Tag Archive for: North Conway Climbing Guides

One day late this spring, Sam Bendroth and I were climbing on the Mordor Wall of Cathedral Ledge.  Being the spring of the coronavirus, we were feeling pretty nervous about cramped belay ledges and we wanted to make sure that the only respiratory droplets we had to worry about were our own.  So we ventured out on a strange tour of pitches that ranged from classic, clean and gorgeous to strange, dirty and obscure.  At some point Sam started swinging around on an impressive yet forgotten Chris Gill route and I, being bored as belayers sometimes are, began to aimlessly look around the cliff.  It was then that I happened to notice a string of features that went from Diagonal to the left side of the Mordor Roof.  It even looked like there were holds through the roof… good holds…

A couple of weeks later, I helped Sam carry hundreds of feet of rope up to the top of the cliff.  He was excited to go replace bolts, yank out old terrifying bashies and flimsy pins, dial Free Finale in and send the rig (this is classic Sam Bendroth – Find. Fix. Send.)  I thought I’d borrow one of the ropes for a few minutes, rappel in, and check out if those features actually did connect.  Turns out they did.  Just barely and just perfectly.  Later that week I hauled a heavy load up to the top of the cliff and got to work.

The workload required wasn’t too terrible – the rock was generally clean and the route required only a handful of bolts – but the traversing nature of the first pitch made things difficult.  Yet swinging around up there was fun and exciting.  There was a thrill to finding the holds, discovering the gear, watching the peregrines, and simply being on such an airy and beautiful part of the cliff.  I had found a route on Cathedral Ledge – the Cathedral Ledge! – and I knew that it was good.  Never in my wildest of dreams…

A couple weeks later and Sam and I went back up on the Mordor Wall, this time with him belaying me through the new climbing.  I was as nervous about sending as I was about having Sam follow it and give me his honest opinion.  It always feels like there is pressure with the unveiling of a new route but that pressure felt so much heavier because this line was on one of the most important cliffs in the Northeast and in a venue where no new bolt is taken lightly.  While story of the send itself is pretty anticlimactic, the feeling of being up there climbing a route of my own on Cathedral Ledge was so special and amazing that it came with a sense of pride I’ve rarely encountered in my climbing.

Since that day, I’ve been up there with a few more friends and it’s been a blast every single time.  So far, Ray Rice is the only other person that has led the route.  Belaying him as he battled away for the onsight in the hot summer sun was really memorable, particularly given the fact that Ray is one of the most prolific route developers North Conway has ever seen and I have spent many a day fighting my way up some steep and sandbagged Ray Rice route.  (Let the record show that Ray thinks that the route is harder than 10d and that the upper pitch could use a second bolt.  I’m seeking further opinion on both of those points.)

So here it is, The Reckoning.  Go get on it and let me know what you think!

The Reckoning (5.10d)

Rack to #2, with an extra piece in the .4-.5 range (orange Metolius is helpful), nuts.

Great climbing and a spectacular position in the center of the Mordor Wall.  Expect standard Cathedral fare with climbing that might feel wild and a little spicy, particularly when onsighting.

Access the route by climbing up to the Diagonal Block and then following Diagonal through its 5.4 pitch.  Belay at the anchor on the left side of the dike.

Pitch 1:  Start by climbing up the third pitch of Diagonal, taking a hard right after 25’. A techy slab crux leads to some pumpy climbing to get to, and through, the roof. At a horizontal, move right to a bolted anchor at a good stance.

Pitch 2: Traverse right into a short corner and head up to a testy slab sequence that guards the final romp to the trees.