Overlays

List of Routes with Links and Dates

Chronological order

Approach and Descent Options

Approach

There are 2 main methods of Approach:

1. NORTH CHIMNEY to Broadway Ledge. Most common way to get here is hiking in via Chasm Lake Cirque.

2. CHASM VIEW RAPPELS to Broadway Ledge. Most common way to get here is hiking in via Boulderfield.

(3. (Less common) CLIMB A ROUTE ON CHASM VIEW WALL and traverse left via CHASM VIEW CUT-OFF to Broadway Ledge.)

(4. (Even less common and kind of dangerous because of the traverse) CLIMB A ROUTE ON LOWER EAST FACE and traverse right on Broadway Ledge.)

Descent

There are 2 main methods of Descent:

1. From Table Ledge, use the DIAMOND RAPPEL ROUTE, which goes down the left side of Diamond and regain trail at Chasm Lake area. If you go to the summit, you can get to Table Ledge from the summit by reversing upper KIENER'S ROUTE (3rd and a few moves of 4th).

2. This descent starts from the summit. To get to the summit from Table Ledge, you can either scramble upper KIENER'S ROUTE (3rd and a few moves of 4th) to the summit, or climb some 5.10-5.12 route above Table Ledge to the top rim of the Diamond as we did in this trip report and from there scramble easily to the summit. Routes on the right side of the Diamond end at the top rim of the Diamond. From the summit, descend via the CABLES ROUTE/NORTH FACE (3rd class scramble and 2 single rope rappels or 5.4 downclimb) to Chasm View. From Chasm View, either descend to the Boulderfield to regain the trail or use CAMEL GULLY or FIFTH AVENUE and descend into Chasm Lake Cirque. 

Note 1: Variations and combinations are possible. That is, you can combine either approach option with either descent option, although you might need to consider where to leave your extra stuff, or if you want to take it all with you. 

Note 2: It is also possible to descend the KEYHOLE ROUTE (3rd) or the KEYHOLE RIDGE (5.6) route if you are okay with a bit of 5th class downclimbing. These are options if you tag the summit, don't want to do the DIAMOND RAPPEL ROUTE, and the CABLES ROUTE/NORTH FACE is icy.

Time stats for all climbs I've done on the Diamond

Which is faster? Approaching via the North Chimney or Chasm View Rappels? Descending via the Diamond Rap Route or going to the summit? Which route takes the most/least time?

Some comments about time splits

Trailhead to Broadway: 

• In my 31 times (32 ascents) to the Diamond, I have approached via the North Chimney 28 times and via the Chasm View rappels 3 times. 

• I have been dialing down the approach and over time have learned shortcuts from my more seasoned partners, so my times have improved since my first few ascents.

• My fastest time to base of route on Broadway has been 2:37, via the North Chimney. 

• My average time to Broadway via the North Chimney is 3:29. 

• My average time to Broadway via the Chasm View Raps is 4:50 minutes.

• In my experience, the Chasm View rappels take on average 80 minutes longer than the North Chimney approach, all other things being equal (partner, shortcuts, no route-finding errors). The main benefit to the Chasm View approach is to avoid the North Chimney, which can be somewhat of a bowling alley when there are several parties approaching the Diamond. In early season, there may be some ice and snow in the North Chimney requiring a bit of mixed climbing; however, usually this means the Chasm View rappels are wet and have a giant snow patch at the base. So both options pose a challenge in the early season. 

• My preference is the North Chimney approach. It is faster ad more direct than the Chasm View rappels. I usually solo up the entire North Chimney, but on occasion I have roped up for just the exit pitch. I have taken both the left and right exits; I used to prefer the right exit (it is more solid rock, if you rope up I'd take this way), but now I prefer the left exit (looser but easier and more direct), where I protect the hardest move with a cam and dynamic tether. Roping up for the entire North Chimney is slow and increases the potential to dislodge rocks onto partner or parties below. But no mistakes allowed when you solo. When there are parties above in the North Chimney, it feels a bit like Russian roulette.

Climb route: 

• For the 10 routes I have climbed on the Diamond, it has taken anywhere between 2 to 8 hours to climb from Broadway to the top of the route, which is usually Table Ledge. 

• My average time to climb a route on the Diamond is 4:45, but my times vary greatly (1:56 to 8:10) depending on route, partner, style, etc.

• My fastest time to climb from Broadway to Table Ledge is 1:56, simul-climbing Pervertical in one long pitch. My fastest time to climb from Broadway to Table Ledge without simul-climbing is 3:26, via D7. I have achieved similar times on the Casual Route (3:30) and Yellow Wall + Forrest Finish (3:45). On all of these ascents, we had no other parties on our route and the rock was completely dry and my partner and I shared an enjoyment of efficiency.

• My slowest time to climb from Broadway to Table Ledge was 8:10, via Yellow Wall + Forrest Finish. This was only the second time I had climbed the Diamond and we had to wait at every single belay for the pitch above us to clear out due to a few routes merging into ours at Crossover Ledge. D1 also took awhile (6:47), but this is one of the longest routes on the Diamond, with some difficult climbing on suspect rock. 

• I've climbed 10 different routes on the diamond, and most of these more than once. If I take my climb times as a guage, then D7  is the quickest route, followed by Casual Route. On the other end of the spectrum, D1 is the slowest route, followed by Yellow Wall + Forrest Finish and Ariana.

• There are various factors influencing my route times for my climbs of the Diamond, such as: familiarity with the Diamond; partner; time spent waiting for other parties on the route; wet vs. dry conditions; route difficulty. 

Table Ledge to trailhead: 

• In my 32 ascents of the Diamond, I have descended via the Diamond Rappel Route 15 times, descended from the summit via the Cables Route/North Face 16 times, and rapped D1 once (we were bailing from the top of Pitch 4). 

• My average Table Ledge to trailhead time via the Diamond Rappel Route is 4:13. This number is affected by a couple of times with stuck rope or parties backing up the rappels. My quickest time via the Diamond Rappel Route is 3:47.

• My average Table Ledge to trailhead time involving climbing to the summit and descending the Cables Route and catching the trail in the Boulderfield is 3:37. My quickest time is 2:46.

• In my experience, the Diamond Rappel Route takes about 45 minutes longer than tagging the summit and descending via the Cables Route to the Boulderfield. Plus, there is more potential for stuck ropes or parties on the rappel route to slow things down.

• Note that if you do descend the Cables Route, you don't want to leave anything on Broadway (unless you want to use the Chasm View Raps to get back to Broadway, but this would be a very inefficient way to do it).

• If for some reason you descend the Cables Route and want to get back to Chasm Lake area, you can decend the Camel Gully or Fifth Avenue. For the times I have done this, the time back to trailhead is on par with taking the Diamond Rappel Route.

• My general preference is the summit + Cables Route descent, for a few reasons: (1) Can climb with one rope, (2) It's proven to be the quickest option if you don't leave anything in Chasm Lake Cirque, (3) You can summit Longs, and (4) It avoids having to make about 10 rappels. Even though the Cables Route is my preferred descent, most parties end up using the Diamond Rappel Route, because they wish to leave stuff below the route or because of weather or fatigue.

Car-to-car time:

• As I've become more familar and dialed on the Diamond, my car-to-car time has improved from my first couple of seasons on the Diamond. My average car to car time is around 13 hours, but individual ascents vary greatly depending on route, partner, style, etc.

• My fastest car-to-car time to date is 7:45 in September 2021, simulclimbing the Casual Route and tagging the summit. My fastest car-to-car time without simulclimbing has been just under 9 hours in August 2020, climbing D7 and tagging the summit.

• I consider myself to be an efficient climber of a moderate pace, fast and athletic enough to climb two routes on the Diamond in one day (Pervertical+Casual Route in 2018), do back-to-back car-to-car Diamond days (Ariana and Yellow Wall + Forrest Finish in 2021 and Casual Route Casual Route in 2024), and summit Longs after a climb on the Diamond. But I usually feel pretty challenged by the pitches on the Diamond. 

• As a humbling sidenote regarding my own personal best car-to-car time, in August 2020, Wade Morris and Stefan Griebel set the fastest car-to-car time of 3:53:59, on the Casual Route. Wow. Then, in August 2021, Maury Birdwell free soloed the route with an even faster car-to-car time of 3:26:12. Wow again.