Tollhouse Rock- Tollhouse Traverse
Rock Climbing– California
Total Time: 3:30
Distance: 1.3 miles
Elevation Gain: 800′
Crux: 5.5
Pitches: 4
Protection: Doubles to BD #4, nuts, 60m rope
Companions: Holly
Trailhead: Burrough Mountain Rd, no services
Despite being the closest crag to my home, I had not climbed at Tollhouse Rock since moving to the Sierra Foothills. That’s largely because I’ve been spoiled by Yosemite Valley, and have spent the colder months climbing in Pinnacles as well as a Utah road trip. But with gorgeous springtime conditions in the foothills, it was finally time to pay Tollhouse a visit. Due to its proximity to Yosemite, Tollhouse has a long history of climbing, serving as a training ground for local climbers in the colder months. One of the first routes established on the rock has become a classic Sierra multipitch- Tollhouse Traverse, rated 5.5 with 3 pitches of low angle crack and slab climbing. Seemed like a good place to start. Leaving home, we made our way to CA-168 and turned off onto Tollhouse Road. It was my first time heading in this direction since the Creek Fire, and the devastation was rather startling. Although most of the homes on Tollhouse road were spared, too many were burned to the ground, with scorched Earth in the valley just below the road. We turned off onto Burrough Mountain Rd, dirt and slightly rugged but nothing a car with high clearance couldn’t handle. After a little under a mile, we reached the powerlines and typical parking spot for non 4WD vehicles. It was unclear where I could actually park my car, so I gunned it up the steep rutted road, reaching a broad four way junction under the powerlines 100′ higher. We parked here and putting on our harnesses, planning to climb with packs and avoid redescending to the base after the climb. It was unclear from the parking area which road to take to reach the climbing, eventually figuring out that it was the uphill option leading to a subdome on the east side of Tollhouse Rock used as a take off point for hang gliders.
From the subdome, we had our first view of the main face of Tollhouse Rock, and descended a well defined use trail towards it. As the Tollhouse Traverse starts on the very lowest part of the face, we took the lowest path at any branches, passing some sport routes on Hippo Wall and other lines in the Amphitheater Area. Continuing past, we reached the start of the climb, easy to spotted from below with a well worn staging area at the base and curving low angled crack leading up the face above.
With our harness already on, I put on my rock shoes and start up the wall, working around an annoying manzanita in the crack down low before placing my first piece. The lower part of the pitch could almost be considered fourth class it’s so low angled. After working around a fractured flake, I moved out left onto the face to gain a shallow crack, strangely findings several bolts right next to easy trad placements. I’m by no means anti-bolting, and Tollhouse Rock was littered with them. It just seemed odd to take the time to place them next to a crack when the rest of the route calls for trad gear anyways. Shortly after the second bolt, I reached the two bolt anchor and narrow ledge to bring up Holly.
The second pitch was a bit more difficult although still low fifth class, continuing up the same crack system above the end of the first pitch. There was excellent jamming and crack climbing on the pitch, although with knobs on both sides, it was by no means required. The top of the pitch become more low angled, reaching a pseudoledge, where the crack is low enough angled to sit beneath another two bolt anchor.
The third pitch is the crux, with three variations. The classic finish is to continue traversing the crack until reaching a step, requiring a mantle up to some slabs, which many consider to be a 5.7 move. The second follows the same crack but ascends a dihedral instead of making the mantle. The last option is a 5.7 friction slab to the right of the dihedral. I opted for the classic finish and started out from the belay. I was surprised to find the early traversing part of the pitch trickier than expected with the crack becoming finger sized. I used a few small cams to protect Holly as a follower, then reached the crux mantle. There was a slot in the center to place a cam, but I had used all my small sizes traversing over, likely requiring a 0.4 or 0.5 cam. I slotted a nut, not loving the idea of climbing the crux on passive pro, and started to pull myself over. As I worked slightly higher, I found there was a slightly bigger crack at the top, taking my 0.75 beautifully for pro.
Mantling over, the options for protection disappeared, with about 10′ of run out slab to reach a shallow crack above. It was a bit surprising that there was no bolt here given the bolts elsewhere on the route, but it wasn’t overly difficult. I followed the thin crack up to a final two bolt belay and Holly started across, in view on the traversing section from the belay station perched at the top of the dihedral.
The final pitch is hardly a pitch, basically third class up a ramp to a tree belay above. I scrambled up, placing a single cam at the half way point up to the tree. The anchoring material I had was too small to wrap around the huge pine, so I continued past up the slabs and made a gear anchor in the crack above to bring up Holly. We unroped once she reach the anchor and we walked up to the summit, enjoying our lunch on the Cap Rocks at the top of the formation.
We debated climbing some of the Cap Rock routes below us, but the base of the routes were 45 degree angled slab with death potential if you fell, hardly worth it for a top rope.
So we hiked back down to the car and started back towards Tollhouse Road. It was still early, so we instead headed to nearby Squarenail to do a bit of sport climbing before heading back home for dinner.
