Bob Gaines dubbed the first pitch of Dave’s Deviation “one of the best finger cracks in Idyllwild”. The Jam Crack is a classic Royal Robbins grunt. I lead rope soloed both routes on September 7th, 2025, and took my first LRS lead fall! Spoiler alert: I’m still alive.
The day after climbing El Whampo Direct (5.9, III) as my first ever multi-pitch lead rope solo, I drove the same winding one hour to Idyllwild, and slogged up the mercilessly steep Tahquitz climber’s trail, for another solitary adventure. This time I wanted to try harder. I wasn’t specifically aiming to fall, but I wanted whippers on the menu. My choice was Dave’s Deviation (5.9, 4 pitches, 500′) on the West Face. Though only 5.9, the first pitch finger crack is laser cut, sustained, and a reputed Tahquitz ultra classic. I knew it would be polished… I knew it would be sandbagged… and, finger cracks are not my specialty. I already waxed poetic about the dangers and tribulations of rope soloing in the previous post, so if you need an introduction to the dark arts, click here.
I could tell Dave’s was a four star line at first sight. A short fourth class scramble gained the base, where I meticulously built a main ground anchor and a backup. Overkill? Probably. But I had a feeling today could be the day I finally fell on my rope solo system, and I was nervous. Secure climbing on heroic flakes kept the initial mood gentle, but after 10 meters I was standing at a no hands rest beneath the business, with a rusty, half-driven, angle piton clipped overhead, backed up by a crappy nut. The crack was flaring, steep, and void of face holds. The moves leaving the rest were insecure. I struggled to suppress an onslaught of butterflies. I was terrified like it was my first day leading, as if I was free soloing.
I lurched about a body length above the pin, cranking on flaring jams and smearing on slick granite, until I realized I was climbing terribly, scared out of my mind, and having absolutely no fun. Even though I “knew” my system was set up properly, and “knew” I could handily scale this crack, I just couldn’t shake an impending feeling that if I fell, I would hit the ground. The jig was up. I needed to fall.
The crux above the pin is protected by thin TCU’s, so I aided through until I got gear big enough to confidently whip on. With two #0.5 cams wedged deep in bulletproof granite, I climbed above the gear, took a deep breath, and let go. Sure enough, the Gri-Gri locked immediately. I whipped a second time, then a third time higher. I ran out the final crux stemming sequence without placing gear, and reached the anchor smiling ear to ear. I was officially anxiety alleviated, and ready to climb.
I rappelled back to the ground, cruised the crack on follow, reset my system, and shot into pitch two. Though only 5.8, this pitch was engaging. Several slab runouts up to 10 meters, connecting odd flakes and short cracks, tested my confidence again. I managed slack smoothly, climbed confidently, and reached the belay 60 meters above with grace. Two more easy pitches up Pine Tree Gully led to the summit. Dave’s went exponentially smoother than El Whampo, and even though I didn’t “send” the first pitch, I was stoked.
While hiking down the backside, the feeling of not climbing pitch one clean was overwhelming. After a short hydration stop I returned for the redpoint. Despite now blazing sun, I flew up the finger crack with relative ease, placed little gear, and reached the anchor with ample reserve. Rope soloing finally clicked. I got the rope stuck on rappel, so instead of climbing Dave’s a fourth time to free it, I climbed the adjacent “Jam Crack”, which shares a bolted belay with Dave’s. This 5.8 Royal Robbins off-width, capped with an intimidating 90 degree roof, was the icing on my rope soloing cake – another smooth, fearless and fun lead, on a notoriously tricky and physical line. I freed the rope, returned to terra firma, and hustled to Moreno Valley for a 10 hour night shift. My life is hectic right now, but rope soloing is helping make the most of it.
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For prospective climbers, I can’t recommend Dave’s Deviation enough. The first pitch is one of the best finger cracks I’ve ever climbed, with just enough stances to shake out and place good protection. The second pitch is a different beast entirely, far more runout than the guidebook grade of “PG” suggests, especially if you follow the original line, which involves a long forgotten 5.9 R dihedral off the belay. Modern day climbers, including myself on this day, avoid the dihedral via the first half of the second pitch of The Jam Crack, which leads to the obvious square cut roof overhead. The original Jam Crack exits left at this roof, but this variation is stricken by lichen, not recommended, and not even listed in the guidebook. Climber’s of both routes almost always move right at the roof. Then, you can either traverse back left above the roof into a shallow right facing corner, and directly up a very runout 5.8 slab (the original finish to Dave’s Deviation), or take an uber-modern softie variation and traverse right after the roof to an adjacent gully, then follow dirty cracks back left to the belay ledge. I was recommended the latter by a strong local climber, so I heeded warning. Having now climbed the original finish on follow, I can verify the severe runout. There was slight potential for some very thin protection above the roof, but I wouldn’t count on it. However, now that I’ve sampled the moves, I’m keen to lead it – standard 5.8 paddling on good stone. The final two pitches up Pine Tree Gully are casual and will be easily soloed or simul-climbed by most climbers. If this entire paragraph sounds confusing, see the topo… which may also be confusing, because this whole area is confusing.
Sometime soon I will write an entire blog post dedicated to my lead rope soloing system. For the curious, it’s briefly detailed in my El Whampo Direct article. This weekend I managed to climb 26 pitches across three classic Tahquitz routes by my lonesome. I am inspired and energized for more.
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DISCLAIMER
Ski mountaineering, rock climbing, ice climbing and all other forms of mountain recreation are inherently dangerous. Should you decide to attempt anything you read about in this article, you are doing so at your own risk! This article is written to the best possible level of accuracy and detail, but I am only human – information could be presented wrong. Furthermore, conditions in the mountains are subject to change at any time. Ten Thousand Too Far and Brandon Wanthal are not liable for any actions or repercussions acted upon or suffered from the result of this article’s reading.
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