Mars Attacks - 5.8 popular

...If only we could now find the top.

The first of many trips Sedona. Fun pitches with 2 great belays. loved the 3rd pitch, fun crack.

This was my first multi-picth climb, and while it was a lot of fun, I don't really have much right to comment on it! I had a lot of fun, and was glad to second the entire thing. I have not had a lot of experience on Slab, but the first pitch seemed a little steeper then 5.8

Approach: We parked at the right pullout at 1.6 miles on Dry Creek road, and spent little time wandering around looking for a trail. The approach to the route comes from the far left side, cutting right above a prominent rock band. On the exit, we followed the wash out, and ended up by a pullout on the left side, somewhere between Devil's Bridge and the 1.6 mile pullout.

Excellent pitches, and varied moves. The traverse was wild, and crack pitches were a blast. P4 was longer than I expected. Climbed the final slab section in gale force winds, which made it very exciting. Great belay stations for each pitch.

Descent: There are two sets of anchors at the end of P4. Use the rightmost set. First rap is 100-120', and takes you to a hanging belay just right and above the Big Corner anchors. Second rap takes you to the ground. There is a trail that hugs the cliffline which takes you back to your packs. The trail is overgrown, and can be hard to follow in the dark.

Gear list: I used singles of camalots 0.5, 0.75, and 1, and doubles of 2 and 3, plus a 2.5 and 3.5 friend. Brought a 3.5 and 4 camalot, but never placed them. I ran it out a lot, so you would want more hand-sized pieces if you plan on sewing it up.

Updates after a second visit:

Approach: We parked in a big sandy turnout on the left 0.2 miles past the Devil's Bridge junction. Walk back 100' or so to a wash marked by a dead tree and a small cairn. Well marked trail all the way to the Fin. Much faster this time.

Descent: We had a 50 meter rope which did not reach the ground from the second rap. If you've got a short rope, you could do a third belay from the top of P1 of Big Corner.

Approach from wash as others suggested. There is a point where the wash splits, take a left. There is a trail that cuts off to the right a hundred or so yards up that wash.

Lead P 1,3,4.
P1 5.9 Slab. Haven't climbed much slab, so this may be off. The other pitches were 5.7/5.8. They were all fun except for the easy run out to the anchors on P4, just wasn't fun or exciting like the rest of the climb.

I used my big hexes a fair amount, but if I had doubles in 2-4 camalots i probably wouldn't have used them. Didn't use anything smaller than .75, with the exception of a few nuts.

really fun great exposure and some hard moves. it has great views helicopters are annoying. its a little scary how runout it is on the last pitch. also climbed it a day after it rained so it was a little wet and you could feel the rock drying out as i got higher. rappel anchor is to the right of left facing across the canyon. a must do.