This route going free was a wild vision from British climber Stevie Haston. After climbing it, I have to agree with his assessment in his article "Free Mud" in Alpinist Magazine and will add to it here.

In a way, the first pitch of Sun Devil is one of the best pitches the desert has to offer. Roof climbing, sporty face moves between mono & two finger pinscars and little cobbles cemented in the mud, and gear that is just good enough to hold but far enough apart to make things interesting. The only part that is less desirable is the consistent layer of dirt on every hold but it really does add another level of challenge to the experience. I doubt there is climbing like this anywhere else in the world.

To add to that, the second pitch is a rad straight-in-splitter (both p1&2 are slightly overhanging) with thin hands and fingers moves between good hand jam rests. The exposure is incredible, partly due to the fact that the entire wall moans and you really don't want to trust the anchors, and partly because both p1 & 2 are both over 150 ft long - so you basically climb the height of the Rectory or Castleton in two pitches.

Once you are in the chimneys you get to navigate a crazy world of slopers, tufa-like-mud curtains, and wide, airy stemming. Its the kind of free climbing that is unforgettable.

Once you are out of the chimneys you get to do some sweet offwidth climbing with a wild view of the desert.

The physical crux is the first pitch. The mental crux is either the end of 3 or the cumulative experience of 4. 5,6,7 are tough but you will definitely take it to the top if you finish 4.

SunDevil Chimney Free

Finger of Fate Free

Naked Lunch

Finger of Fate

Lone Wolf      (VI- A6)

World's End

Sundevil Chimney

[Redacted]

A certified desert classic and a visionary first ascent in its day.  Not nearly as loose as rumored, but do expect large doses of mank.  Only a couple sections require tricky aid but loads of ancient, often hilarious, fixed gear keep the excitement level high.  The aid is mostly clean but we did have to place about 7 or so pins.Most of the anchors have at least one good bolt.

There are a couple strategies for climbing this route.  Many guides call this route grade IV but only a very fast party will be able to do the route in a day.  In the end it took us about 14 hours of climbing spread over 2 days to summit.  The most likely option is to climb the first 5-1/2 pitches on the first day, fix 3 ropes down the descent route, then jug to the highpoint and finish off the route the next day.  The jugging on the descent route is miserable so if you're pretty fast (or you have the long days of late-spring) then try to do it in a day.

Approach:

follow the obvious trail to the Titan, circumnavigating the tower around to the NE side.  The approach takes a little over an hour with full aid climbing regalia.  The route starts in the crack system about 30 feet to the left of the obvious descent gully.

P1-

Aid up the crack system, passing a false belay, to a belay about 130 feet off the deck. A lot of this pitch could be free climbed at a moderate grade. Triples of #2 and #3, doubles of #4 would be useful if aiding and not wanting to back clean.

5.8 C1 (130ft)

P2-

Continue up the crack system into a flaring groove,

5.7 C2 (80ft)

P3-

Continue up the obvious line to a ledge at the base of the Finger. Pin scars and holes off belay is tricky aiding but brief. Some mandatory free moves that are committing on this pitch.

5.8 C2+ (70ft)

P4-

Traverse the ledge around the corner (5.6) to an ancient bolt.  Aid the roof (A2, tricky) and continue to a belay on the other side of the Finger. If you're lucky the pin stack we placed and couldn't clean will still be there. The traverse is well protected by the original drilled angle anchor one bad angle and bad star drive and one good angle. the old star drive protecting the beginning of the roof bulge is still there and is manky, both fixed tricams are in place and menacing as ever! haha, I brought one screamer on route it came in handy for piece of mind...gets you to base of The Finger.

5.8 C2F (50ft)

P5-

Scramble up to a drilled pin, then continue up the strenuous flare (C1 or 5.10).  At the top of the flare, 5.8 groveling (free crux) is required to reach the belay, ends standing on ridge with the duck in front of you.

C1 (80ft)

P6-

Traverse around the left side of "The Duck".  On the other side of the duck is the anchor for the descent route (3 double rope rappels to the base). Continue up the wide crack system to a large ledge (bivy site) and belay,

5.8 (85ft)

P7-

Traverse right around the arete to a seam.  Aid the seam (A2) back up to the crest of the arete.  Mixed free (5.7-5.8) and aid (C2) past questionable fixed gear leads to an exposed stance on the arete, some placements and fixed pin lead you to many bolts to anchor. 80 feet.

5.7 C2 (80ft)

P8-

Mixed free (5.7-5.8) and aid (C2, very long reaches, trickery necessary) past more museum relics to a wide crack.  Continue up the crack, over a roof in the caprock (wild exposure), and mantle up to the belay. Almost a bolt ladder, with some free moves and top steps.

5.8 A0 (100ft)

P9-

4th class to the summit

Descent-

rappel from the top of P8 to top of P7.  Rappel from top of P7 to the anchor next to The Duck on P6.  Three rappels down the gully to the base.

You can also save yourself the trouble of walking all the way back around the Titan by making 2 double rope rappels to the west down the cliff near the base.

A few people have asked me to add this separately from the Aid climb of the finger.

P1: straightforward 5.11

P2: tricky off the start, sustained. Place pro after you use the pin scars otherwise it will be much harder 5.12  or E6.

P3: tricky off the belay as well,sustained 5.12 or E6  (P2, P3 and P8 are the most sustained climbing)

P4: The roof- a good fingerlock between the fixed tricams leads to a hard mantle. Easy climbing follows with poor pro. 5.12 E5

P5: Flaring chimney that you can protect with a #4 5.10

P6: Traverse around the duck 5.3

P7: Pinscar boulder problem in the mud seam leads to easy climbing, then a tricky mantle. Good pro the entire pitch 12d (the BP felt V6-7 to us)

P8: Strange blobs lead to a few hard moves on slopers and bad feet. Continue left in the crack to good rock. 5.12+

Good updated bolts and exposure make this pitch one of the best

P9: Scramble to the summit 5.4

After working sundevil chimney I realized the rock on finger of fate is actually pretty dang solid with a light dusking of choss or sand on top.

This is the longest route on the Titan and climbs its proudest aspect. It’s also a relatively clean route considering it has seen no attention.

Pitch 1 climb 80’ up the first pitch of Sun Devil Chimney C2

Pitch 2 is a mandatory rope solo due to drag. Lower off the belay 30’ and pendulum/tension left around the corner to a small beak seam. Climb this seam back up to under the roof. Traverse left under the roof on hooks and small gear to the far end where a crack in the roof takes you out. There is a retroed anchor in this pitch above the roof. Someone chop this. We dropped our retro kit and couldnt get back to it. Climb up the seam in the overhang above to a wider crack and mantle onto a ledge. There are anchors here for another route so keep on climbing. Scramble over the huge mud pile and cross the ledge to a new bolt on the ledge. Use this and the bolt above to make an anchor. This pitch is long!

Pitch 3 climb straight up off the belay using an ice axe to hook on cobbles and mud holes to gain beautiful seams above. Pass the first double bolt belay to a better belay at a poor stance above. A4

Pitch 4 continue up a perfect corner and cut underneath the roof. Then follow a mixture of thin gear and bolts that wanders right eventually leading to large runnels that will take you to a sloping shelf in an alcove with bolts to belay A3

Pitch 5 Creep right off the belay and around the corner out of sight. Free climb through dirty ledges to a bolt where you will begin a mixture of shenanigans climbing with some aid eventually landing on a small system of broken ledges beneath a roof. The FA party traversed the ledge left to a larger slot and climbed up that but I wound up going straight through the roof regardless I wound up in the same place above the slot. Nail up another seam and lasso a large horn out left. Pendulum under the horn and mantle on top of it. The anchors are up and left from there A3 5.10

Pitch 6 climb out the roof and into the groove getting clean placement and some nailing. Follow this till it peters out and a large ledge is on your right. Go left through various small left and right facing flakes to a bolted belay. A3

Pitch 7 climb the over hanging crack. At the end of the crack I entered a wide dirty left angling groove. This ended underneath a large blank roof. Traverse around right to build a belay with one bolt and pro.The FA party may have went up another crack to the right to gain this same location as I later saw fixed gear below the stance. It was dark and I must have missed this exit but the way I went was a fine dusty party regardless A2 5.8

Pitch 8 climb up to the only bolt on this pitch gain the ledge and  left to the perfect dihedral. Take this feller to the top. A1

The route is located 50' right of Gimp Warfare.It climbs a faint buttress that becomes a fin.Pitch1 180' A6 climb good seam 70' then 100' runout(160' ground fall) to good belay in tiny right facing corner.Pitch2 140' A6 or A5 It seemed A5 on lead but A6 when I removed gear(possible 280' ground fall)2 bolt belay Pitch3 150' A5 up fin to 2 bolt belay. 2-50' runouts Pitch4 100' A5 up fin,roof to good crack.Pitch5 90' A3 up expando flake tension right,up crack to "bivy ledge"on Finger of Fate route.Pitch6&7 easy 5.8 A2 to top on F of Fate route

This fantastic nailing route is on the South Face of the Titan 50 or so feet to the right of the Sundevil Chimney.

P1- This pitch is steep and intimidating.  It looks much harder than it is.  Just a steep thin crack with lots of pretty good stopper placements.  Climb to a hanging belay. (A2) P2- Climb up shallow corners and cracks.  Traverse left to a right facing corner.  When the corner switches to left facing, traverse left again via hooks and some thin pins to a good three bolt belay.  (A3+)

P3- Nail a thin crack to a hook move left.  Another thin seam leads to a drilled hook hole where you move left again into another thin crack.  Climb that to reach a good bolt and then a 1/4" bolt.  A shallow right facing dihedral leads to bolts which move left crossing an arete.  Then more bolts and a short section of nailing take you to another three bolt anchor at a small stance.  (A4)

P4- Some free climbing and bolts leads you to another thin crack at the top of the arete.  Climb the crack via TCU's and small cams to an A2 crack.  Climb the crack passing a few bolts to a hanging belay at a bolt and fixed pin.  (A3)

P5- Climb an A2 thin crack passing some bolts and a small roof to more thin cracks and some bolt ladders to some broken, slopey groveling on a sandy ramp.  There are three bolts here for a belay, but keep going.  Climb 5.7 with one A0 move on a bolt to reach the good bivy ledge on the Sundevil chimney route.

P6,7- Climb the last two pitches of the Sundevil Chimney to the Summit.

Descent- Rappel either the Sundevil Chimney, or the standard Finger of Fate rappel route.

This, along with Death of American Democracy and Deadmans Party is one of the best routes in the Fishers.   Pitch three has many aluminum head placements and is super dicey.

This was my first real nailing route, and is still one of the best routes I've ever done.  It is awesome!  This route climbs the obvious fluted chimney system on the south face of the tower.  We climbed it in two days, on the first day we fixed to the top of pitch 2 and finished the rest of the pitches the following day.  We ran out of water, it was over 100 degrees.  All we had were pop tarts, and I will never eat pop tarts again as long as I live.

P1- Climb the blocky crack systems up to the roof, and then climb thin cracks past some bolts to a good hanging belay.  (A3)

P2- Climb the right leaning crack (all clean) to another good hanging belay.  This pitch is mostly cams and stoppers. (A1+)

P3- Move right and climb super muddy 5.8 and A2 pins hammered straight into the mud to an old bolt ladder.  When we climbed this, most of the bolts were hidden under the mud.  I had to excavate with my hammer to find them.  Then some tricky nailing leads to another hanging belay.  (5.8 A2+)

P4- Climb A2 past some bolts heading right into the deepest part of the muddy chimney.  Climb 5.9 mud up the chimney past a few bolts.  This is one of the most interesting pitches in the desert.  Climb light on the mud!  A wide crack just before the sloping belay takes a #4 camalot.  So save one for there.  (5.9 A2)

P5- Climb up a nice right facing dihedral, and then climb right on bolts underneath the roof.  Then climb A2 with a few mantles onto sloping ledges to a wiggle move through a weird, short groove to a killer ledge.  This would be a great ledge to bivy on.  (5.7 A2)

P6- Cross the chasm and climb an A2 crack then tension traverse left to more aid and free climbing to another ledge 60 feet below the summit.  Watch rope drag on this pitch.  It is bad!  (5.9 A2)

P7- Climb the right facing chimney/offwidth to the summit.  (5.7r)

To descend, either rap the finger of fate route to the top of pitch 5, then three more rappels down the gully right of the route.  We actually rapped down the Sundevil Chimney, and were down in about 30 minutes.  I would recommend rapping the Sundevil Chimney.

Gimp Warfare starts 100' to the right of World's End on the East face of the Titan.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in The Titan