This was a really fun route. The Brit led the first pitch, which started out
the same as the first pitch of Open Book, then traversed right into a
different crack system and went up. (This pitch is not too run-out at all if
you place a nut or small cam in the middle of the traverse. The traverse is
probably 5.8, just pretty technical, not too hard.) I led the second pitch,
which involved the real 5.8 R section, climbing up “solution
pockets” with no pro for a good 20 feet or so. I placed a couple of
pieces before this and equalized them. I must have been pretty intimidated. We
had talked to some guys before the climb (a couple of cool old geezers who had
been climbing here and at J-Tree since the days of the Stonemasters) and they
hadn't exactly instilled comfort about this section. It turned out to be easy.
Slopey jugs on slabby terrain... no friction moves, just kind of like... slab
climbing in a gym, I thought. After that I continued straight up to join the
top of Open Book. I belayed just under this, not realizing I was a mere
fifteen feet below the rap anchors.