Ascent Notes for: Land of the Free - 5.12a Average Rating : 5.00/5

A single set of cams tames this well. Call it "G" Otherwise, I agree with many sentiments. This was the best route I did at EPC. LOng, varied, steep, fantastic.
The last pitch is harder and where I fell. Since I got within 6 inches of the onsight, I'd call it 12 A.

This route is sustained, dangerous, run-out, hard, and all around crazy! Expect a lot of sustained climbing in the 5.10+ to 5.11+ range. This is a great route for the 5.11+ climber. However keep in mind this is NOT a sport route. It is rather runout posing huge fall distance possibilities. Bringing a set of cams in the Blue Alien to number two Camalot range is a good idea. However, even with cams the route is still runout. At that, the placements are generally not that amazing and some will provide nothing beyond mental protection. The route is not climbed often and thus there is some loose rock around so be careful. Overall loose rock is not a huge problem but don’t be surprised of you go for a hold and it breaks off and you take a nice whipper.

You can expect bolt spacing of 15 - 25 feet with 5.10+ moves 15 - 20 feet past the last bolt. The route often has a rather high second bolt on just about every pitch. Some pitches have 5.11- moves between the first and second bolt. If the leader blows those moves they are looking at up to a 25 foot factor 1.5 fall. Something to keep in mind…

The crux on the upper 5.11d pitch is reasonably bolted with a bolt every 10 or so feet. However that is the only section you will see bolts that close on this line.

It is possible to climb Apache Line (5.11b) instead of the normal 5.11d pitch to start the route. Apache Line is a pure sport route with 14 bolts for 120 feet.

If you like high exposure on a completely vertical wall with sustained climbing, a very sparingly bolt job, and questionable holds, this route is for you. This route is perfect for the solid 5.11 leader who doesn’t mind getting some distance beyond his/ her last piece of pro!

The line never has any lines so it’s a good option when it’s busy in EPC. It’s in the shade all day so do it on a warm day. You must bring a 70m rope to do this route.

DANGER: As of 22 FEB 2010, the black 11 mm static Assault Line static rope that is fixed to help you cross the 4th class pitch (pitch 2) is severely damaged. Approximately 30 feet from the end of the fixed rope a rock fell and cut the rope. Only 10% of the surface area of the rope remains intact. Thus anything beyond body weight (and maybe not even that) will cause the rope to fail which would result in death as there is no pro options (no bolts, no cracks) for pitch two. Thus when climbing the 4th class ledge (pitch 2) if you are climbing Apache Line or any other route that leads to a black static rope, exercise extreme caution. You should consider pitch two to be 5.8 (R/X) until the line is replaced as you cannot use the fixed line for assistance at this time.

We got a late start and only made it through pitch 8, but what a nice ride. Great exposure with plenty of bolts. This was my favorite route on my trip to El Portrero.

Partner: Marcus Garcia
Comments: 2 falled on-sight attempt... need to go back and clean those 2 spots up.

scary