While My Drill Gently Weeps, 5.8, 3 Pitches

Overview/Approach

The approach to this route on Hootgoat is less involved than Headline Dome, but similar in that you leave your packs at a col and descend to start the climbing and rap back to your packs and snacks before climbing another route up the NE face. If you want to do multiple routes, it is probably quicker to still do the rap to the col and scramble back down the gully every time vs descending the wall.  While My Drill Gently Weeps offers some cool dike climbing with no notable cruxes at the grade and is well protected. 

Ascend the standard descent gully between Sheepshead and Muttonhead.  Turn north (left) and ascend the ridgeline.  Cairns marked the Muttonhead summit descent in 2022.  Follow those but do not head west in a hidden treed gully where the cairns would typically take you.  Instead, almost always head north, up and down a few mini ridge lines until you are below the upper south face of Hootgoat (in clear sunlit view most of the time).  There is a bush and rock choked gully that descends to the east along Hootgoat's southern face.  This takes you down to the base of the northeast face at an obvious ledge cut-in.  WMDGW starts on the most leftward bolt line and aims for the arete above. 

Route Description

1^st Pitch- 5.8-160’/ Fourteen total bolts (vs 13 in the local guide).  The local guide references gear to 3”, but competent leaders at the grade would not need any with that many bolts of course.  The best protection of all is a chicken head made to sling, but of course there is a bolt just 1’ to the right of it.  As with most northern aspects in Cochise, the rock is stellar.  Mostly low angled slab climbing with a few edges that continues just right of the arete for the 2^nd half of the pitch to fixed rap hangers at a stance.

2^nd Pitch- 5.6-90’/ This pitch is essentially the reason for climbing this route.  Climb a beautiful triple set of small vertical dikes (like climbing a ladder basically) through five bolts.  They trend up and left up to a massive ledge with a tree belay.

Move the belay by scrambling up through boulders a pitch length and trending left to a short chimney with a stemming move to reach a bolt above.  There is also a bolted slab out right which is another route.

3^rd Pitch- 5.8-90'/ The crux of the route is the beginning of this pitch.  Stem up and make a balanced move/commitment to the main wall above with a perfect finger crack one move higher. After clipping a lone bolt at the base of this crack, the angle eases way off on low angled slab to the summit shoulder.  Medium gear belay, or if you brought no gear, you can sling something nearby.  The true summit of Hootgoat is just a few meters hop above.

Climbing Sequence

Descent

Walk to the south edge of the southern shoulder and locate a bolted rap that returns to your packs at the col.

Essential Gear

60m rope.  14 draws.  Optional gear to 2”.  Route is more north than east facing.  Receives little sun in the winter.