Sandbalm - Makita (6c/+)

Once more Granite should be the name of the game. Even though it was end of October, the warm and sunny weather would have allowed a broad set of options. Eventually, we chose Makita as it promised an easy-to-access and moderate yet stimulating venture.

The entries in the visitor book revealed that we were only the 23rd visit in 11 years since the first ascent in 2011. The period of 2019-2022 saw two visits - including ours. That's quite surprising as the route offers nice and varied climbing with good protection. While other routes might have been wiped out by vegetation & lichen under such low-traffic circumstances, Makita has kept most of its polish so far!

The Sandbalm dome. Makita starts at the very left where the narrow gorge begins.

At the base of the first pitch (6b+) of Makita.

Access: 20 min
Climbing: 4 h
Rappel: 50 min
Gear: C4 #0.5 for pitch 7

L1 6b+
Vertical first section with spreading, jamming & laybacking. Could integrate small and medium cams, but not strictly necessary. Second section with more delicate smearing & laybacking on a slightly slopy arete. Technical pitch, but also gets the circulation going. This pitch might take longer to dry up in dewy conditions or after rain.

L2 6a+
Slab with progressive difficulties that cumulate in two high rock-overs on relatively decent edges. Might feel harder for people with shy menisci. Plaisir finish.

L3 6b+
Full-body laybacking and chimney-ing between two leaning blades. While it gets your cardio going, it felt rather soft for the grade. Plaisir finish.

L4 6b
Short slab up to a big step which go easy. Second half is covered by an increasingly more difficult slab. However, the texture of the rock is extra sticky here which makes for nice smearing. Just be careful not to step on one of the lichen patches...

L5 6b
Sustained slab pitch with some intermediate rest points. Tricky start up to the short roof, might feel slightly run-out at this point, but at the same time better holds appear just in time. Finish quite tricky, too, on some tiny edges and bumps.

L6 6c
The approch to the crux at a short roof is guarded by a tricky mantle. The roof offers some alright edges at the lip, but it's relatively steep with a lack of proper feet. As the last bolt is relatively low, the leader is likely stay low on the traverse. The remaining meters to the visitor book and belay involve an interesting combination of smearing and laybacking along a closely bolted arete. 

L7 6c
A perfect foot hold enables easy passage around the first corner which leads into the athletic crux of the route: a short but burly crack corner. For me #0.5 fitted nicely at the lip, and then it's just a matter of negotiating the mantle on good holds. After that it becomes much easier, and while you might place additional gear in the range of #0.75-#2 it didn't seem necessary to me at all, even worse, you might just block some of the good holds.
However, the final 5m meters seemed like the technical crux of the route: bare-knuckle smearing on a remarkably smooth belly. Blessed are those who keep a cool foot!

As our ropes were rather on the shorter end of 50m we rappeled each pitch, and while the first rappel is slighty offset, it was still quite ok to reach the belay.