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[JBrochu]

What would be some good routes for working via self-belayed toprope in the 5.9 to 5.10 range?

I'm looking to pick 2 trad routes, one slab/face and one crack or mixed--as projects for next year for days when I get stuck without a partner. Ideally both routes would have good enough pro to eventually be led. (Pro doesn't have to be perfect but nothing R for me.)

I want to avoid cluster faaaking any of the busy classics (these would mostly be weekend days), and so don't mind an approach to one of the backwoods cliffs. Ideally the routes would have easy access from the top and be free of a bunch of complications such as long traverses etc.

Franconia or NC areas would be ok.

[Griffin]

The final pitch of The Prow on Cathedral comes to mind for crack/fingerlock, easily protected from the top, then waltz over to Reverse Camber for face. 

[DMan]

How about the entire Barber Wall? Many classics and rarely ever a line... easy access to the top, etc... wire all those 5.9’s on TR and you should be a crack climbing fiend...

Nutcracker, Double V, Chicken’s Delight, and Layton's... a great work-out afternoon....

[frik]

Three birches... hardly ever anyone on that. The business end of p1 has a bit of a diagonal traverse on it but not too long.
And it is a 9 no matter what the guidebook says

[Admin Al]

And it is a 9 no matter what the guidebook says

no mistake about that...

[strandman]

Except for nutcracker and lichen, the Barber sucks.
i'm guessing things like Ethereal are out of the question ,, so you want to hit the Airation Buttress.. Airation is an easy tr and though a bit tough. it's really not. Reach the Sky is  killer 11 with pretty good pro... tabu is a decent , short 10c.
if you want to walk-
Albany Slabs has sweet 5.10 slabs , easy tr and a couple of OK finger cracks.

i'm sure i have more

[strandman]

Division Of labor- above the pendulum roof

One rap in takes you to a sweet belay and then 3 short sections of climbing above that. you can do them a pitch at a time AND recently scrubbed. 9+/10+/10C

[lucky luke]

What would be some good routes for working via self-belayed toprope in the 5.9 to 5.10 range?

I'm looking to pick 2 trad routes, one slab/face and one crack or mixed--as projects for next year for days when I get stuck without a partner. Ideally both routes would have good enough pro to eventually be led. (Pro doesn't have to be perfect but nothing R for me.)

You may ask in the sport section. In trad, I don't know a lot of true trad climber who will like to work a route. We had a topic on working layback and it look like that there is many layback...and you will be able to eventually led every layback in the world at your level", not just a couple of route. I did self belay in trad, I was leading easy route that I solo after a while.

I also do self belay in aid climbing, I place one pro, remove it, place an other, remove it and stand on the third one, the most scary one, to understand how to place a good pro. Ed Webster also do a training on trad, that I learned from second hand: took your rack, go to barber wall and place every single pro that you have in a pitch...to find rest, when it is a good time and you make sound placement or when you are at the wrong place at the wrong moment.

In a gym. it is also possible to train technicaly to onsight a route anywhere in the world by doing, for example, very open layback, to the right or to the left on a same route. Unfortunately, the presence of sport climber is very important and, even in a gym, you just train to show at other that you climb hard and there is no route call layback training...or undercling training or flag training...etc.

[JBrochu]

Champ I don't particularly care if you think I'm not a "true" trad climber if I choose to project some routes on toprope. But in case you are not aware, many trad climbers at the cutting edge are doing exactly this to push their skills. (Of course on stuff a lot harder than 5.9 and 5.10 but whatever.)

Keep the suggestions coming--I'm going to check them all out in the guidebook and then choose a couple.

[DMan]

Three birches... hardly ever anyone on that. The business end of p1 has a bit of a diagonal traverse on it but not too long.
And it is a 9 no matter what the guidebook says

And how would you TR solo this? Even if you rapped in from the treed ledge running your rope over that roof would be hell...

And Ethereal/Seventh Seal are great TR solo, but you must rope-solo, solo, or lead the 1st pitch of Beezebub (5.5, crux off the ground) to get to the anchors...

Should we be using the term "toprope solo"... probably more accurate to say Toprope self-belay eh?

[sneoh]

In a gym. it is also possible to train technically to onsight a route anywhere in the world by doing, for example, very open layback, to the right or to the left on a same route. Unfortunately, the presence of sport climber is very important and, even in a gym, you just train to show at other that you climb hard and there is no route call layback training...or undercling training or flag training...etc.

Haha, you must only have been to poor or poser-filled gyms.

[xcrag_corex]

I have a suggestion J(and i may have ulterior motives: i'm curious myself) . Is it possible to do a self belay TR on Crack in the Woods? Never been out there but the route looks cool and if it is easy to get to the top and set up it might be a cool crack to work
 

[DMan]

I have a suggestion J(and i may have ulterior motives: i'm curious myself) . Is it possible to do a self belay TR on Crack in the Woods? Never been out there but the route looks cool and if it is easy to get to the top and set up it might be a cool crack to work
 

I been out there once, and suffered my way up it after someone let it quite a few years ago... if my memory serves me it would be pretty hard reaching the top to set a TR, or impossible... much more options closer to town...

[DGoguen]

Hey J
I've done this one on weekday evenings being extra extra careful not to drop in on any "true" trad climbers.
Set an anchor in Little Feat, drop into Gypsy, then drop into Recompense, then Faux pas arete all from the same anchor.
Repeat until your arms fall off.
Not even close on weekend days but a good workout.

[old_school]

I have a suggestion J(and i may have ulterior motives: i'm curious myself) . Is it possible to do a self belay TR on Crack in the Woods? Never been out there but the route looks cool and if it is easy to get to the top and set up it might be a cool crack to work
 

I clawed and cried my way up that several years ago and the top out sucks. We ended up rapping off a dead...(rotten and hollowed out) tree at the top left. I won't make a plea for bolts, but the good climbing ends long before that crumbly finish and it drops you off on that rotten kind of sketchy ledge with no safe way to the bottom (IMHO). It would be a pain in the ass to try to TR that route...almost impossible unfortunately because it really is an interesting and challenging climb!