only worn them a few times prior and there are already holes in the soles. I would stick with standard climbing shoes for better durability. It was a perfect day for climbing though and we were the only people on the rock.

My new favorite climb at Stone. Gotta go back and lead it soon.

I have not been able to climb as much lately so I needed a nice easy route to get back in the swing of things. I lead all pitches while my mother followed for her first time on the Pulpit. My usual climbing partner lead the route for the first time, behind us, with his wife following. The water groove before the Oasis had quite a bit of water in it, making the traverse more interesting than normal. Everyone did make it across without difficulty. Even though the last two pitches are very easy, we completed the climb to the top.

Great route. Really enjoyed it and was glad I took the topo with me. Winds a lot and wow the step across the water below the oasis was sketchy.

I decided to lead the Pulpit today for a friend that had never climbed it before and the heat just about got the best of us. The traction was pitiful, I couldn't get my shoes to stick to most of the rock. I had to rely on good holds and forget about friction climbing since it was so slick. I still had fun and finished all five pitches. I have been trying to stop climbing here until it cools off but I just can't seem to stay away. Everything is still the same as it was on my last ascent.

Lead all five pitches. Only the first two are even remotely difficult and they are generously bolted by Stone Mtn standards. The route wanders a lot but the line is fairly easy to follow. I do recommend using a guidebook.

The first pitch is very easy to follow due to multiple bolts. On the second pitch, when reaching the ledge just above the second bolt, the guidebook shows the route traversing left until below the belay, then going straight up. Some climbers do not go this way, instead going straight up from the ledge and traversing left when even with the belay.

The third pitch is very easy until the traverse right across a water groove to the Oasis. A cam can be inserted under the left facing corner system before the water groove. There is a spot where a .5 Camalot fits nicely. From there, traverse directly across the water groove into the lower edge of the Oasis. If the groove is wet, it will be very slipperly due to the smoothness of the rock. Use caution, as your cam placement is the only protection.

From the Oasis, head up towards the belay on Grand Funk and clip it for protection. Then follow the slab up to the large flake called the Pulpit. The belay loops are on top of the flake. The last pitch leads from the flake to the top of the mountain and really doesn't need protection. The upper three pithes could be considered runout but the ease of the climbing makes it a non-issue.

Led pitches 1,3,5. Followed 2 and 4 in a 4 man group.

Mostly fun and varied climbing from bottom to top and a bit different from many of the sometimes monotonous routes at Stone. Overall, a pretty safe route if you can avoid slipping on the easy runout sections. There are definitely some very nasty falls possible. It's really R, but it's probably more like PG-13 in the same way than an easy free solo is "relatively safe".

There were only a few spots where I was far away from gear and making a less than very easy move - in particular the traverse across the water streak on P3. I think I screwed up and went too high because I had to downclimb slightly to get to that anchor which was kind of tricky. Even though the features are a bit less good/obvious it might be better to cross the water streak lower. One could load up on gear (some mid to small nuts and/or a couple small cams) in the crack before the traverse - and should b/c it's all the gear you get the whole pitch. I clipped the off-route anchor out right on that pitch before the traverse but it may not be worth it since it had to be LONG, the move to the crack is very easy and it required a bit of a tricky move to get back down after clipping.

We accidentally split the 2nd to last pitch into P4 and 5 (guide says to clip the anchor and move on but we stopped). Next anchor is hidden behind the giant flake directly above the belay that looks like it'll take a large cam. Easy but runout climbing, hardest right off the belay. Partner got a mediocre small cam under a dubious flake, a pink tricam and that was it. In the next section I found a weird hole that might have taken a larger tricam but I didn't have one on me. Only pro I got was a cam in the flake right before the anchor.

Last pitch had a bit of a friction climb start but eased off after a little overlap, which takes sketchy small cam(s). Hike off through the woods to find your way back to the Arch topout area.

Partner did the dirty crack start b/c of ice and snow on the pulpit crack/start proper. Was definitely a moment transitioning across routes, more scary for me than him since I was facing a pendulum to the first bolt as soon as I unslung the tree. Still, once that was done it felt pretty easy for 5.8. I took P2 and found only 2 bolts and no pin or gear options. Hardest move was getting off that belay. Easy climbing after the bolts but would have been NASTY to fall after bolt 2, you'd probably pendulum all the way back down to the belay. Someone should replace the decapitated piton. There is a little bit of a move after where the piton was too depending on how you choose to reach the belay. Had to rap from here due to time but it was a fun bit of climbing to that point. P3 looks mostly easy but again it would be nice to have at least a couple bolts (why people? why? Does every route there have to be a free solo?)

P1 was actually pretty reasonable but I suspect P2 would be considered R in another context, but considering it's Stone, it's "very safe". Probably true of the remaining pitches too.

a little run out... gotta just block it out of your head