This is were we started (you can see Dan a the bot...
Description
This is overall, a mellow, very enjoyable 3-pitch climb on a warm, interesting wall. As you hike up to the base, but before you get there, while you still have a good view of the wall, locate the big brown splotch or dot, and then the brown ring with the lighter rock inside (looks vaguely like the sun) which is above it to the right of the first spot. There is also a less obvious ring below and left of the dot, which if you are very hot and dehydrated, might look like a sun with a big flame on it. In Randy Vogel's Classic Rock, J-Tree (condensed version), the route picture is incorrect - it should be to the right of the line he draws. And in his J-Tree book (old version, the light purple one) it is not so clear either. Once you find the "sun" and other dot I talked about, look for an obvious horizontal ledge below it. Look left and below, following that ledge until you see an obvious crack, which starts from the ground, angling up and to the right and then to the left. This is your start. Hike up and begin.
P1: Short, but tons of rope drag. Start on the (_) crack (6) I described above, until you reach the ledge, and begin to traverse right (6). Leaders, don't forget to protect your followers here. They could be in danger of decking with a swing if they fall here if you don't protect this traverse. Move to the right, until you see an obvious crack/small chimney and go up. Set a belay in the slot about 10 - 15 ft above, where it is comfortable. This will be just to the left of the burning sun. ha ha. I'm serious.
P2: Wonderful climbing, the best pitch on the route! If you have a 60m rope, you can get to a very cool ledge. Continue up and to the left, following an obvious crack system and enjoy some easy, straightforward climbing. I would say climbing here will not exceed 5.6. I was expecting much harder for a (7) after Double Cross... Very delightful thought, the holds are solid and gear is excellent. Continue up, the crack turns into some steps and then kind of a left facing dihedral/crack. Eventually, you will see a giant block on your left with a wide ledge. Throw in some pro in the crack, and in that ledge, and belay.
P3: Ah, the joys of an Internet climbing site, where updates to bad pictures or vague route descriptions can be made. I will be putting up my (10d) A1 variation soon, but in the mean time, I'll describe this so you don't have to that. ha ha. OK, get back into the crack, and where convenient, move up and to the right onto the arête. This is the crux (7) and much more run out then the rest of the route, but very grippy (frictiony - hey, let me make up these words!) and you will get to easier rock soon! This move avoids the roofs that you see directly above your last belay, which are, trust me, harder then 5.7! Continue up the arête, onto easier ground, and pick a line to the summit. The climbing here can become more of a scramble at times, but hey, you are near the summit. Remember to use slings, especially at the start, so you won't feel like you are pulling up the rest of your party while leading because of rope drag.
Top out, set up an anchor and belay. Congrats! To return to your bags, downclimb to the right, (south) down some slabs and boulders. With a bit of route finding, it won't exceed class 3.
Protection
Pro to 2.5 inches, but I brought up to a #3 Camalot. Bring some long slings!
Good description! You're right, the Vogel Classic Climbs book shows the start too far left. A few additions: I combined your pitches 1 and 2 into one pitch by running it out after traversing the ledge at the start, so that the rope runs pretty much straight up. Then you don't have to worry about protecting your second on the traverse, and there's no rope drag. So, if you're comfortable with it, don't place any pro after the starting crack until you pull the small chimney after the traverse.
Also, the last pitch is definitely hard to find. From the belay, a small roof crack up and left looks appealing, but it's hard! Don't go that way unless you can climb 5.9 - I made it but just barely. Apparently The Swift pullls a small overlap to the right before you would traverse left to the roof crack.
A favorite route. The 5.8 start variation eliminates the traversing and rope drag problems and adds to the excitement/frustration as the case may be. Start in a left facing corner about 40-50ft left of the fall line of the main dihedral. This pitch ends at the blocky ledge at the base of the dihedral. You can just about eliminate rope drag by doing a short pitch and seting up a belay on a stance about 15ft above where the route escapes the dihedral and goes out right. One more pitch gets you to the top.
This route has rope drag for sure. I followed the advice of the above posters and still found a bit of rope drag. I would recommend doing running it out at the traverse to minimize the drag if you are solid at 5.7. Otherwise deal with the drag for safety. Gain the overlapping corner on pitch 3 for some fun exposed moves and avoid the tempation to go straight up the dihedral, its definitely 5.9.Do Dappled Mare instead. Its right there and is a way better climb for your time.
This route felt 5.7 to me. It's pretty mellow with some great climbing. The gear was plentiful. The first rwo pitches are easy to find, however the third is pretty confusing. So here's my take on it, at the top of P2 you will most likely belay at a tree. Looking directly up from the tree you will see a really big arete/roof type feature. Follow the shallow crack to the left; to the chimney. The chimney is pretty easy, my climbing compadre Larry Pedigo led that pitch and said it felt like 5.5 or 5.6 to him. Anyway, go as high as you can in the chimney then turn onto the arete. Its pretty protectable. To get off this climb we hung a climbers left and did some down climbing for at least a few hundred yards and then rapped off the back side, there are bolts all over the place over there. One rope is sufficient, butits a long hike back to your stuff.
Rope drag was rough, but doable. I, like everyone else was suckered into trying for the roof routes rather than heading up onto the arete. The off-route traverse to the left route up the roof was particularly spicy... If you end P3 upon reaching the summit plateau (at the base of a right-leaning class 4 pillar up a chimney- looking up you can see the gully continues up the slope to the top... 4th class, maybe a little 5.nuthin'), you can 3rd class it the rest of the way... view from the top is outstanding.
Getting onto the arete in pitch 3 is much easier than it looks. The moves can be well protected, but you may want to back clean some of the gear to avoid excessive rope drag.
this route pleasantly fulfilled my need to lead a multi-pitch in the park. the progressively trickier nature of each of the pitches eases you in. moving onto the arete was not as bad as it looked. The crux crack was short but a blast! belaying in a large scoop just above the crux makes for a short pitch, good communication, and an easy scramble to the top. you might want to bring a light windshell for this climb. scramble off right from the top and follow the two dead trees down the gully.
I've done this route a few times now and have always enjoyed it. It is windy in areas so a few double runners in select spots will really help with the rope drag. Down climb to the climbers right if you want to get back to the start of the route.
Lost Horse Wall
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