Routes : North America : United States : Pennsylvania : Northwestern Region : Mertz Perch : Balance Act
Balance Act - 5.8
Average Rating : 4.00 out of 5
Route sequence (left to right): 0
Route Summary | Ascent Notes (2)
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Matt Tschippert
Rock (Toprope)
R
1
Helmets are a definite for both climber and belayer. Some rock dirty and loose so watch out.
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Description:
Really fun balancy route. Has tiny holds all the way up. You have to think your way through this one. To find it, go along the ridge until you see the big brown house. There will be a steel guide wire up at this point. When you see a big opening in the trees looking out to the river you are there. It is an all sandstone route. There are two places to set-up the top rope. One is towards the left along a currently unclimbed crack. This side is more difficult of the two and could be considered a separate route all-together. The other, the one used to climb this face, is further to the right of the crack looking at the cliffs from below. In general, the route requires some zig-zagging to get up to the first set of ledges. Then after that is a slight overhang with very few hand holds and very few places to put your foot. It is possible to top out the route, however, it is not suggested due to the nature of this section of the cliffs at the top.Descent Options:
Hike down or rappel down.
Submitted by: djnevick on 2009-04-27
Views: 1087
Route ID: 99030
Most Recent Photos
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2 Ascents Recorded
| Ratings | |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 5.8 |
| Safety Rating | R |
| Exposure |  |
| Rock Quality |  |
| Scenery | |
| Fun Factor | |
Top Rope ascent by:
First Ascent
First arriving at the face, it looks like there is very little to actually start the route with other than a ledge at the bottom. Once up on the wall, a lot of things start coming in to view such as places to put your feet and a lot of lean holds. About 10 feet off the ground, one has to shimmy towards the right side of the wall and then make a move to the next ledge. This move goes to a ledge that is just out of reach of where the current position is. There is, however, a small (and I mean extremely tiny) place to put a foot and static to this ledge. It is also a nice dynamic move if you are bored. The climb gets easier for the next 5-10 feet and then you reach the overhang. From here there is a crack to plant feet on to the right, a little chip in the wall directly in front, and the overhanging rocks above you with very few handholds. On the first ascent, I probably spent 5-10 minutes just figuring out what, if any, holds existed. At this point, a lot of control and balance is required in your climb in order to top out without falling. I got to the top of the cliff but didn't top out entirely due to the nature of the section of the cliff above (a giant hill covered with brush).
Overall, especially towards the top, this route requires a lot of thinking and planning on how to reach the next move. It is good for a beginner and fun/warm-up for those more experienced before moving on to more difficult portions of the area.
5.8 to start, 5.5/5.6 for the small section in the middle, 5.8/5.9 to top out.
In order to reach this route, one can either rappel from the cliffs above (not recommended for first time climbers) or hike around to a path leading down the cliffs and then climb up to this ledge right underneath the anchor points bringing you to the base of this wall (this takes about 10-15 minutes).
~Matthew Tschippert
Overall, especially towards the top, this route requires a lot of thinking and planning on how to reach the next move. It is good for a beginner and fun/warm-up for those more experienced before moving on to more difficult portions of the area.
5.8 to start, 5.5/5.6 for the small section in the middle, 5.8/5.9 to top out.
In order to reach this route, one can either rappel from the cliffs above (not recommended for first time climbers) or hike around to a path leading down the cliffs and then climb up to this ledge right underneath the anchor points bringing you to the base of this wall (this takes about 10-15 minutes).
~Matthew Tschippert
Added: 2009-04-21
| Ratings | |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | |
| Safety Rating | R |
| Exposure | |
| Rock Quality | |
| Scenery | |
| Fun Factor | |
Doug Nevick
Really fun route. Needs cleaned but overall a good fun challange.
Added: 2009-04-20
