Haystack, Lover's Leap, East Wall 5.8

Lake Tahoe, California, USA

Currently 4.0/5

Avg time to climb route: 3 hours

Approach time: 15 minutes

Descent time: 15 minutes

Number of pitches: 3

Height of route: 400'

Overview

Second to The Line, Haystack takes one of the most striking crack systems on the East Wall and ascends a diversity of terrain from straight in jamming to face moves and roofs. Haystack is defined by a wild 4-foot roof move on the second pitch which is one the more memorable roofs at The Leap. With only two short crux sections, this is a great intro to the 5.8 realm.

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Climber Beta on Haystack

A total of (23) submissions of route beta on Haystack

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Strategy

The first pitch warms you up with easy 5th class moves that lead to a few 5.6 jams to the belay. The second pitch starts with a 5.8 stem and finger jam crux that leads to the wild 5.8 roof. When climbed perfectly, the roof feel like 5.7, but done wrong the roof feels like 5.10. The roof eats ropes so place a cam at the lip so the rope runs cleanly. An optional belay 20 feet above the roof allows the leader to keep watch of the follower through the crux. Save a 3-inch cam for the standard belay.

The third pitch follows a big corner through a series of small, fun bulges. A 50m rope barely makes it to the top. This pitch easily breaks into two pitches with two options to bail out left if storms threaten.

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