Excellent Adventure

Excellent Adventure is a fantastic, memorable rock climb. It's full of great moves, airy positions, fiddley gear, and exciting runouts. The only detractors from this being a neo-classic are that the second and third pitches feel ever so slightly contrived (although the climbing is still very good).

The climb starts right off of the water pools at the base of the Dark Shadows wall. It's worth taking some time to identify the correct line: There are four routes that take off from this area, each with two bolts up the water-polished slab. The right-most one departs from the boulder above the waterfall and is the famous Dark Shadows. Next is Sandstone Sandwich, which is best approached by traversing in from the boulder. The next one is Excellent Adventure, starting near the base of the pool, usually with a rock-stack to help you get established. Finally, the left-most is Risky Business. All of these bolts can be hard to pick out without careful inspection.

P1: Step onto some rocks and then up onto the face immediately below the homemade hangers. You are aiming for the right end of a white roof about 75' up. Climb the slab easily to the second bolt, then perform a difficult move (5.10) past this bolt and continue up to the edge of the roof. Pull the roof a few feet left of the right edge onto a steep face and a tips crack of sorts. Climb up past a bolt or two until you can trend left into an easy right-diagonalling crack system. Follow this to a spacious belay ledge that gives good views of Dark Shadows.

P2: Step directly left off the belay around the blunt arete and up to a bolt. Swain's description speaks of down climbing but this is unnecessary. Climb up to a second bolt (tough move immediately before the clip) then head almost straight left to easier ground. The moves left from this bolt are the crux of the climb and check in at about 5.11b/c (this section felt slightly contrived as the bolts force you to avoid easier, more obvious climbing). Continue up past more bolts to easier climbing. The rock here is steep and the gear spacing is sporty! Right when things get blank again you can step left around a blunt arete to the anchor with a 6" ledge. Do not step left too soon and do not belay at Risky Business anchor up and left.

P3: This is the psychological crux of the route - great climbing but a lot of 5.10 moves way out from gear. Contrary to Swain's description, this is not scary for the second at all (solid TR the whole time) - definitely put the cool-headed leader on this pitch. Also, the scale/proportions in his topo for this pitch are way off: it would appear in the topo that there are only four bolts (instead of five) and that after you clip the last one you head straight left for a long ways. In actuality, after you clip the last bolt, you go straight up for a long ways, and you don't have to go all that far left to reach the anchor. Here's the description: Climb up off the belay past three bolts in an arc, heading right over the huge Heart of Darkness roof. Two bolts lead straight up from here. Take a deep breath and punch it for 30+ feet of 5.10 climbing straight up the face to a horn and overlap (alternatively, it is possible to clip the 5th bolt, then downclimb a move or two then head almost directly right (5.10+/5.11- moves) 15' to a huge hole in the rock. From here climb up about 10-20', then traverse back left along a natural line of holds until you are directly above (by 15-20 feet or so) the 5th bolt again. Continue up to the aforementioned horn and overlap ). Load the overlap up with thank-God gear and get a good shake, then continue straight up on more neat 5.10 climbing past several RP placements. After about 20 feet you'll see the angle of the face eases off - pull up onto a ledge system and walk a few feet to your left to the Risky Business/Excellent Adventure anchors.

Yee Haw! What a route!