Fun, varied, grippy granite. This route is an overlooked classic, even for Old Rag. My memory of the crux included knock-kneed funky stems and tips locks with good gear pulling out of the chimney to my immense relief-my good piece was the grey TCU. Worthwhile and fun.

Report to Sickbay

Unlikely Promise

Don't Pro the Flake Bro

Loki

The Parker Route

When Natural Law Fails

B and H Route

Sunday Crack Fix

The Vegetated Crack

Mystery Move

Upper Terrace Chimney

Tourniquet

Radiation

Strawberry Fields

Physics and Politics

Chasm Crack

Strawberry Tart

Republicans and Politics

Nothing Is Real

The Crackin

The normal climb,  1 pitch:  Traverse out from over the chimney with small gear for about 8' till a move up lets you gain the crack system above. Partway up the crack divides; follow either crack for ~30' up to flakes and easier ground above. End at a ledge with a large pine.

 Variation - 5.10 as per BrianWS: Alternately, this route can start direct, at around mid 5.10. Instead of traversing in above the 20' drop, start below. Some tough moves through positive holds will bring you a few feet left of the crack system.

 Extension Second pitch to top out, 5.6 PG13: From the rap tree at the top of Chasm Crack, traverse left a few feet and climb a nice 15' hand/fist crack to small pine trees at the edge of a slab (sling one for pro with a long runner). Make a gently rising, rightward traverse onto the clean slab and up a faint water groove, passing one bolt. Wander up easy slabs and brushy ledges passing gear placements and slinging small trees to reach the top of the Reflector Oven. Belay at a large chestnut oak, or the Southern-most rap anchor if you know where to look for it. Walk off to the West/Northwest, avoiding the laurel slick by keeping it on your left side until you reach the Ridge Trail (5 minute walk). There is no trail, and dont create one. The NPS frowns on social trails and there are enough beat down areas outdoors already. Alternatively, use the bolted rappel stations for the Upper Terrace routes to return to the base of the crag. FA of pitch Mitchell Goldman and John Wright 3.21.20 Ground Up. Bolt placed on lead.

Starting just left of Strawberry Tart, and on the left side of the anchor, climb up and over the small lip past a bolt, followed by a piece of gear, that will get you to the second bolt. Compose yourself and make a thin and cruxy foot traverse left across the blank slab to better holds and the third bolt. After clipping the third bolt move up and right into the right facing flake that takes good gear. Follow the flake up to better holds and the anchors on top of the slab.

Best done in 2 pitches. Start at bolt 10 feet right of Return to Sickbay. Climb past large flake - pro to the left if you pro at all - and climb line of bolts. Difficulty rises as you ascend. Belay at the upper anchors of Sickbay. 2nd pitch begins with bolt and then moves right to arching crack. Move past roof, clip bolt, climb either the crack to the right or step left for another bolt. Beautiful belay spot at the top of the slab.  

  Note to shorter climbers: upper section contains a very reachy 5.11 move.

Start up the slightly dirty ledge to the slab right of the Yellow Jacket/Mystery Move dihedral. Continuous slab moves with the occasional hold through some bolts to the bolted anchor.

This one doesn't see much traffic.  Follow a short finger crack to a blank face passing two bolts.   Short, puzzling, and very fun.  One guide called this 11b.  See what you think.

Climb overhanging crack, move right into large flake. Clip bolt and make difficult traverse right into good crack.  Climb crack to roof and follow line of bolts up and to the left.

Varied, exposed, and strenuous! Begin on the far left side of the large slab, above the cave, and beneath the Shed’s of Wonderland roof. Step across the gap between the slab and the wall to a slightly slabby right facing corner with 2 bolts.  Follow the two bolts up and left to a small ledge and into a good left facing corner that takes gear. Move up the corner to a larger ledge and a small in-cut roof beneath a line of 5 bolts. Follow the bolts through an impossibly thin and cruxy sequence straight up and left merging with When Natural Law Fails at the final bolt. Continue up around the arête and onto the Loki Slab, finishing on the Loki anchor. 

 Note: There is a random bolt to the right of the 5th bolt,  on the upper face, don’t get suckered into going off route over there. 

Start left (uphill) of howards slab below a small tree or on a detached block.  From the block, make a few moves up a flake and head left up a ramp with a crack.  As it splits heading left, take the upper crack.  Traverse along the crack with good jams for about 30', then follow a weakness/crack and shallow left facing corner up to the top. 

  I found the crux to be the moves into the vertical part and the top out.  The info on another site called this a 5.7, but i found it noticeably harder than Loki(5.7) and Chasm Crack (5.8).

Climb the ramp next to the large OW crack, laybacking and slabbing your way to the top.

Shares a start with Yellow Jacket. Climb up the corner left of Loki, past the first bolt to a small ledge. From here make a short and easy traverse left on broken rock beneath the second bolt to another small ledge. All of the hard climbing begins when you leave this ledge. Stand up high and clip the second bolt, heading straight up the face past the last bolt and a series of shallow flakes and underclings that lead to a perplexing and strenuous crux. 

Just left of Republicans and Politics, climb the tight chimney with the V crack in the back. The chimney widens the higher you go until you're forced to climb the cracks up through some briars to the top of the cliff. Not the best climbing but an easy escape to climb out of the Upper Terrace.

After clipping the first bolt, and doing the bouldery start of "Combat Medic/dont pro the flake" head up through the scary hollow flakes. Then build a nest of small gear before traversing into "Report to Sickbay". Skip the anchors and lay back the world class hands crack to the seldom clipped second anchor at about 100ft. Watch out for the pump! Note - This route takes around a week to dry out and was cleaned in November 2016. Can not confirm a 60m rope would reach the bottom, however there is the midway anchor.

Start up the corner until it’s possible to move left on a series of bouldery and sequential moves to gain the first bolt. From here stem your way up past a good left facing flake that will take gear, and lead you to the prominent right leaning horizontal. There is a bolt slightly down and left of this off route on Radiator, skip it and continue straight up to merge with Radiator in the vertical parallel cracks, aiming for a very small ledge with a bolt above it. Mantle onto the small ledge, clip the bolt, and make a very thin and insecure traverse left to the shared bolt anchor on top of the first pitch of Strawberry Fields. Bring a few micro cams and micro stoppers for the start, or if you’re having a high gravity day a stick clip. 

Splitter hand crack; crux is about 2/3 of the way up.  An optional second pitch goes at 5.11a.

The furthest right route located on the Upper Terrace, find the short corner capped by a small roof. Climb the discontinuous cracks up the corner and into the roof. Get some good gear here and then make a few cruxy moves out right to pull around the roof and up onto the slab. Once on the slab the route merges with Republican and Politics. Finish by clipping a bolt, and heading up the slab to the anchor.

There is also a 5.11+ variation if you pull the roof by going left instead of right. 

Starting on the slabby Upper Terrace above Strawberry Fields locate the bolted anchor below the water streaked face.  Strawberry Tart the is just right of Unlikely Promise. Climb the lichen covered face to the right of the anchor up the groove past two bolts and a few pieces of gear. Once you’ve clipped the second bolt make a sequence of cruxy compression moves left across the slab to a horn followed by a low angle dihedral crack. Take this crack to the bolt anchor at the top. Would be a classic, if it was cleaned. 

Pumpy and seemingly improbable. From the anchor climb up the crack until you can trend rightwards to the only visible first bolt. After you’ve clipped the bolt, continue traversing right to some good gear in a horizontal, below the very small right facing corner on the bulge. Just around the lip of the bulge and out of sight from the start of the climb is the second bolt, clip the bolt and trust your hands and feet to make the impossible looking moves over the lip and onto the upper slab, from here clip the last bolt and crystal crimp your way up the slab to the anchor.

5 feet left of Strawberry Fields.  Follow 4 bolts up delicate slab moves into a crack up and left. Alternate between crack and arete. 2nd half of the route takes medium nuts and small cams. The crux is bolted - and probably more dangerous than any of the trad climbing.

1st route on the Reflector Oven. Climb corner up broken rock until you can step into the base of an overhanging corner (about 20 feet). Careful placing pro as much of the rock is delicate. Clip a solid bolt and head through the crux - an overhanging 30 foot crack/layback system. Rest at top of crack and continue through small finger crack and slab finish. Don't blow the final slab moves. Not the crux, but protection is sparse.

This area stays warm even on colder days during the late fall or even winter, but during the summer heavy overgrowth can make it difficult to find (watch for nettles!).  It is sheltered with SE exposure.  Rock is high-quality granite.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Reflector Oven