Becky Route
Time estimates
- Total: 5 hours car-to-car?
- Approach: 40 mins
- Climb: 2.5 hours
- Descent: ~60 mins?
Gear
- 70m rope? Last 4th class pitch might need it?
- Doubles #0.3-3, optional 0.2. No need for #4 unless you struggle with 5.7 offwidth.
- Nuts
- ~6 alpine draws
- ~1 double alpine draw
- ~4 sport draws
- I think you CAN leave gear at the base, descent brings you right next to it
Approach
0.85 miles, 962 ft gain, ~40 minutes.
Park at the pullout on the left when driving up the road (36.58862, -118.23324) (Google Maps link).
Walk up the road for 30 seconds, and then take the dirt road on the right before the switchback. Follow that dirt road on a long switchback heading East and then back West (idk if could cut straight up at all to cut the switchback? The track I had did the long switchback). Eventually the trail gets steeper as it gets close to the cliffs and goes up some steeper kitty litter.
Overview
According to Steph Abegg: "The Beckey Route is a 5-star classic for the grade, climbing cracks, knobs, and dikes up a sparkling white buttress. Fun in the sun! This was the best day of our Whitney Portal trip, for enjoyability of the climbing and number of pitches."
P1 - 5.7, ~150'
Start in the right facing corner, climb it to the top, traverse left, then straight up through a few shrubs to a left facing corner. Climb that corner up to a ledge about 40' below a triangular roof. Belay off a tree and flake.
P2 - 5.9, ~125'?
Climb up and right to an arete with nice jams and gear to a wild roof move (lieback) and another 30 or so feet to a gear belay in the vertical crack up and slightly right (.75-1" cams)... do not belay from flake lower down or get suckered into going out left, the line goes straight up.
P3 - 5.8, ~100'?
Crack comes and go and with it a little run-out. Fun, techy climbing. A welcome fixed piton and more moves leads to a **bolted belay out LEFT **(left of the fixed piton, above a sloping ledge).
P4 - 5.8, ~150'?
Follow fins straight up. Bolts are hard to see looking up from the belay but they're there. (For some reason, someone put a bolt right where there's some good gear. Nice 3/4 placement) Follow up (more bolts?) to a belay at the bottom of a large crack (2-3" pieces).
P5 - 4th class, ~220'?
Moderate climbing, but still nice to have a rope. One group ran out of rope with a 60m, but a 70m would reach.