Very Easy Multi-pitch with a Walk Off...

[John.k.moore]

I'm thinking of coming down with my son (12) and maybe doing a super easy, like sub-5.4, multi-pitch if he's feeling up to it. I have an Ohm to offset the weight differential for belaying since I know that came to mind. But I'd really prefer the route have a walk off to come down because I don't want to fool with him rappelling. The only route I can find between here and the grizzly death that is Mountain Project is The Hedonist. Am I missing anything?

[clink]

 
 Laps on Big Bad West
 Portent can be done in two pitches. Belay about 40 feet up. Bouldery 5.7 move to start, third class to belay. 5.5 crux for second pitch.
 Tilting Terrace is 5.6 first pitch and 5.3 second pitch. It’s 5.8 if you only use your thumbs and pinkies.
 YFT (Yummy Fungus Toenails) on Western Front, I can’t remember it’s rating or if it is closed for nesting. This route is a cool romp but should get bolted properly.
 Meanderthal when it’s open is the best such and the upper section has potential routing outside the gullies.

[JC w KC redux]

Hedonist is a fun adventure with quite a bit of hiking and a really nice, roomy summit. There is a little bit of poison oak along the descent corridor but it is easily avoided (with care). There is no anchor for pitch 2 but it is easy to sit down and body belay. The bolts on the first pitch are widely spaced but the climbing is easy. There is some loose stuff on the surface (pebbles/gravel) and potentially some loose holds (not that are necessary) since this route has not seen much traffic. Leaves collect around the base too (I remember sweeping them off to get started). I had a lot of fun on this route. I started it with Kat (1st two bolts) and then went back and finished it rope solo. Rope solo I was about to run out of rope on pitch one (1/2 rope) so I put in an anchor bolt, tied off the rope and climbed pitch 2 unroped and then downclimbed it, rapping off a single strand to take a break before going back up to get a 2nd anchor bolt in. I put chains on the first pitch anchor on the next trip out (just in case someone got on the route and didn't want to do pitch 2). The 1st pitch is in an undulating water streak with a series of splash pools. Grassy hummocks have developed at those spots. I went right around the last one (4th bolt). The rock out left looked lousy.   

Forgive me if you already know all this and take it for what it's worth - but I would recommend teaching your son how to rappel. A good place to teach/do a dry run is The Big Bad West - where you can "walk" up to the anchor and set it up so he is already rigged in-line above you. Rappel with him in-line (being careful not to put your weight on him/his legs) and then give him a fireman's belay once you are down. You can use the same technique on a lot of rappels if you're not comfortable with him setting himself up or having him go down first.
 
If you've never done the in-line technique before I can give you more details on the setup if you need them.

Summer of Mud 5.1 is also fun 325.33 if you can rappel (should get a star imo).
The rappel is only 40 feet and there is an excellent 5.5** (Ashes the Mud and I) almost right across where you come down.
There is a dedicated rappel anchor for Ashes or you can walk up a little farther and rappel 50 feet off the East Side route and climb that or Just Chute Me or both! All those climbs and rappels can be done with a half rope (30m)
You'll also rappel directly over Bottoms Up 5.7*

[Brad Young]

John, I think Hedonist fits every one of your parameters (it's on Goat Rock in the south/early part of the High Peaks - in case your looking at the un-indexed new routes list and can't find it).

Before walking off from the top/end of the second pitch, walk north on top of Goat Rock to get great views (take lunch up there?).

And I agree with J.C.  Anyone climbing multi-pitch really should know how to rap!! Lots of easy access places to instruct that.

[JC w KC redux]

 Laps on Big Bad West
 Portent can be done in two pitches. Belay about 40 feet up. Bouldery 5.7 move to start, third class to belay. 5.5 crux for second pitch.
 Tilting Terrace is 5.6 first pitch and 5.3 second pitch. It’s 5.8 if you only use your thumbs and pinkies.
 YFT (Yummy Fungus Toenails) on Western Front, I can’t remember it’s rating or if it is closed for nesting. This route is a cool romp but should get bolted properly.
 Meanderthal when it’s open is the best such and the upper section has potential routing outside the gullies.

All good advice.
Forgot to say Big Bad West has a good water hazard.
I always tell folks to belay Portent from the first anchor too. Those start moves are very height dependent.
Last time I was on Portent I couldn't believe how slick the holds were from use.
Cracking up at YFT (your new name and remembering the route).
One bolt in 300 feet. I remember climbing up until I was almost out of rope (with a 70m) looking for the "flat spot".
I think I climbed a little past it but who the hell knows. I saw something below me that looked a little flatter.
Sitting there with nothing but the friction of my arse on the rock I called "on belay" and added "Please don't fall"
When I finally clipped the bolt halfway up pitch 2...
I'll let you guess what I was thinking  at that point 


YFT





Kat at "flat" spot (170? feet from start). I took this from the spot I stopped to belay after I evidently climbed past the flat spot and then looked down and saw it. I wasn't going back down there when I had perfectly good arse friction where I was.





Kat at "flat" spot from bolt 

[Brad Young]

J.C., you'll be glad to know that that Y.F.T. topo and the route description are all carefully revised for the new book. Including the rope length from the start to the flat area.

[John.k.moore]

Forgive me if you already know all this and take it for what it's worth - but I would recommend teaching your son how to rappel. A good place to teach/do a dry run is The Big Bad West - where you can "walk" up to the anchor and set it up so he is already rigged in-line above you. Rappel with him in-line (being careful not to put your weight on him/his legs) and then give him a fireman's belay once you are down. You can use the same technique on a lot of rappels if you're not comfortable with him setting himself up or having him go down first.

Teaching him to rappel isn't the major problem. I can teach him that at Cragmont or Indian Rock in Berkeley like 15 minutes from my house. It's that he occasionally freezes when he's being lowered off a route. Even in the gym. He'll climb all the way to the top just fine but then almost want to downclimb when he's done (sometimes). Never has a problem going up, he'll climb to the ceiling. But every so often he'll freak out with lowering. So, obviously a 200ft multi-pitch wouldn't be the first route of the day, but I want to have the walk-off to eliminate that possibility. It'd be pretty inconvenient to do 3-4 single pitch routes and everything go fine then in the middle of rappelling off a multi, he decides to freeze.