The Iron Cross Area

The Iron Cross

About the Area:

This is among the most popular areas in the woods. Here you will find some of the most interesting problems in the woods, and two of the most famous. On the practice wall itself is the Loadies Traverse, the Iron Cross (pictured), the Max traverse, and the easy warm-up Hand Traverse. If you combine Loadies with the Iron Cross via the flake you get Loadies Dream the most saught after link-up in the woods. This is a 4 star link up! Very tweaky, and technical, and it is an endurance route as well. The Iron Cross alone is quite strenuous!

Pictured here is the Iron Cross and the Flake portion of this boulder. Further to the right is the Loadies Traverse. The Flake takes the obvious flake feature from the right, and traverses left over it, and up the slightly overhanging face to the exit.

To the left of the Flake you will see a chalk-marked "V-like " crack. Iron Cross can start one of two ways: you can take the flake to this V crack, or you can start from the v crack, and proceed to the left from here. It follows the thin horizontal crack left and down to a vertical crack. Here you will exit straight up following the chalk marks. To finish this move you need to get a good foot jam.

It is easier to find this route when you are there since it is well marked with chalk. The holds are all very nasty on this route, and very hard to pull off. Especially if you are trying to do the Loadies Dream!