#Spiralling the Spire — The Needle

18 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

errant mirage
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WizzyGirl

Claiming "Spiralling the Spire" (assuming it isn't already taken)

No buffs / chalk only

Start on the far side from the beaconhouse and climb up to the standable ledge with a nettle on it (the last bit requires some confident handwork and plenty of chalk) before working your way to the Edelweiss flower (pic 1).

After that, work your way clockwise around the tower (grab the backpack along the way), avoiding the chimney as it's far too difficult to exit in my experience. Instead, keep going clockwise (pic 2), and work your way up, until you get to the next standable ledge, at which point you can either keep going clockwise (there seems to be a route that way but I can't verify for sure), or switch tack and start heading counterclockwise for a moment before powering straight up through a series of difficult overhangs and smooth regions.

CHALK IS YOUR FRIEND ON THIS ONE!

Oh, and remember to stop and breathe.

Have fun and happy climbing.

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limpid inlet
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title should be "Spiralling the Spire - The Needle" CatThumb

errant mirage
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Spiralling the Spire — The Needle

minor juniper
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Great route. I just climbed it. Have you climbed Thread? I want to get your opinion on which is harder.

errant mirage
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I've climbed the middle part of thread, where you pass by a juniper bush, and that bit was certainly challenging until you spot the minute cracks and handholds. I would say that both hit similar peaks in difficulty: Thread has its cruz in the middle while my route has its challenge concentrated more at the beginning and end. I've also managed to refine this route a bit on a subsequent playthrough, though this is on Alpinist so I did use pitons which probably skews the difficulty.

minor juniper
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Hmm… I’m putting together a Kami’s King Line route. It’s to find the hardest route up Kami. If you get a chance to run Thread in full, let me know so I can finish the list. If you feel Spiraling is harder, I’ll add it. Also send a pic of the line to verify you got on the right route. I’ll do the same here for Spiraling tonight when I get home.

errant mirage
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Made some refinements to the route

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Same starting method, but this time I kept going clockwise from the Edelweiss room (pic 1). The hardest part here was making my way across the ledge to where the Juniper's located. I can safely say this is way harder than the thread (pic 2). From there, I actually did go up the chimney and made my way straight to the top (pic 3), so now this route is actually a spiral, since you end the climb on the same side as where you began.

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Notably, I did use pitons for this game, but aside from a few dumb slipups, I could have made it without them.

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The one part where I rapelled down was so I could collect the juniper again after I made room in my bag.

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Here's a closeup of the entry:

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minor juniper
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I’m honestly rooting for this to be harder than Thread. I’m getting demonized for having the hardest routes in most areas.

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Here I go.

errant mirage
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If you want to make it even harder, you could probably continue going clockwise around the final bit as I did in my original post.

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oh, and it's not technically a part of the needle, but... mad respect if you can follow it up with this.

image.png
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I used pitons but, notably, I did manage to not fall, so I'm confident I could do it in Free Solo, even if the thought of doing so fills me with dread XD

minor juniper
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I’d guess this route is a 7+ and due to its length and two rather desperate traverses, it is harder than Thread.