***Maginot Line - 5.7

Onsight solo - keeps you guessing the whole way up!

Great route. It's in a big, clean left facing, flaring corner. 1st pitch is exciting when you climb out right of the flare on unprotected jugs. This pitch is a bit tight for climbing with a pack. Nice exposure on the 3rd pitch. You can go up the corner crack or 10 feet further right to thin crack with horizontals for even more exposure.

Did it in 4 pitches, traded leads. Top of the first pitch felt harder than the crux 3rd pitch to me.

First pitch there was a cord around a chockstone (prob 90 feet) but I kept going up through the overhang to a good belay there. Two options for the end of that pitch - either stay in the maybe awkward corner but get good gear or step out right and face climb easy flat shelf jugs about 15-20' without pro. I chose the face and got a crappy flared small alien that probably wasn't going to do much. Fun overhang with jugs wraps up P1, at least the way we did it.

P2 - very short and pretty easy but ended at a wide constriction where lots of large loose rocks get piled up. This is rather a dangerous place since careless feeding ropes can pull these off and send them down. In fact while we were getting started the party ahead of us sent a couple flying down, one of which nearly took out my partner.

P3 - go right and it's pretty easy. Crux is one face move to a small roof, then pull roof with good pro. Wonder if anyone goes straight up? Looked intriguing but a good bit harder. Very exposed belay on a small ledge with good gear. Photo op.

P4 - Longish section of easy climbing and scramble through the brush till you top out. Nice views up here.

Probably possible to combine pitches 1+2 and 3+4 although we didn't try.

Very nice climb. Thought it had more quality pitches than the Daddy (up the gorge a bit). Definitely a bit harder, but still quite reasonable.

Swung leads. Led p1+p2. Great exposure for 5.7.

A very fun route, gets hot as hell during the summer though!